Mirka Francia
Personal information
Full nameMirka Francia Vasconcelos
NationalityCuban/Italian
Born (1975-02-14) 14 February 1975
Santa Clara, Cuba
HometownPerugia
Height1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)
Weight73 kg (161 lb)
Spike3.24 m (128 in)
Block3.10 m (122 in)
Volleyball information
PositionMiddle blocker (Cuban national team) / Wing spiker
Number16 (Cuban national team)
National team
1991-2000 Cuba
Honours
Women's volleyball
Representing  Cuba
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1996 AtlantaTeam
Gold medal – first place 2000 SydneyTeam
World Championship
Gold medal – first place 1994 Brazil Team
Gold medal – first place 1998 Japan Team
FIVB World Cup
Gold medal – first place 1999 Japan Team
World Grand Champions Cup
Silver medal – second place 1997 Tokyo
World Grand Prix
Gold medal – first place 1993 Team
Gold medal – first place 2000 Team
Silver medal – second place 1994 Team
Silver medal – second place 1996 Team
Silver medal – second place 1997 Team
Bronze medal – third place 1995 Team
Bronze medal – third place 1998 Team
NORCECA Championship
Gold medal – first place 1991 Regina
Gold medal – first place 1993 Colorado Springs
Gold medal – first place 1995 Santo Domingo
Gold medal – first place 1997 Caguas
Gold medal – first place 1999 Monterrey
Pan American Games
Gold medal – first place 1991 Havana Team
Gold medal – first place 1995 Mar Del Plata Team
Silver medal – second place 1999 Winnipeg Team
Central American and Caribbean Games
Gold medal – first place1998 MaracaiboTeam

Mirka Francia Vasconcelos (born 14 February 1975, in Santa Clara, Cuba), more commonly known as Mirka Francia, is a Cuban-Italian retired volleyball player who won two Olympic gold medals with the Cuban women's national volleyball team. At 1.84 m (6 ft) tall, she played as a middle blocker before transitioning to an outside hitter later in her career.[1]

Francia was inducted into the International Volleyball Hall of Fame in 2019.[1]

National team

Born in Santa Clara, Cuba, Francia first played volleyball at age nine, and joined the junior national team in Havana four years later.[1] She won gold medals with the national team at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta and at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney.[1] She played on the national team that won the FIVB World Championships in 1994 and 1998.[1] She also helped Cuba win the gold medal at the 1995 Pan American Games and the silver medal at the 1999 Pan American Games.[2]

Club volleyball

In the 1998–99 season, Francia played for Romanelli Firenze in the Italian second division before joining Sirio Perugia for the following season. She skipped the 2000–01 season because of pregnancy, but rejoined Sirio Perugia the next year. With the team, she won the Italian Championship three times (2002–03, 2004–05, 2006–07) and the Italian Cup two times (2003, 2005). She also won the CEV Champions League title in 2006 and 2008, and was selected as the "Best Spiker" on both occasions.[3] She then won the 2007 CEV Cup title, and was selected as the "Best Scorer".[4] She acquired Italian citizenship in 2004.[1]

For the 2008-09 season, Francia played for the Turkish team Eczacibasi Istanbul. With this team, she won the "Best Scorer" title for the Champions League regular 2009 season;[5] and the "Best Spiker", "Best Server", and "Top Scorer" of the 2009 Turkish Championship.[6]

Clubs

Awards

Individuals

Clubs

  • 2000 Copa Coppe - Champion, with Despar Perugia
  • 2003 Italian Cup - Champion, with Despar Perugia
  • 2003 Italian Championship - Champion, with Despar Perugia
  • 2005 Italian Cup - Champion, with Sirio Perugia
  • 2005 CEV Cup - Champion, with Sirio Perugia
  • 2005 Italian Championship - Champion, with Sirio Perugia
  • 2005–06 CEV Indesit Champions League - Champion, with Sirio Perugia
  • 2006 Coppa di Lega - Champion, with Sirio Perugia
  • 2007 Italian Cup - Champion, with Sirio Perugia
  • 2007 CEV Cup - Champion, with Sirio Perugia
  • 2007 Italian Championship - Champion, with Sirio Perugia
  • 2007 Italian Super Cup - Champion, with Sirio Perugia
  • 2007–08 CEV Indesit Champions League - Champion, with Colussi Perugia
  • 2009 Turkish Championship - Runner-Up, with Eczacibasi Zentiva Istanbul
  • 2011 Turkish Cup - Champion, with Eczacıbaşı VitrA

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Mirka Francia". International Volleyball Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on 5 June 2023. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
  2. ↑ "Mirka Francis". Olympedia. Archived from the original on 22 May 2023. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
  3. ↑ CEV. "Second Indesit Champions' League trophy for Colussi PERUGIA". Archived from the original on 22 July 2011. Retrieved 10 June 2010.
  4. ↑ CEV. "Sirio perugia wins CEV cup after Champions League". Archived from the original on 24 November 2009. Retrieved 16 March 2010.
  5. ↑ Voleibol Portol. "Stepanenko y Contreras galardonados por la CEV como mejores jugadores de la primera fase de la Champions" (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 19 August 2009. Retrieved 16 March 2010.
  6. ↑ Volleyball.it. "Turchia: Il Fenerbahce vince il campionato femminile" (in Italian). Archived from the original on 22 July 2011. Retrieved 16 March 2010.
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