Daniela Castrignano

Daniela Castrignano (born December 11, 1980, in Lecce) is an Italian taekwondo practitioner, who competed in the women's heavyweight category.[2] She obtained a total of nine medals in her sporting career, including one Gold and two silvers at the European Championships and a bronze in the over-72 kg division at the 2007 World Taekwondo Championships in Beijing.[3] Castrignano was also selected to compete for the Italian taekwondo squad at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, where she placed fifth in the women's heavyweight category (+67 kg). Throughout her sporting career, Castrignano trained for Team Perulli in her native Lecce under head coach and master Giuseppe Perulli.[1]

Daniela Castrignano

Personal information
Full name	Daniela Castrignano
Nationality	Italy
Born	11 December 1980 Lecce, Italy
Height	1.82 m (5 ft 11 ^1⁄2 in)
Weight	67 kg (148 lb)
Sport
Sport	Taekwondo
Event(s)	+67 kg
Club	Team Perulli[1]
Coached by	Giuseppe Perulli[1]
Medal record Women's taekwondo Representing  Italy World Championships 1996 Barcelona +67 kg 2007 Beijing +72 kg World Cup 2002 Tokio +72 kg Olympic Games qualification World 2003 Paris +67 kg Military World Championships 2008 Seoul +72 kg Military World Games 2011 Rio de Janeiro +72 kg European Championships 1996 Zagreb +67 kg 1997 Patras +67 kg 2000 Patras +72 kg 2008 Rome +72 kg

Castrignano started her taekwondo career upon her admission at Team Perulli in Lecce, where she practiced and trained full-time under her personal coach Luigi Perulli.[1] In 1997, she won a gold medal over Great Britain's Joanne Lawrence in the heavyweight class at the European Junior Championships in Patras. Castrignano's sporting career continued to thrive with a silver at the 2000 European Championships and then completed her full set of medals by retrieving the bronze at the 2003 World Olympic Qualification Tournament in Paris, France, which guaranteed her place on the Italian team for her major Olympic debut.[4]

Castrignano was selected to compete for the Italian squad in the women's heavyweight class (+67 kg) at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens.[4][5] She surpassed Morocco's Mounia Bourguigue with a score of 6–4 in her opening match, but the referee's decision slipped her Olympic gold medal contention in a stunning defeat to France's Myriam Baverel, after the quarterfinal match ended on 8–8 draw. In the repechage, Castrignano salvaged from her quarterfinal loss to slam Canadian fighter and 2000 Olympic bronze medalist Dominique Bosshart at 7–3.[6] Castrignano lost to Brazil's Natália Falavigna in her next bout with a score of 3–6, relegating her to fifth position.[7][8]

At the 2007 World Taekwondo Championships in Beijing, China, Castrignano shared bronze medals with Chinese Taipei's Tsui Fang-hsuan in the over-72 kg class after her immediate defeat to local favorite and double Olympic champion Chen Zhong in the semifinals.[3][9] Castrignano also sought her bid for the 2008 Summer Olympics, but she fell behind France's Anne Caroline Graffe in the quarterfinal match at the European Qualification Tournament in Baku, Azerbaijan.[10]

References

1. "CONI Profile – Daniela Castrignano" (in Italian). Italian National Olympic Committee. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
2. Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Daniela Castrignano". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
3. "Taekwondo, Mondiali: Bronzo per la Castrignano'nei 72 kg" [World Taekwondo: Bronze for Castrignano in the 72 kg] (in Italian). la Repubblica. 22 May 2007. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
4. "Qualificazioni Olimpiche di Taekwondo" [Olympic qualification in taekwondo] (in Italian). Supereva.it. 24 May 2004. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
5. "Athens 2004: Taekwondo – Women's Entry List by NOC" (PDF). Athens 2004. LA84 Foundation. pp. 5–7. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
6. Ewing, Lori (29 August 2004). "Bosshart's out early". Canoe.ca. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
7. "Taekwondo – Women's Heavyweight (+67kg/+148lbs) Repechage Round 2". Athens 2004. BBC Sport. 12 August 2004. Retrieved 24 September 2013.
8. "Natália Falavigna bate italiana e vai para a disputa do bronze" [Natália Falavigna hits the Italian and advances to the bronze medal match] (in Portuguese). Universo Online. 29 August 2004. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
9. "China wins heavyweight, Turkey and South Korea obtain gold at taekwondo worlds". People's Daily. 22 May 2007. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
10. "Taekwondo: il napoletano Basile alle Olimpiadi" [Taekwondo: Naples native Basile goes to Olympics] (in Italian). Resport.it. 27 January 2008. Archived from the original on 8 January 2015. Retrieved 8 January 2015.

External links

• Daniela Castrignano at TaekwondoData.com