Rigivan "Riggi" Ganeshamoorthy (; ; born 8 June 1999) is an Italian para-athlete, competing in F52 throwing events. He represented

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

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 ...

, winning a gold medal and setting a new world record in the

discus throw The discus throw (), also known as disc throw, is a track and field sport in which the participant athlete throws an oblate spheroid weight (object), weight called a discus in an attempt to mark a further distance than other competitors. It is a ...

Early life

Ganeshamoorthy was born in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

Sri Lankan Tamil Sri Lankan Tamils ( or ), also known as Ceylon Tamils or Eelam Tamils, are Tamils native to the South Asian island state of Sri Lanka. Today, they constitute a majority in the Northern Province, form the plurality in the Eastern Province a ...

parents. In 2017, he was diagnosed with

Guillain–Barré syndrome Guillain–Barré syndrome (GBS) is a rapid-onset Paralysis, muscle weakness caused by the immune system damaging the peripheral nervous system. Typically, both sides of the body are involved, and the initial symptoms are changes in sensation ...

, which was aggravated by a cervical injury resulting from a fall in 2019. As a result, after trying

wheelchair basketball Wheelchair basketball is a style of basketball played using a sports wheelchair. The International Wheelchair Basketball Federation (IWBF) is the governing body for this sport. It is recognized by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) as ...

, in 2019 he began practicing Paralympic athletics, specializing in throwing.

Career

In 2023, Ganeshamoorthy was the Italian Paralympic champion in the

shot put The shot put is a track-and-field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical Ball (sports), ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. For men, the sport has been a part of the Olympic Games, modern Olympics since their 1896 Summer Olym ...

F55 and the discus throw F54–F55. The following year he was again Italian champion in the shot put and

, setting the European Paralympic record F52 in both disciplines; he also holds the Paralympic world record F52 in the

javelin throw The javelin throw is a track and field event where the javelin, a spear about in length, is thrown as far as possible. The javelin thrower gains momentum by running within a predetermined area. Javelin throwing is an event of both the men's de ...

, with a measurement of 20.99 m, which he set at the Italian championships, and his personal best in the shot put (11.73 m) is 1 cm under the world record held by André Rocha. In 2024, Ganeshamoorthy made his international debut at the

Summer Paralympics The Summer Paralympics, also known as the Games of the Paralympiad, are an international multi-sport event where athletes with physical disabilities compete. This includes athletes with mobility disabilities, amputations, blindness, and cerebr ...

, where he won the gold medal in the discus throw F52 with the new Paralympic world record brought to 27.06 m.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ganeshamoorthy, Rigivan 1999 births Living people Athletes from Rome Paralympic athletes for Italy Italian male discus throwers Italian male javelin throwers Italian male shot putters Medalists at the World Para Athletics Championships Athletes (track and field) at the 2024 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2024 Summer Paralympics Paralympic medalists in athletics (track and field) Paralympic gold medalists for Italy 21st-century Italian sportsmen Italian people of Sri Lankan Tamil descent World record holders in para-athletics