Federica Biscia

Italian swimmer Federica Biscia was born in Torino but lived in the city of Mondovì, where her grandfather was a space engineer, and friend of the first man to make a manned space flight, Yuri Gagarin. Biscia started competing in both national and junior European competitions at the age of 14, and at 15 won the first of her 14 Italian breaststroke titles (4 at 100 m. and 10 at 200 m.). She was one of the best breaststroke and medley swimmers in Italy in the 2000s.

Coached by Gianni Nagni and Francesco Marangio, Biscia’s first international win was the 200 breaststroke in 2:33.39 at the 1997 Mediterranean Games at Bari. She also took the bronze in the 100 in 1:12.52. She took part in three European Championships at Sevilla (1997), Helsinki (2000) and Berlin (2002), the European Short-course Championships at Antwerp (2001) and Riesa (2002), and the Worlds at Athens in 2000. Biscia’s only Olympic participation was at Sydney in 2000 when she competed only in the medley events, but did not advance to either final. In spite of controversies with the national coach, Alberto Castagnetti, she still won a silver medal in the 400 medley at the 2001 Mediterranean Games in a time of 4:50.57, and at that year’s Beijing Summer Universiade, won the gold medal in 4:45.85.

Her active competitive career came to an end in 2002 when she won her last two Italian titles (both medley). She later became a swimming coach with the Libertas Mondovì club. Having had five children it was no surprise that she went on to open three childcare centres with her business partner Stefania Lo Presti.