Clelia Ailara

Born on the island of Ustica, off the coast of Sicily, Clelia Ailara was the daughter of a well-known local hotelier. She started playing softball at the Piano Cardoni sports field at the age of 13, making her début in Serie A in 1993, and won the European junior title two years prior in Praha. As a senior, she won three European titles (Torino 1995, Prague 1997, Belgium 1999) and competed at the 1994 World Cup (ninth) and 1998 World Cup (sixth).

In 1995, Ailara was on the Italian team that lost to the Netherlands for the right to compete at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, the first-time softball was on the Olympic programme. Ailara was also a member of the Italian team that defeated the Netherlands in 1999 at the Olympic qualifier, and competed at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.