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Romina Armellini

Romina Armellini - cancer survivor and Olympian

Born of Italian parents and raised in Johannesburg, she attended Crawford College and swam with the Wanderers Club. She graduated from UNISA in 2016 with a bachelor's degree in Psychology.  

At the 2000 South African Short Course Championships in Cape Town, she beat Charlene Wittstock into second place by winning the 50m backstroke.  In 2002 she was diagnosed with a cancerous tumour in the thyroid gland, which was soon confirmed to be stage two thyroid cancer.

They told me that going back to swimming at a competitive level was impossible. because during the surgery to remove the tumor, I had also removed part of the back muscle, and they found traces on the lungs and breathing would be more difficult. I wanted to swim, I was wondering if I should die today, what do I want to do?

After treatment, she resumed competitive swimming, and in 2003 she was part of the South African team to the Mare Nostrum Series in Canet and Barcelona. 

In 2004 Romina moved to Verona where she was coached by Italian national coach Alberto Castagnetti at the Circolo Canottieri Aniene swimming club. She won seven national Italian titles between 2004 - 2011. In 2007 she swam for Italy at the 24th Universiade in Bangkok. 

In 2008 she set an Italian national record for 100m backstroke in short course.  At the European Swimming Championships in 2008 in Eindhoven, Romina made the final of the women's 200m backstroke. In 2008 she also broke the Italian record for short course 200m backstroke.  At the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008, she competed for Italy in the 100m backstroke and the 4x100m medley relay. 

Today Romina is married to Christian Caravello and lives back in Johannesburg, where they run an Italian delicatessen called Mafiosi.  

Romina Armellini's story is also a beautiful story from the world of swimming. Born in South Africa, in Johannesburg, in 1984, she was a South African national representative athlete. In 2002, at the age of 18, she was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. But Romina didn't stop and in 2004 she tried for the Olympic at the South African trials.

Having missed the opportunity to go with South Africa, Romina was discovered in Verona by Alberto Castagnetti and, using her father's Italian passport, began her career with Azzurro, which culminated in the Beijing Olympics. Interviewed by Christian Zicche for swimbiz, Romina talks about her daily training to get closer to the London Olympics

CHOC Ambassador Romina Armellini’s journey to survival

January 23, 2017

Born in Johannesburg South Africa, like most swimmers I started swimming at a young age.

I had a progressive and successful junior career until the age of 17 years – a point where I was ranked 2nd globally in my event/age group and already competing in finals at World Grand Prix contests. It was at this point in my athletic career that my potential was just starting to show.

On a routine visit to my GP due to flu, my life changed from being an athlete to being that of a patient. I was sent immediately for further testing and investigation into swollen glands around my throat. Five days later I was diagnosed with stage 2 thyroid cancer. Two days after the diagnosis I was on the operating table scheduled for the removal of my thyroid. However once in theatre, it was discovered that the cancer was not in stage 2 but stage 4.  After ten hours of operation I no longer had a thyroid, 3 parathyroids, or a piece of my back muscle. In addition, the surgeon had to scrape pieces of cancer off my lungs.  

One of the hardest things about cancer is the endless trips to and from the hospital for constant treatments and controls. My story was no different to other cancer patients. I underwent radiation therapy a few times with increasing intensity until they found that the cancer had spread to the liver as well. At this point (5 months after the first diagnosis) it was estimated that I had a 20% chance of surviving.At this point, I had chosen to stop treatment and enjoy my quality of life on a day-to-day basis.A month later I went for a control scan and the doctors were shocked to find that the cancer had completely disappeared. All were in shock except for me because while I was going through this whole experience I continued to swim (even though doctors said it was physically impossible) but in a completely different way.I no longer swam for the medals; I swam for the love of the water and felt the miracle that exists behind every breath. Living in this way I no longer feared death.

My love and passion for sport gave me discipline and taught me how to believe even against the odds. I continued swimming in this way; moved to Italy (as I was offered sponsorship opportunities) and managed to achieve many of my dreams: University Games, European Championships, World Championships, and Olympics in 2008. Since 2009 I have retired as a swimmer and worked as a life coach and motivator as well as volunteering on many projects that better the lives of those involved with cancer in Italy: I have two Guinness world records (2009 and 2012) for the longest continuous swim relay and I was a spokesperson (2008-2012) for “Citta delle Speranze” (City of Hope) – a paediatric hospital specialising in treatment for cancer in Padova, Italy.

Now back in my country of birth. I intend to continue sharing hope through being an example and sharing the lessons that I have learned. It is for this reason that I contacted CHOC, who have graciously opened their doors to me. 

https://apcc.org.za/hpca-newsroom/choc-ambassador-romina-armellini-s-journey-to-survival/