Paola Egonu Explained

Paola Egonu
Full Name:Paola Ogechi Egonu
Birth Date:18 December 1998
Birth Place:Cittadella, Italy
Height:1.95m (06.4feet)[1]
Weight:79 kg
Spike:3.44 m
Block:3.21 m
Position:Opposite
Currentclub: Vero Volley Milano[2]
Years1:2013–2017
Club1: Club Italia
Years2:2017–2019
Club2: AGIL Novara
Years3:2019–2022
Club3: Imoco Volley Conegliano
Years4:2022–2023
Club4: VakıfBank S.K.
Years5:2023–
Club5: Vero Volley Milano
Nationalyears:2015–
Nationalteam: Italy
Show-Medals:yes

Paola Ogechi Egonu (pronounced as /it/; born 18 December 1998) is an Italian professional volleyball player.[3] She plays for Italian volleyball club Vero Volley Milano and is part of the Italy women's national volleyball team.

Early life

Egonu was born in Cittadella, Italy, to Nigerian parents.[4] [5] She has two siblings, Angela and Andrea, and a cousin, Terry Enweonwu, who also plays volleyball.[6] [7] She received Italian citizenship at age fourteen.[8]

She was awarded the prize for Woman of the Year 2019 by D - la Repubblica delle donne, a weekly magazine of La Repubblica.[9]

Career

National team

Egonu began playing for the Italian national team in 2015. That year, she led Italy's junior teams to gold at the U18 World Championship, where she was named MVP of the tournament, and bronze at the U20 World Championship.[10] At age 17, she participated in the 2016 Summer Olympics, where she placed ninth overall with her team.[11]

In 2018, Egonu helped her team win silver at the 2018 World Championship in Japan; she finished the tournament with 324 points in 13 matches, averaging nearly 25 points per match, and a new record of 45 points scored in a match during Italy's semifinals match against China.[12]

At the 2020 Summer Olympics, Egonu was a flag-bearer during the Opening Ceremony. Italy placed sixth after losing to Serbia in the quarterfinals.[13]

In 2022, Egonu and the Italian national team earned Italy's first-ever medal at the Volleyball Nations League, where they won gold. Egonu was the leading scorer of the finals, amassing a total of 83 points over three matches. She was named Most Valuable Player and Best Opposite of the tournament.[14]

Egonu took a break from playing with Italy's national team due to racism she experienced in Italy and on social media. She returned to playing with Italy in 2024 under new coach Julio Velasco.[15] That year, Egonu led Italy to repeat its 2022 performance at the Volleyball Nations League, where she once again earned MVP. At the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, Italy won its first-ever gold medal, with Egonu being named MVP and Best Opposite.[16] [17]

In August 2024, a newly-unveiled mural of Egonu near to the Italian National Olympic Committee headquarters in Rome was defaced, with Egonu's skin repainted pink and an anti-racism message obscured. Deputy Prime Minister Antonio Tajani described the vandalism as a "serious gesture of vulgar racism", while Roberto Gualtieri, the Mayor of Rome, said it was "a vile insult to a great Italian, who has brought the colours of our country to the top of the world, and to an artist committed to fighting against xenophobia."[18]

Professional clubs

At the club level, Egonu has primarily played in Italian clubs; she played for Club Italia in 2015, AGIL Novara from 2017 to 2019, and Imoco Volley Conegliano from 2019 to 2022. She spent the 2022–2023 season playing for Turkish club VakifBank before returning to Italy to play for Vero Volley Milano in 2023.[19] With AGIL Novara, Egonu earned a CEV Champions League title, two Italian Cups, and one Super Cup. She won the Club World Championship with Imoco Volley in 2019 and the CEV Champions League in 2023 with Vakifbank.[20]

As of 2024, Egonu holds women's volleyball records for highest jump, fastest serve, and fastest spike.[21]

In other media

In 2020, she dubbed the character Dreamerwind (Italian: Sognaluna Dibrezza), originally voiced by Cathy Cavadini, for the Italian version of the animation movie Soul, produced by Disney and Pixar.[22]

She co-presented the Italian show Le Iene in its 2020–2021 season.[23] She appeared as a co-presenter at the Sanremo Music Festival in 2023 with festival host Amadeus and singer Gianni Morandi.[24]

Awards

Clubs

Individuals

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Archived copy . 2023-10-26 . 2022-10-20 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221020232342/https://women.volleybox.net/tr/paola-egonu-p3985 . live .
  2. Web site: PTUR W: Paola Egonu returns to Italy, joins Vero Volley. volleyballworld. Volleyball World. 29 July 2023. 2023-07-29. 2023-07-29. https://web.archive.org/web/20230729162543/https://en.volleyballworld.com/volleyball/competitions/legavolley-femminile-a1-2022/news/paola-egonu-returns-to-italy-joins-vero-volley. live.
  3. Web site: Paola, Sara e Valentina: è colorata la nuova Italia del volley femminile. Corriere.it. Eleonora Cozzari. 9 January 2016. 2016-01-07. 2017-08-10. https://web.archive.org/web/20170810092500/http://www.corriere.it/sport/16_gennaio_07/paola-sara-valentina-colorata-nuova-italia-volley-femminile-c98ea7a0-b536-11e5-8efc-b58ffc8363b9.shtml. live.
  4. Web site: Paola, Sara e Valentina: è colorata la nuova Italia del volley femminile. Bergamo. Cozzari. Eleonora. Corriere della Sera. Italian. 7 January 2016. 25 December 2017. 26 December 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171226130548/http://www.corriere.it/sport/16_gennaio_07/paola-sara-valentina-colorata-nuova-italia-volley-femminile-c98ea7a0-b536-11e5-8efc-b58ffc8363b9.shtml?refresh_ce-cp. live.
  5. News: Paola Egonu: 'Le mie lacrime in Giappone e la lezione della mia fidanzata' . Paola Egonu: . Corriere della Sera . Candida . Morvillo . Italian . 3 November 2018 . 5 November 2018 . 16 February 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190216054416/https://www.corriere.it/cronache/18_novembre_03/mie-lacrime-giappone-13292f00-dfa7-11e8-8b9f-4c483395dbc7.shtml . live .
  6. Web site: 2017-06-20. Paola Egonu: "Schiaccio anche il razzismo. Il futuro? Da avvocato". 2022-01-06. Vanity Fair Italia. it-IT. 2022-01-06. https://web.archive.org/web/20220106092740/https://www.vanityfair.it/sport/storie-sport/2017/06/20/paola-egonu-pallavolo-nazionale-volley-amore-odio. live.
  7. Web site: 2017-04-09. Volley femminile, Europei U18 - L'Italia piange in Finale, la maledizione continua: la Russia trionfa al tie-break, argento per Enweonwu e compagne. 2022-01-06. OA Sport. it-IT. 2022-01-06. https://web.archive.org/web/20220106092739/https://www.oasport.it/2017/04/volley-femminile-europei-u18-litalia-piange-in-finale-la-maledizione-continua-la-russia-trionfa-al-tie-break-argento-per-enweonwu-e-compagne2/. live.
  8. Web site: Staff . Al Jazeera . ‘They’re going to come at you’: Paola Egonu on racism and volleyball . 2024-08-11 . Al Jazeera . en.
  9. News: Paola Egonu è la donna dell'anno D: la campionessa di volley premiata dalle lettrici . Italian . 12 December 2019 . 4 July 2019 . 4 July 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200704080909/https://rep.repubblica.it/pwa/generale/2019/12/12/news/paola_egonu_e_la_donna_dell_anno_d-243196212/ . live .
  10. Web site: Paola Egonu – FIVB . 2024-08-11 . en-US.
  11. Web site: Andracki • • . Tony . 2016-08-13 . Meet the 17-Year-Old Volleyball Phenom Who Is Taking World by Storm . 2024-08-11 . NBC Bay Area . en-US.
  12. Web site: volleyballworld.com . Player to watch: Paola Egonu, Italy . 2024-08-11 . volleyballworld.com . en.
  13. Web site: Serbia sweeps Italy 3-0, advances to play USA in semifinals NBC Olympics . 2024-08-11 . www.nbcolympics.com . en.
  14. Web site: volleyballworld.com . Paola Egonu’s fantastic performance crowned with MVP award . 2024-08-11 . volleyballworld.com . en.
  15. Web site: volleyballworld.com . Egonu returns as Velasco completes Italy’s roster for VNL 2024 . 2024-08-11 . volleyballworld.com . en.
  16. Web site: volleyballworld.com . Italy beat the USA to secure first Olympic title . 2024-08-11 . volleyballworld.com . en.
  17. Web site: volleyballworld.com . Egonu crowned as MVP in Italy’s golden campaign in Paris . 2024-08-11 . volleyballworld.com . en.
  18. Web site: . Guiffrida . Angela . ‘Vulgar racism’: outrage after mural of Italian volleyball star is vandalised . 14 August 2024 . 16 August 2024.
  19. Web site: volleyballworld.com . Paola Egonu returns to Italy, joins Vero Volley . 2024-08-11 . volleyballworld.com . en.
  20. Web site: Staff . Al Jazeera . ‘They’re going to come at you’: Paola Egonu on racism and volleyball . 11 August 2024 . Al Jazeera . en.
  21. Web site: Paola Egonu: Volleyball Star and Advocate for Change . 11 August 2024 . Al Jazeera . en.
  22. Web site: 12 December 2020 . Volley, Paola Egonu protagonista nel nuovo film della Disney: sarà la voce di Sognaluna in Soul . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220106092759/https://www.oasport.it/2020/12/volley-paola-egonu-protagonista-nel-nuovo-film-della-disney-sara-la-voce-di-sognaluna-in-soul/ . 6 January 2022 . 6 January 2022 . OA Sport . it-IT.
  23. Web site: Da Madame alla Canalis, ecco le dieci conduttrici de "Le Iene" . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20211201123634/https://www.tgcom24.mediaset.it/televisione/da-madame-alla-canalis-ecco-le-dieci-conduttrici-de-le-iene_38496686-202102k.shtml . 1 December 2021 . 6 January 2022 . Tgcom24 . IT.
  24. Web site: Rome . Wanted in . 9 February 2023 . 'Italy is a racist country' says volleyball star Paola Egonu . 11 August 2024 . Wanted in Rome . en.

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