Bebe Vio

  • Date of birth

    March 4th 1997

  • Region

    Veneto

  • Protesi

    Amputation of the four limbs

  • Sports discipline

    Fencing

  • Hobby

    Art and travels

  • art4sport member

    Since 2009

“I can do anything I want to do”


Bebe’s story

Bebe was born in Venice on the 4th of March 1997. She has always been a lively, sporty and sociable girl with a particular aptitude for helping others and especially children. Her life has always been full of interests and great passions: school, drawing and painting, the Scouts and above all fencing (she started fencing at the age of 6 and was very good at it).

On November the 20th 2008, at the age of 11, she was suddenly struck down by fulminating meningitis, which caused a severe blood infection that ravaged her young body and led to the tragic consequence of the amputation of all four limbs.

Beatrice, however, did not let herself be overwhelmed by the consequences of her serious illness, and with her usual determination and strength, she returned to face life with her usual energy and smile, resuming what she used to do. One of her greatest wishes was to be able to fence again, and it was then that art4sport together with a team of specialized technicians worked to make her wish come true.

A platform for wheelchair fencing has been purchased, a custom-made wheelchair for her and, above all, studies have begun on a special prosthesis to enable her to hold the foil.

Bebe was the first athlete of the art4sport team.

At the beginning of May 2010, she performed her first official competition in Bologna and since then there has been a succession of increasingly exciting and entertaining competitions that have allowed her to meet (and sometimes even challenge) great champions of Italian fencing.

She has taken part in various television programs where, sharing her own story with simplicity and great serenity, she has been able to touch the hearts of Italians while also stimulating a lot of interest in the art4sport ONLUS Association and its initiatives.

Thanks to fencing Bebe is having some memorable experiences, which are helping her to grow a lot and filling her life with joy and satisfaction.


art4sport for Bebe

The existence and support of art4sport have been crucial in the process of designing and developing the suitable prosthesis to allow Bebe to return to the fencing platform.

The first prototype was made at the end of 2009 at the Inail Prosthesis Centre in Vigorso di Budrio (BO) but it was too heavy and quite painful to use. In April 2010, a second one was created, developed and given to her by Arte Ortopedica of Budrio (BO) with the valuable collaboration of Otto Bock Italia. This proved to be more functional and pain-free, as well as allowing greater freedom of movement for the elbow. At the beginning of 2011, the third prototype was produced, further improved and even easier to wear.

art4sport has also purchased a wheelchair designed specifically for chair fencing, used by Bebe both in training and in competitions, and has provided the fencing gym in Mogliano Veneto (TV), Bebe’s hometown, with the appropriate equipment. art4sport has therefore taken care of the construction of a platform suitable for the practice of fencing in a wheelchair, which is used for training but also during demonstrations in various Italian cities (La Scherma in Piazza project).

The gym’s changing room has also been equipped with a specific bed to facilitate the athlete’s change of clothes.


Bebe’s sports achievements

Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games – Japan (august 2021)

  • individual foil: gold medal
  • team foil: silver medal

Francesco ImperioDavide Obino