Andreea Mogos, a collegue in BasicItalia, distribution licensee for Italy of product brands owned by the BasicNet Group, tells us with her instructor Andrea Pontillo, another colleague in BasicItalia, the story of how she came to compete at Rio 2016’s Paralympics, where she has won a bronze medal in the Team Foil category. The Italian Paralympic fencing team – as well as the Olympic team – are sponsored by Kappa^® (Italian version with English subtitles).

Thanks to Andrea Bizzi for the photos of Andreea during the competition and training. Also thanks to Roberto Cimino for the footage of Andreea’s arrival in BasicItalia after her Paralympic victory.

Andreea Mogos: Hi, I’m Andreea, I’m 28 and I have been fencing since 2007.

Andrea Pontillo: My name is Andrea Pontillo, I am a fencing instructor and I started to work in Paralympic fencing in 2003. In 2010 I founded the Lamerotanti club, with which Andreea Mogos won bronze in Team Foil at Rio 2016’s Paralympic games.

Mogos: I had an accident in 2006, on my way back from Romania – a car accident. My physiotherapist proposed a range of sports, I’ve also played tennis.

Pontillo: I met Andreea in Warsaw in 2007 during a World Cup competition, she wasn’t competing.

Mogos: I went to Warsaw to train.

Pontillo: For a project on approaching Paralympic sports started by Torino’s Spinal Unit.

Mogos: I met the entire Paralympic National team including my instructor Andrea Pontillo.

Pontillo: She had to choose between tennis and fencing and in the end she went for fencing.

Mogos: Qualifying for these Paralympics was an adventure.

Pontillo: Andreea was always really set on competing at the Paralympics.

Mogos: I’m glad I went to Rio. And then, once I got there, I said: I’m not going back home without a medal.

Pontillo: Bringing an athlete to the Paralympics – bringing her to qualify – and then winning a medal is the top achievement.

Mogos: I’ve been working for BasicItalia since 2015. I even followed the order for the fencing uniform for the Olympics and Paralympics. When I got there I parked the car, I saw the banner, then I got out of the car and saw people slowly coming out. It was a fantastic surprise! I’ve still got tears in my eyes. Sport is very important because it helps you to stay alive and healthy. I train almost every day, I’ve just started going to the gym on my lunch break. I love to travel and thanks to fencing I get to travel a lot. And I also have fun. I went to meet the President of the Italian Republic, at the athletes’ awards. It was an honour... I took a selfie with the President of the Republic!

Pontillo: Upcoming projects: certainly a test for the World Cup, the first after the Paralympics.

Mogos: So I’m going to start training next week.

Pontillo: Obviously we’re also thinking about the future, so we are mentally preparing for Tokyo and we’d like to win an individual medal.

Mogos: The fact of being in a wheelchair has pushed me to do more than I did before.

Pontillo: Andreea is “People on the Move�, she embodies that passionate spirit of pushing limits that is characteristic of all Paralympic athletes.

Mogos: I feel one of the “People on the Move�.