From coma to rebirth: Claudia Cretti dominates the Para-cycling World Championships in Rio with four golds (and world records)

Claudia Cretti wrote a memorable page for Italian paracycling, winning four golds at the 2025 Track Paracycling World Championships in Rio de Janeiro. After the dramatic fall in the 2017 Giro Rosa, which left her in a coma for three weeks, the 29-year-old from Costa Volpino took control of her life and career, transforming the tragedy into a path of sporting and personal rebirth.

Successes at the Paralympic World Championships

Cretti dominated the races in the C5 category, imposing herself in the sprint, in the standing kilometre, in the Scratch and in the elimination, also setting a world record in the standing km with a time of 1’12.028 and an average of almost 50 km/h. Behind her were high-level opponents such as the New Zealander Nicole Murray and the Argentine Analia Mariela Delgado, demonstrating the superiority and consistency of the Italian athlete.

The path of recovery and rebirth

Eight years ago, a fall during a race at over 70 km/h put Claudia’s life at risk. After two head operations and a long rehabilitation, he had to start from the basics again: from his first steps to recovering his speech and daily activities. The support of her family and the meeting with Alex Zanardi, who taught her to focus on what remains and not on what is lost, were decisive in her return to competitive sport.

The new career in paracycling

Claudia re-entered the world of cycling as a Paralympic athlete, initially competing with the Born to Win Women’s Team. After years of constant progress, she obtained the opportunity to return to competing among the professionals, thanks also to the collaboration with the Top Girls Fassa Bortolo and the support of the Italian Cycling Federation and the coach Paolo Addesi.

Italy protagonist in Rio: third place in the medal table

Thanks to Cretti’s poker, Italy closed the Paralympic World Championships with 7 overall medals (4 gold, 2 silver and 1 bronze), taking third place in the medal table behind Australia and Great Britain. In addition to Claudia’s golds, there were silvers in the tandems and pursuit, while the bronze was obtained by the Meroni-Ceci duo. A result that confirms the growth of the Italian Paralympic movement and lays solid foundations for upcoming international events, including the Los Angeles 2028 Games.

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