Print Biography / Save as PDF 
VECCHI Irene
NOC Italy   
GenderWomen
Born 10 Jun 1989 in Livorno, ITA
Height1.70 m
Human Interest
Sport Specific Information
Club / Team GS Fiamme Gialle [ITA] / Frascati Scherma [ITA]:
Handedness Right
Further Personal Information
Occupation Police Athlete
Residence Livorno, ITA
Higher education Political Science - University of Pisa: Italy
Sport Specific Information
Why this sport? Her mother was working at a fencing hall and decided to enrol her in classes. "I still remember my first day, I would not leave the house to go to the hall, my feet propped up at the door and Giulio, my younger brother, pulling me from the other side. I still have a clear image of how I was dressed. Having overcome the obstacle of setting foot in the gym, it was love at first sight."
When and where did you begin this sport? She began the sport at age eight at a fencing school in Livorno, Italy.
Further Personal Information
Languages English, Italian
General Interest
Famous relatives Her husband Marco Ciari has represented Italy in fencing, and won silver in team sabre at the 2009 World University Games in Belgrade, Serbia. He has also coached the Italian wheelchair fencing team. (corrieredellosport.it, 27 Nov 2023; SportsDeskOnline, 21 Jun 2019; Instagram profile, 21 Jun 2019)
Sporting philosophy / motto "Sabre is my passion. It has given me so much that I will carry in my heart forever. On dark days it can also be quite painful because in the end you fight with yourself to overcome the limits that you encounter along the way." (oasport.it, 26 Apr 2019)
Further Personal Information
Family Husband Marco Ciari, son Gregorio [2023]
General Interest
Hobbies Travelling. (Instagram profile, 18 Mar 2021)
Other information OLYMPIC FRUSTRATION
She said she was disappointed after the Italian women's sabre team finished fourth for the second Olympic Games in a row, following a comeback win for the Republic of Korea in the bronze-medal match at the 2020 Games in Tokyo. "The disappointment is huge. It has been five long years with one goal in mind, and not reaching it is painful. It seems a bit of a curse. We saw the monster of five years ago in Rio again. We were ahead, they [the Korean team] had nothing to lose and managed to recover. You see a thousand comebacks over a season, it is not the first nor will it be the last. It is part of fencing. We tried until the end to recover and are sorry not to have made it. We must also be able to accept defeat and recognise that in recent years our opponents have also become more competitive." (Instagram profile, 10 Aug 2021; iltelegrafolivorno.it, 31 Jul 2021)

Major Results
Year Rank Event Venue
Olympic Games
2020 4 Team Sabre Tokyo, Japan
2016 4 Team Sabre Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
2012 Quarterfinal Individual Sabre London, England
World Championships
2019 4 Team Sabre Budapest, Hungary
2018 4 Team Sabre Wuxi, China
2017 1 Team Sabre Leipzig, Germany
2017 3 Individual Sabre Leipzig, Germany
2013 3 Individual Sabre Budapest, Hungary
2011 7 Individual Sabre Catania, Italy
2011 7 Team Sabre Catania, Italy
2010 5 Individual Sabre Paris, France
2010 7 Team Sabre Paris, France
2009 5 Team Sabre Antalya, Turkey
2007 4 Team Sabre St. Petersburg, Russia
European Championships
2024 Final 7-8 Team Sabre Basel, Switzerland
2019 4 Team Sabre Düsseldorf, Germany
2019 Quarterfinal Individual Sabre Düsseldorf, Germany
2018 4 Team Sabre Novi Sad, Serbia
2017 1 Team Sabre Tbilisi, Georgia
2015 7 Individual Sabre Montreux, Switzerland
2013 3 Individual Sabre Zagreb, Croatia
2013 3 Team Sabre Zagreb, Croatia
2010 3 Team Sabre Leipzig, Germany
2009 3 Team Sabre Plovdiv, Bulgaria
2008 6 Team Sabre Kiev, Ukraine
2007 4 Team Sabre Ghent, Belgium
2006 5 Team Sabre Izmir, Turkey