Mirka Francia Vasconcelos (born 14 February 1975, in Santa Clara, Cuba) 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.
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 Championships 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.
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 has won the Italian Championship three times (2002–03, 2004–05, 2006–07) and the Italian Cup two times (2003, 2005), also winning the Women's CEV Champions League in 2006 and 2008 also being awarded "Best Spiker", and the 2007 CEV Cup when she was awarded "Best Scorer". She acquired Italian citizenship in 2004.
For the 2008-09 season, Francia started playing for the Turkish team Eczacibasi Istanbul. With this team, she won the "Best Scorer" title for the Champions League regular 2009 season; and the Best Spiker, Best Server, and Top Scorer of the 2009 Turkish Championship.
Clubs
Romanelli Firenze (1998–1999) Sirio Perugia (1999–2008) Eczacibasi Zentiva Istanbul (2008–2012) 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
International Volleyball Hall of Fame Profile
Mirka Francia at Olympics.com
Volleybox.net Profile
Despar Sirio Profile of Mirka Francia (archived)