Mirka Francia

{{Infobox volleyball biography

| name = Mirka Francia

| image =

| imagesize =

| caption =

| fullname = Mirka Francia Vasconcelos

| nickname =

| nationality = Cuban/Italian

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1975|02|14|df=y}}

| birth_place = Santa Clara, Cuba

| death_date =

| death_place =

| hometown = Perugia

| height = 1.84 m

| weight = 73 kg

| spike = 3.24 m

| block = 3.10 m

| position = Middle blocker (Cuban national team) / Wing spiker

| currentnumber = 16 (Cuban national team)

| currentclub =

| years1 = 2014

| club1 =

| nationalyears1 = 1991–2000

| nationalteam1 = {{vbw|Cuba}}

| medaltemplates =

{{MedalCountry | {{CUB}} }}

File:Olympic rings.svg

}}

Mirka Francia Vasconcelos (born 14 February 1975) 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.

Francia was inducted into the International Volleyball Hall of Fame in 2019.{{cite web | url=https://www.volleyhall.org/mirka-francia.html |website=International Volleyball Hall of Fame |title=Mirka Francia |access-date=September 2, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230605071122/https://www.volleyhall.org/mirka-francia.html |archive-date=June 5, 2023 |url-status=live }}

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. She won gold medals with the national team at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta and at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. She played on the national team that won the FIVB World Championship in 1994 and 1998. She also helped Cuba win the gold medal at the 1995 Pan American Games and the silver medal at the 1999 Pan American Games.{{Cite web |url=https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/94534 |website=Olympedia |title=Mirka Francis |access-date=September 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230522151447/https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/94534 |archive-date=May 22, 2023 |url-status=live }}

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.{{cite web

|url=http://www.cev.lu/mmp/online/website/news/news_archive/news_archive_2008/news_archive_2008_04/11476_EN.html

|title=Second Indesit Champions' League trophy for Colussi PERUGIA

|author=CEV

|accessdate=2010-06-10

|url-status=dead

|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722153640/http://www.cev.lu/mmp/online/website/news/news_archive/news_archive_2008/news_archive_2008_04/11476_EN.html

|archivedate=2011-07-22

}} She then won the 2007 CEV Cup title, and was selected as the "Best Scorer".{{cite web

|url=http://www.cev.lu/mmp/online/website/news/news_archive/news_archive_2007/news_archive_2007_03/8353_EN.html

|title=Sirio perugia wins CEV cup after Champions League

|author=CEV

|accessdate=2010-03-16

|url-status=dead

|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20091124220025/http://www.cev.lu/mmp/online/website/news/news_archive/news_archive_2007/news_archive_2007_03/8353_EN.html

|archivedate=2009-11-24

}} She acquired Italian citizenship in 2004.

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;{{cite web

|url = http://www.voleibolportol.com/ampliar.php?id=12715

|title = Stepanenko y Contreras galardonados por la CEV como mejores jugadores de la primera fase de la Champions

|author = Voleibol Portol

|language = Spanish

|accessdate = 2010-03-16

|url-status = dead

|archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20090819012308/http://www.voleibolportol.com/ampliar.php?id=12715

|archivedate = 2009-08-19

}} and the "Best Spiker", "Best Server", and "Top Scorer" of the 2009 Turkish Championship.{{cite web

|url=http://www.volleyball.it/redazione/layoutReader.php?action=viewArticle&articleId=45105

|title=Turchia: Il Fenerbahce vince il campionato femminile

|author=Volleyball.it

|language=Italian

|accessdate=2010-03-16

|url-status=dead

|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722065849/http://www.volleyball.it/redazione/layoutReader.php?action=viewArticle&articleId=45105

|archivedate=2011-07-22

}}

Clubs

Romanelli Firenze (1998–1999)
Sirio Perugia (1999–2008)
Eczacibasi Zentiva Istanbul (2008–2012)
20px Top Quality Group San Giustino (2014–2016)

Awards

=Individuals=

1999 FIVB World Cup "Best Blocker"
2008 Champions League Final Four "Best Spiker"
2009 Champions League Regular Season "Best Scorer"
2009 Turkish Championship "Top Scorer"
2009 Turkish Championship "Best Spiker"
2009 Turkish Championship "Best Server"

=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

External links

{{sports links}}
[https://www.volleyhall.org/mirka-francia.html International Volleyball Hall of Fame profile]
[https://olympics.com/en/athletes/mirka-francia Mirka Francia at Olympics.com]
[https://women.volleybox.net/mirka-francia-p2458 Volleybox.net profile]
[https://web.archive.org/web/20080705200731/http://www.pallavoloperugia.com/giocatrici/07/13_07.php Despar Sirio profile of Mirka Francia] (archived)