Imola, 30 January 2026 – It is not just a sporting victory, but the arrival point of a journey built day after day between rehabilitation, training and determination. Riccardo Brunoan 18-year-old from Genoa who in 2019 was hospitalized atMontecatone Institutewon the title of Italian junior pararchery champion at the end of the Fitarco races held in recent days in Lamezia Terme.
A success that came just over six years after a serious one spinal cord trauma which had taken away the use of his lower limbs and matured in a surprisingly short time.
Riccardo’s accident in Costa Rica in 2019
Riccardo’s story begins in 2019, when he is just 12 years old. During a holiday in Costa Rica he is hit in the neck by a stingray: “The bony sting present in the fish’s tail caused a spinal injury at the height of the sixth cervical vertebra”, reconstructed by Montecatone.
Transferred to Italy on a humanitarian flight with his family, Riccardo was hospitalized inMaggiore hospital Of Bolognawhere the medical team chooses not to proceed with surgery, instead focusing on an intensive and continuous rehabilitation process.
During rehabilitation his passion for archery was born
That’s right during the rehabilitation that the encounter with archery was born. “The discipline is permanently included in programs dedicated to people with spinal cord and/or brain injury and is not considered a simple recreational activity”, they recall from Montecatone.
Sport enters the clinical project through Re-education in sporting gesturesan approach that works on trunk control, motor reactivity, cardiorespiratory capacity and safe wheelchair management, with a value that is both therapeutic and inclusive.
From that experience a path took shape that led Riccardo from the rehabilitation field to the competitive field, up to the conquest of a national category title. A goal which, as highlighted by Montecatone, “measures the consistency of personal commitment and the effectiveness of a structured path, followed step by step”.
The Montecatone Institute in Imola (archive photo)
The collaboration between the Montecatone Institute and the Italian Paralympic Committee
Riccardo’s result fits into a broader context. The institute collaborates regularly with the Italian Paralympic Committee and with local sports associations to offer structured programs, which include archery and shooting among the various disciplines, thanks to the support of qualified technicians and coaches.
Several former patients have continued sporting activity to high competitive levels, confirming how sport discovered during rehabilitation can transform into a real life project.
