Andrea Baldini

Andrea Baldini (born 19 December 1985) is an Italian foil fencer, several time European and World champion and team Olympic champion in 2012.[1] He is the only foil fencer in history to have obtained four golds ( European and World - individual and team event) and the final victory in the World Cup in the same season.

Andrea Baldini
Personal information
Born (1985-12-19) 19 December 1985
Livorno, Tuscany, Italy
ResidenceItaly
Height1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Weight68 kg (150 lb)
Sport
CountryItaly
SportFencing
WeaponFoil
HandLeft-handed
National coachStefano Cerioni
ClubFides Livorno Club
FIE rankingcurrent ranking

Biography

He made his debut in the Senior World Cup in the 2003/2004 season and obtained an extraordinary second place in Vienna at the age of 18. In the following season, he won his first senior World Cup in Espinho, Portugal. In 2005 he got gold (individual) and a bronze (team) at the Universiade held in Izmir, Turkey followed by a bronze (individual) and gold (team) at the Europeans in Zalaegerszeg. These results, at just 19 years old, cast him definitively into the quartet of the titular national team. Confirmation of that comes at his first Senior World Championship in Leipzig: sixth in the individual event and silver in team.

In 2006 he was third in the general World Ranking, thanks to the individual silver won at the World Fencing Championships in Turin. He was defeated only in the final by the German Peter Joppich for 15 to 14.[2]

In the 2007 season he obtained the top of the world ranking thanks to gold in Seoul World Cup, a silver in Havana. He repeated the same feat a year later at the 2007 World Championships this time losing 15–9 to Joppich. In same year he won bronzes in Bonn, Espinho and Cairo.

On 2 July he won his first individual European title in Ghent and with it the qualification for his first Olympics. Baldini, however, will not take part in the Games, excluded a few days before his departure for Beijing from a controversial case of positivity to a diuretic. On 10 April 2009 the International Fencing Federation, also taking into account the conclusions of ordinary justice, recognizes the good faith of the athlete and the alleged sabotage of his water bottle, and allows him to return to the piste.[3][4][5]

Andrea Baldini, together with the journalist of the Gazzetta dello Sport Marisa Poli, will write a book about it, entitled "Beijing: The Forbidden City".[6][7]

Back in the middle of 2009 season, in just six months, Andrea Baldini regains his first place in the world ranking, winning 2 World Cup events, individual and team gold at the European Championships in Plovdiv and individual and team gold at World Championships in Antalya, Turkey. On the podium, it displays an Italian flag with Bob Dylan's text "The Hurricane" written on it. He become the only foil fencer in history to obtain four gold medals and the final victory in the World Cup in the same season.

The following season, 2010, he repeated the success at the European Championships in Leipzig obtaining again a gold medal at individual and team event. On the following season he won the World Cup in Seoul, and repeats the success at the following one held in St. Petersburg. In June 2011 he got the team gold at the European Championships in Sheffield and bronze in the individual event.

On July 31, 2012, Andrea Baldini participated at his first Olympics. At the end of the individual competition, however, he remains out of the podium after being defeat in semifinals against the future Olympic champion Lei Sheng and losing then the match for bronze (15-14) in favor of the Korean Choi Byung-chul.[8]

The possibility of redemption comes a few days later. On 5 August 2012, after the world and European titles, Andrea Baldini finally obtained the Olympic gold medal. The Italian team lead by Coach Stefano Cerioni, and composed by Valerio Aspromonte, Andrea Baldini, Andrea Cassarà and Giorgio Avola, defeats Japan in the final, with a score of 45–39, granting Andrea Baldini the honor and burden of latest assault, in this case against Yuki Ota.[9]

Season-2013 started with a good series of results for Baldini, who reached back the top of the world ranking thanks to two successes in the World Cup Paris, Bonn and an individual bronze at the European Championships in Zagreb. On 12 August 2013 he won the gold (team) at the World Championships in Budapest, after defeating Russia of former coach Stefano Cerioni in the semifinals: in this match Baldini inherited a difficult situation, with his opponents leading 43–41 at just 49 seconds from the end, but with a partial 4-1 he leads the Italian team to a 45–44 victory.

In 2014 he won silver with his team at the European Championships in Strasbourg and a bronze at the World Championships in Kazan. In 2015 he won the gold medal in men's team foil at the World Championship in Moscow and he qualified for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games where he took part in the team event only.[10]

Personal life

On July 29, 2020, He got married to Turkish Olympian fencer Irem Karamete.[11]

Education

Andrea Baldini earned a bachelor's degree in political science in 2015 and a master's degree in international relations at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University, U.S.[12]

Since 23 April 2013 Andrea Baldini has been a testimonial for UNICEF in the Vogliamo Zero campaign for the elimination of infant mortality under the age of five.[13]

References
  1. "London 2012 Olympics: Italy outclass battling Britain for narrow fencing victory". The Daily Telegraph. 5 Aug 2012. Retrieved 8 Aug 2020.
  2. "Si chiude con un bronzo". Eurosport. 7 Oct 2006. Retrieved 8 Aug 2020.
  3. "Doping, fu complotto contro Andrea Baldini". Sky Sport. 4 April 2009. Retrieved 8 Aug 2020.
  4. "Baldini riapre il giallo-doping". La Stampa. 31 Oct 2010. Retrieved 8 Aug 2020.
  5. "Italian fencer Baldini gets 6-month doping ban". GMA News Online. 16 April 2009. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
  6. "Baldini Tengo un diario Ne faro un libro Ha un bel finale". Pressreader.com. 10 Oct 2009. Retrieved 8 Aug 2020.
  7. "Baldini, squalifica fittizia anche la Fie gli dà ragione". la Repubblica. 10 April 2009. Retrieved 8 Aug 2020.
  8. "Baldini, che peccato! Solo quarto nel fioretto". La Gazzetta dello Sport. 31 July 2012. Retrieved 8 Aug 2020.
  9. "Nel fioretto a squadre c'è solo l'Italia Gli uomini bissano il trionfo delle donne". Olimpiadi.corriere.it. 5 Aug 2012. Retrieved 8 Aug 2020.
  10. "Olimpiadi Rio 2016, i qualificati dell'Italia: le schede degli azzurri. Scherma: Andrea Baldini". oasport.it. 14 July 2016. Retrieved 8 Aug 2020.
  11. "Fiori d'arancio nel mondo del fioretto, nozze per l'olimpionico livornese Andrea Baldini". La Nazione. 30 July 2020. Retrieved 8 Aug 2020.
  12. "Andrea Baldini si racconta in esclusiva a Trend&Moda: Boston, l'università, la scherma e il mio futuro". Trendemoda.it. Retrieved 8 Aug 2020.
  13. "L'olimpionico Andrea Baldini nuovo testimonial UNICEF". UNICEF. 23 April 2013. Retrieved 8 Aug 2020.
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