Rigivan Ganeshamoorthy

Rigivan Ganeshamoorthy

Ganeshamoorthy in March 2025
Personal information
Nationality	Italian
Born	(1999-06-08) 8 June 1999 Rome, Italy
Sport
Sport	Para-athletics
Disability	Guillain–Barré syndrome
Disability class	F52
Events	Discus throw shot put javelin throw
Club	A.S. Anthropos Civitanova Marche
Achievements and titles
Personal bests	Javelin throw: 20.99 m (2024, WR) Discus throw: 27.06 m (2024, WR) Shot put: 11.73 m (2024)
Medal record Para-athletics Representing Italy Paralympic Games 2024 Paris Discus throw

Rigivan "Riggi" Ganeshamoorthy (Italian pronunciation: [ˈriːdʒivaŋ ɡaneʃʃaˈmurti, ˈriddʒi -]; Tamil: ரிஜீவன் கணேசமூர்த்தி; born 8 June 1999) is an Italian para-athlete, competing in F52 throwing events. He represented Italy at the 2024 Summer Paralympics, winning a gold medal and setting a new world record in the discus throw.

Early life

Ganeshamoorthy was born in Rome to Sri Lankan Tamil parents. In 2017, he was diagnosed with Guillain–Barré syndrome, which was aggravated by a cervical injury resulting from a fall in 2019. As a result, after trying wheelchair basketball, in 2019 he began practicing Paralympic athletics, specializing in throwing.

Career

In 2023, Ganeshamoorthy was the Italian Paralympic champion in the shot put F55 and the discus throw F54–F55. The following year he was again Italian champion in the shot put and discus throw, setting the European Paralympic record F52 in both disciplines; he also holds the Paralympic world record F52 in the javelin throw, with a measurement of 20.99 m, which he set at the Italian championships, and his personal best in the shot put (11.73 m) is 1 cm under the world record held by André Rocha.

In 2024, Ganeshamoorthy made his international debut at the Summer Paralympics, where he won the gold medal in the discus throw F52 with the new Paralympic world record brought to 27.06 m.