{"id":33488,"date":"2026-07-19T02:29:34","date_gmt":"2026-07-19T02:29:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/33488\/"},"modified":"2026-07-19T02:29:34","modified_gmt":"2026-07-19T02:29:34","slug":"italian-woman-worlds-oldest-competitive-pole-dancer-at-82","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/33488\/","title":{"rendered":"Italian woman world\u2019s oldest competitive pole dancer at 82"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Most people slow down in their elder years, but Idanna Abignente decided to climb a pole instead.<\/p>\n<p>At 82, she has earned the title of the world\u2019s oldest competitive pole dancer, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ilfattoquotidiano.it\/2026\/07\/08\/a-82-anni-non-voglio-che-il-numero-decida-per-me-mi-alleno-2-3-volte-a-settimana-anche-di-piu-per-le-gare-idanna-abignente-e-la-pola-dancer-piu-anziana-al-mondo\/8442583\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Italy\u2019s FQ Magazine<\/a> \u2014 and is not about to let her birth certificate dictate what she can and can\u2019t do.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t want the number to decide for me,\u201d Abignente said. <\/p>\n<p>Idanna Abignente wows everyone with her spectacular pole dancing routines. instagram \/  Idanna Abignente<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ll turn 83 in September. I don\u2019t pretend to be 40, but I won\u2019t let my age define me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Abignente, who lives in the Italian town of Pino Torinese, discovered <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/07\/15\/us-news\/texas-pole-dancer-knocks-into-ceiling-sprinkler-floods-apartment-in-wild-video\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">pole dancing<\/a> about 12 years ago after her son\u2019s friend opened a studio in Turin, the outlet reported.<\/p>\n<p>What started as a fitness challenge quickly became a passion \u2014 and eventually a competitive career and social media stardom with her Instagram account, which boasts over 33,000 followers, attracting more than a million views on a June 4 post.<\/p>\n<p>Now she trains two or three times a week, ramping up her workouts even more before competitions.<\/p>\n<p>At the most recent championships, Abignente said she was the only athlete in her age division. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cI always win because there aren\u2019t any other competitors over 80,\u201d she joked.<\/p>\n<p>She has also competed in more than 70 categories and the oldest rival she\u2019s faced was an American woman who was 74.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI still haven\u2019t met anyone over 80,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019d really like to.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>While pole dancing is often dubiously associated with <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2025\/03\/01\/us-news\/rat-puts-on-raunchy-pole-performance-on-nyc-f-train-subway\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">exotic entertainment<\/a>, Abignente stresses that the competitive sport is a serious discipline requiring strength, balance, flexibility and endurance.<\/p>\n<p>The sexy athlete could pass for half her age. instagram \/  Idanna Abignente<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a complete sport, but also a very demanding one,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou have to learn to trust your body and endure physical exertion. Like many sports, it leaves its marks.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Success on the pole, she said, has less to do with age than attitude.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPole dance is for everyone,\u201d she said. \u201cBut it takes tenacity, determination, consistency and a high tolerance for pain.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Abignente\u2019s workouts are strenuous and disciplined. instagram \/  Idanna Abignente<\/p>\n<p>Abignente has no plans to stop anytime soon \u2014 and credits a lifetime of staying active for helping her remain fit enough to compete.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve always kept moving,\u201d Abignente said. \u201cI\u2019ve always exercised and tried not to let myself go.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Her message is one she hopes extends to seniors well beyond Italy.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot everyone has to do pole dance,\u201d she said. \u201cBut everyone can stay active.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Most people slow down in their elder years, but Idanna Abignente decided to climb a pole instead. At&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":33489,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[22777,5,22778,22779,22780,243],"class_list":["post-33488","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-italy","tag-athletes","tag-italy","tag-my-passion","tag-pole-dancing","tag-senior-citizens","tag-world-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33488","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33488"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33488\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33489"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33488"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33488"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33488"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}