Fabrizio Macchi was born in Varese the 26th July 1970.
In 1982 Fabrizio was like any other child. He grew up in Varese where his only interests were playing, his friends and cross-country running. That was until, at the age of 13, his knee started to hurt. It wasn’t a bruise like the doctors thought at first, but a bone tumour that took Fabrizio through a long hospital ordeal involving 17 operations and 20 rounds of chemotherapy. The suffering and pain were indescribable. And they were useless. Because after everything the tumour hadn’t gone away. That was until, aged 16, Fabrizio decided to have his leg amputated, to stop his suffering and become free once again.
In principle his new life wasn’t easy. Disability, prejudice, difficulties. They all seemed insurmountable challenges. Until Fabrizio made a heroic decision: to have the best, you have to want the best. Don’t be content with a normal life; live an extraordinary life.
Three years later Fabrizio realised his dream of becoming a sports champion with medals and trophies across various disciplines. Today, married to Patrizia and father to Thomas and Mattia, Fabrizio has got his sights sets on the Rio Olympics 2016. To date Fabrizio Macchi has won 12 world medals, two golds, an Olympic bronze in Athens 2004, four European medals and 29 Italian contests. He is one of the most well-known Paralympians in the world.
He has always been actively engaged in fighting for disabled people’s rights. He has also always been a testimonial of the AISOS (Italian association for the study of osteosarcoma) and supports research into Cystic Fibrosis.