Sprinter. Paralympian. Writer. TV presenter. Italian politician.

Giusy Versace was born in Reggio Calabria on May 20th, 1977 and lived in the area until age 20 when work and life took her to London first and to Milan eventually. On August 22nd, 2005, during a business trip, Giusy had a terrible car accident on the Salerno-Reggio Calabria highway where she lost both legs. An event that turned her life upside down, but never caused her to surrender or lose hope. In 2010, Giusy started running using carbon implants and became the first Italian athlete in history to run with a bilateral amputation.

In 2016, she won her first international medals (European Championships: Silver on 200m and Bronze on 400m). During the same year, she reached one of her biggest goals participating and participated in the Rio Paralympics, making it to the final in the 200m race.

Since starting her new chapter of athleticism, Giusy has collected 11 Italian titles and set several national records for 60, 100, 200 and 400 meter races. During this time, Giusy extendend her interests by writing 2013 an autobiography "Con la testa e con il cuore si va ovunque" (With the Head and the Heart You Go Anywhere) that instantly became a bestseller (Oscar Mondadori edition). Since 2014, Giusy has been the ambassador of the international campaign promoting integrity in sports among young people, "Save the Dream," together with other internationally renowned athletes, including professional soccer player Alex Del Piero.

Shortly after taking this public role, Giusy competed and won the 10th season of "Ballando con le Stelle" (Dancing with the Stars) a national televised dancing competition. For the following years, Giusy had multiple television appearances including "Alive - La Forza della Vita" and "La Domenica Sportiva."

In 2015, Giusy was chosen to be the first paralympic "eagle" during Carnival in Venice - a prestigious role given to an athlete as a part of the traditional celebrations. In 2017, director Edoardo Sylos Labini was inspired by her autobiography and transformed it into a theatrical show in prose, music and dance starring Giusy herself, dancer Raimondo Todaro, and musician Daniele Stefani.

In order to progress the positive impact she has committed to the Italian public, since inspiring audiences in her first race, in 2018 Giusy Versace ran for political office. With her charismatic, electric personality and history of positive influence, she was elected to the Italian Parliament to the Chamber of Deputies in the Forza Italia party on March 4th 2018.

Since that moment, she has focused on social issues and became a member of the task force for infancy and adolescence. This also included the introduction of Giusy's first decree proposal which would ensure that Italian national healthcare will provide prosthetic equipment for individuals with disabilities who need it.

Due to her work as a public figure and elected officer, she was awarded the title “Ambassador of Calabria” in 2018 by her birth region. In 2019, Giusy ran for the European elections and in September presented the documentary "Donne in Prigione" (Women in Prison) at the 76th Annual Venice Film Festival together with Jo Squillo and Francesca Carollo. Giusy also remains actively involved as the President of the foundation "Disabili No Limits - Onlus" that she founded in 2011.

Photo Credit: Marcus Hartmann