Bianca Borgella (born January 10, 2003) is a Canadian para-athlete competing in the 100 metres and 200 metres in the T13 classification.

Early life and education

Borgella was born with leber congenital amaurosis in Florida. She moved to

Rockland, Ontario Rockland is a bilingual community located about east of downtown Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, part of the city of Clarence-Rockland. Rockland has a population of 13,625 (2021), making up roughly half the population of the municipality. It is home t ...

with her family as a child. She graduated from St. Francis Xavier Catholic High School in Hammond. Borgella attends the

University of Ottawa The University of Ottawa (), often referred to as uOttawa or U of O, is a Official bilingualism in Canada, bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on directly to the northeast of Downtown Ot ...

and is studying biology.

Career

Borgella trained at the Ottawa Lions Track and Field Club. After she turned 18, she started pursuing track competitively. She received her T13 classification in 2021. In 2022, she won gold at the Canadian Track in Field Championships in the

400 metres The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1964 for women. On a standard outdoor running track, it is ...

100 metres The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contested at ...

, and U20 relay. Also in 2022, she was presented with a Sam Estwick Memorial Award, which are awarded by the East Ottawa Lions Club to the outstanding athletes with disabilities. At the

2023 World Para Athletics Championships The 2023 World Para Athletics Championships was a Paralympic track and field meet organized by the World Para Athletics subcommittee of the International Paralympic Committee. It was the 10th edition of the event and was held in the Charlety St ...

in Paris, Borgella won silver in the T13 women's 200 metres and bronze in the T13 women's 100 metres, setting a Canadian record for the event. Also at the 2023 World Para Athletics Championships, Borgella competed on the Canadian universal relay team, placing fourth. She made her Paralympic debut in para-athletics at the

2024 Summer Paralympics The 2024 Summer Paralympics (), also known as the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games (), and branded as Paris 2024, were the 17th Summer Paralympic Games, an international Multi-sport event, multi-sport parasports event governed by the International P ...

. Going into the Games, she was ranked number two in the world in the 100m. Borgella made it to the finals in the women's T13 100m, but fell down around 40 metres into the race. She was able to cross the finish line in 25.11 seconds but was taken off the track wheelchair. She had been dealing with a

hamstring A hamstring () is any one of the three posterior thigh muscles in human anatomy between the hip and the knee: from medial to lateral, the semimembranosus, semitendinosus and biceps femoris. Etymology The word " ham" is derived from the Old ...

injury in the lead-up to the Games and re-injured her hamstring, ending up with a grade 3 muscle tear.

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Borgella, Bianca 2003 births Living people Canadian female sprinters Female competitors in athletics with disabilities Visually impaired sprinters Paralympic track and field athletes for Canada Athletes (track and field) at the 2024 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the World Para Athletics Championships University of Ottawa alumni American emigrants to Canada 21st-century Canadian sportswomen