Bianca Borgella (born January 10, 2003)[1] is a Canadian para-athlete competing in the 100 metres and 200 metres in the T13 classification.
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | January 10, 2003 Tampa, Florida, USA | |||||||||||||||||
| Home town | Rockland, Ontario, Canada | |||||||||||||||||
| Alma mater | University of Ottawa | |||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||
| Country | Canada | |||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Para-athletics | |||||||||||||||||
| Disability class | T13 | |||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Early life and education
editBorgella was born with leber congenital amaurosis in Florida. She moved to Rockland, Ontario with her family as a child.[2] She graduated from St. Francis Xavier Catholic High School in Hammond.[3] Borgella attends the University of Ottawa and is studying biology.[4]
Career
editBorgella trained at the Ottawa Lions Track and Field Club. After she turned 18, she started pursuing track competitively.[3] She received her T13 classification in 2021.[5] In 2022, she won gold at the Canadian Track in Field Championships in the 400 metres, 100 metres, and U20 4 × 100 m relay.[6] Also in 2022, she was presented with a Sam Estwick Memorial Award, which are awarded by the East Ottawa Lions Club to the outstanding athletes with disabilities.[7]
At the 2023 World Para Athletics Championships in Paris, Borgella won silver in the T13 women's 200 metres[8] and bronze in the T13 women's 100 metres, setting a Canadian record for the event.[9] Also at the 2023 World Para Athletics Championships, Borgella competed on the Canadian universal 4 × 100 m relay team, placing fourth.[3] She made her Paralympic debut in para-athletics at the 2024 Summer Paralympics.[10] Going into the Games, she was ranked number two in the world in the 100m.[2] Borgella made it to the finals in the women's T13 100m, but fell down around 40 metres into the race. She was able to cross the finish line in 25.11 seconds but was taken off the track wheelchair.[11][12] She had been dealing with a hamstring injury in the lead-up to the Games and re-injured her hamstring, ending up with a grade 3 muscle tear.[13][14]
References
edit- ^ "Bianca Borgella". Canadian Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 2024-07-31.
- ^ a b Daignault, Louis (2024-06-26). "Bianca Borgella emerges as new star in Canadian Para athletics". Canadian Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 2024-07-31.
- ^ a b c Loweys, Sam (2023-07-20). "Double medallist Bianca Borgella Canada's breakout star of the World Para Athletics Championships". OttawaSportsPages.ca. Retrieved 2024-07-31.
- ^ Wilimek, Andrew (2024-07-26). "Eight Gee-Gees to compete at Paris 2024 Olympics and Paralympics". The Fulcrum. Retrieved 2024-07-31.
- ^ "Borgella starts season on top of the world". Ottawa Lions. 2023-04-23. Retrieved 2024-07-31.
- ^ Denver, Riley (2024-02-02). "Athletics Canada Salutes Black History Month". Athletics Canada. Retrieved 2024-07-31.
- ^ Cleary, Martin (2022-10-06). "HIGH ACHIEVERS: Ottawa Lions honour their best at annual banquet". OttawaSportsPages.ca. Retrieved 2024-07-31.
- ^ "Canada's Bianca Borgella sprints to silver medal at Para athletics worlds". CBC. 2023-07-12. Retrieved 2024-07-30.
- ^ "Canada's Ouellet, Borgella surge to bronze at World Para Athletics Championships". CBC. 2023-07-10. Retrieved 2024-07-30.
- ^ Dickinson, Marley (2024-07-25). "Athletics Canada nominates 20 athletes for 2024 Paralympic Games". Canadian Running Magazine. Retrieved 2024-07-31.
- ^ "Canada's Katie Cosgriffe earns 1st career Paralympic medal with swimming bronze". CBC. 2024-09-03. Retrieved 2024-09-03.
- ^ Dickinson, Marley (2024-09-03). "Injury strikes Canadian Paralympic medal favourite in 100m final". Canadian Running Magazine. Retrieved 2024-09-04.
- ^ Plouffe, Dan (2024-10-10). "Injured Paralympic sprinter Bianca Borgella emerging from post-Games blues". OttawaSportsPages.ca. Retrieved 2024-11-20.
- ^ Admin, Runnerstribe (2024-11-19). "RT Snap Q & A Series: Bianca Borgella | Overcoming Limits and Inspiring Excellence in Para-Athletics". Runner's Tribe. Retrieved 2024-11-20.