(See for a picture package on Cesarini and her mastery of pole dancing) She was the only athlete to compete in the disability category and was awarded the gold medal. Three years later, in 2021 she competed in the International Pole Sports Federation's virtual world pole and aerial championship.īecause of the COVID-19 pandemic, pole dancers from around the world submitted videos of their performances and were judged virtually. I just know that I (woke up and) went to her and I said that I wanted to do pole dance," Cesarini said. "I don't know if maybe I saw it on social media first, or I dreamt it, I don't know. So her mother was more than a bit surprised when her daughter told her she wanted to be an acrobatic pole dancer. MAGIONE, Italy : Fifteen-year-old Francesca Cesarini was born with no hands and with only one leg. That's the difficult thing." REUTERS/Yara Nardi "There are some difficult elements (like) when you have to contort yourself or maybe you have to hold on with just an arm, a leg, or a foot. Cesarini was born with no hands and with only one leg but she chose an increasingly popular sport that anyone would find difficult, she wanted to be an acrobatic pole dancer. REUTERS/Yara Nardiįrancesca Cesarini, 15, practices pole dancing at home in Magione, near Perugia, Italy, November 12, 2021. In 2021 she competed in the International Pole Sports Federation's virtual world pole and aerial championship. Cesarini chose an increasingly popular sport that anyone would find difficult, she wanted to be an acrobatic pole dancer. She likes to go to McDonalds and loves all things about Harry Potter. Like many girls her age, she wears braces on her teeth and a black plastic choker necklace. Cesarini was born with no hands and with only one leg. Photographs and medals won by Francesca Cesarini, 15, are displayed on a shelf at her home in Magione, near Perugia, Italy, November 15, 2021. Cesarini was born with no hands and with only one leg so her mother was more than a bit surprised when her daughter told her she wanted to be an acrobatic pole dancer. That's the difficult thing." REUTERS/Yara Nardiįrancesca Cesarini, 15, practices pole dancing at home while her mother Valeria Mencaroni, 47, watches, in Magione, near Perugia, Italy, November 15, 2021. REUTERS/Yara Nardiįrancesca Cesarini, 15, trains at the ASD Plume Academy in Perugia, Italy, November 13, 2021.
Francesca Cesarini, 15, practices pole dancing at home in Magione, near Perugia, Italy, November 15, 2021.