one-year disqualification of the Paralympic champion – Corriere.it

One year ban after plea deal been inflicted by the national anti-doping prosecutor of Nado Italia ad Oney tapiaathlete blue paralympic silver discus in Rio 2016 and twice bronze (discus and weight) in Tokyo 2020. The disqualification starts from the last sanction, detected on 06/02/2023.

The 47-year-old Tapia, a Cuban naturalized Italian (resident in Sotto il Monte, in the province of Bergamo), world discus record holder always in the F11 category (athletes with visually impaired, visually impaired and blind competing with a guide), e in 2017 he participated in the TV show Dancing with the Stars, winning the race. The blue was accused of three failed communications in one year of his temporary residence, for surprise anti-doping controls. The disqualification starts from 6 February next.

Born in Cuba in 1976where I became a player of baseball, Tapia moved to Italy in 2002 to pitch for Old Rags Lodi and Montorio Veronese. In 2002 he obtained Italian citizenship. The accident that changed his life and career in 2011: during a training session he was hit on the head by a large branch and lost his sight. Two years later she decides to approach the world of Paralympic athletics, specializing in discus throwing and shot put and in a few months it becomes national record holder in discus.

Thus he enters the national team and at the 2015 World Cup in Doha he obtains a thirteenth place. That same year at the Golden Paralympic Championships in Grosseto in the discus throw (repeated success in Berlin 2018) and fifth in the shot put. A preparation for the Rio 2016 Paralympic Olympics in which he gets his silver in weight. At the Tokyo Paralympics, as mentioned, two bronze medals arrive.

Article being updated