Rigivan Ganeshamoorthy

Rigivan Ganeshamoorthy
Ganeshamoorthy in March 2025
Personal information
NationalityItalian
Born (1999-06-08) 8 June 1999
Rome, Italy
Sport
SportPara-athletics
Disability
Disability classF52
Events
ClubA.S. Anthropos Civitanova Marche
Achievements and titles
Personal bests
  • Javelin throw: 20.99 m (2024, WR)
  • Discus throw: 27.06 m (2024, WR)
  • Shot put: 11.73 m (2024)
Medal record
Para-athletics
Representing  Italy
Paralympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2024 Paris Discus throw

Rigivan "Rigi" Ganeshamoorthy[a][b] (born 8 June 1999) is an Italian para-athlete, competing in F52 throwing events. He represented Italy at the 2024 Summer Paralympics, winning a gold medal and setting a new world record in the discus throw.

Early and personal life

Ganeshamoorthy was born in Rome to Sri Lankan Tamil parents, and grew up in the city's borough of Dragona, in the 10th municipality. He has an elder brother and a younger sister. In 2017, he was diagnosed with Guillain–Barré syndrome, which was aggravated by a cervical injury resulting from a fall in 2019. As a result, he became tetraplegic. Until then a sedentary person, after trying wheelchair basketball, fencing and water polo, he began practicing Paralympic athletics, specializing in throwing.[1][4][5][6][9][10] He was the Italian sabre champion in 2023.[5]

Ganeshamoorthy's sister Thujana works at a foundation for people with disabilities in Ostia.[11] As of June 2025, he has been in a three-year relationship with Alice, a singer also from Dragona.[3][4] He was baptized a Roman Catholic in 2023.[4] He is a supporter of soccer club A.S. Roma.[10]

Career

In 2023, Ganeshamoorthy was the Italian Paralympic champion in the shot put F55 and the discus throw F54–F55. The following year he was again Italian champion in the shot put and discus throw, setting the European Paralympic record F52 in both disciplines; he also holds the Paralympic world record F52 in the javelin throw, with a measurement of 20.99 m, which he set at the 2024 Italian championships in Brescia, and his personal best in the shot put (11.73 m) is 1 cm under the world record held by André Rocha.[1][9][10]

In 2024, Ganeshamoorthy made his international debut at the Summer Paralympics, where he won the gold medal in the discus throw F52 upon breaking the Paralympic world record three times within the same competition: 25.48 m, 25.80 m and finally 27.06 m.[1][12][13]

Ganeshamoorthy won three gold medals at the Italian championships in Ancona in June 2025. He is set to compete in the 12th World Para Athletics Championships, held in New Delhi in September 2025.[3]

Notes

  1. ^ Italian: [ˈriːdʒi(vaŋ) ɡaneʃʃaˈmurti];[1] Tamil: ரிஜீவன் கணேசமூர்த்தி,[2] pronounced [ɾiˈdʑiːʋan kaˈɳeːsamuːɾt̪ːi].
  2. ^ Ganeshamoorthy's hypocorism "Rigi"[3][4][5][6] is also spelled "Riggi"[7][8] reflecting the pronunciation in his native Romanesco dialect,[6][8] where the /dʒ/ consonant is always geminated (i.e. [ˈɾidːʒi]).

References

  1. ^ a b c d Veneziani, Massimo (2 September 2024). "L'ironia e la simpatia di Rigivan Ganeshamoorthy, medaglia d'oro e recordman nel disco". RaiNews (in Italian). RAI. Retrieved 16 August 2025.
  2. ^ "இத்தாலி வாழ் ஈழத்தமிழரின் உலக சாதனை". Tamil Info Point (in Tamil). 3 September 2024. Retrieved 4 February 2025.
  3. ^ a b c Francone, Jacopo (23 June 2025). "Rigivan Ganeshamoorthy: la leggerezza di un campione". CON Magazine (in Italian). Retrieved 16 August 2025.
  4. ^ a b c d Mei, Piero (27 December 2024). "Rigivan Ganeshamoorthy: «La salute? Va e viene. Ora sogno Milano-Cortina, mi hanno proposto il curling, ma lì fa freddo»". Il Gazzettino (in Italian). Retrieved 16 August 2025.
  5. ^ a b c "L'atletica per caso". La Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian). 15 September 2024. Retrieved 16 August 2025 – via PressReader.
  6. ^ a b c "Chi è Rigivan Ganeshamoorthy, medaglia d'oro alle Paralimpiadi per il lancio del disco". Sky TG24 (in Italian). 3 September 2024. Retrieved 16 August 2025.
  7. ^ Vecchiarelli, Valerio (3 September 2024). "Chi è Rigivan «Riggi» Ganeshamoorthy: dall'officina all'oro paralimpico, così l'atleta ha conquistato tutti". Corriere.it (in Italian). Retrieved 5 September 2024.
  8. ^ a b "«Riggi» e la disabilità che diventa virale". Cittadinanza Sociale (in Italian). 5 September 2024. Retrieved 16 August 2025.
  9. ^ a b "Ganeshamoorthy Rigivan" (in Italian and English). Italian Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 1 September 2024.
  10. ^ a b c Nicoliello, Mario (2 September 2024). "Lancio del disco. Rigivan, l'uomo dal braccio d'oro: «Due mesi di gare e un record»". Avvenire (in Italian). Retrieved 16 August 2025.
  11. ^ Vitelli, Massimiliano (3 December 2023). "La storia di Thujana, quando un progetto scuola-lavoro ti porta a lavorare con i disabili". Vanity Fair Italia (in Italian). Retrieved 16 August 2025.
  12. ^ "L:italiano Rigivan Ganeshamoorthy ha vinto l'oro paralimpico nel lancio del disco, migliorando tre volte il record del mondo nella stessa gara". Il Post (in Italian). 1 September 2024. Retrieved 1 September 2024.
  13. ^ "Parigi:Oro Rigivan Ganeshamoorthy nel lancio del disco F52 ++". Il Piccolo (in Italian). 1 September 2024. Retrieved 1 September 2024.
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