GREGORIO PALTRINIERI

When Gregorio won bronze in the 10km open water at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, the Italian Swimming Federation called him “the man of miracles”.

“SuperGreg” had overcome mononucleosis which threatened his participation and he said: “It is the right reward after two months of hell. I leave Tokyo with two medals and I can feel satisfied.”

Gregorio is passionate about basketball.

He is a fan of the New York Knicks but draws inspiration from Kobe Bryant who played for the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA and was killed in a helicopter crash in January 2020.

He told Gazzetta dello Sport: “His mentality, the ‘Mamba Mentality’, was a great inspiration for me especially in the last period (of time when he was ill).”

Born in the ancient city of Carpi, he was introduced to the water by his parents at three-months-old.

He switched from breaststroke to freestyle and moved to Ostia to start a nine-year training relationship with Stefano Morini, sharing a room with double Olympic medallist Gabriele Detti.

As soon as he won gold at Rio 2016, his thoughts turned to open water.

“I love swimming in the ocean more than in the pool,” he told Olympics.com

“It’s also a long race, like a Formula One race, and you can change tactics while you’re swimming.”

In 2020, he switched coaches from Morini to Fabrizio Antonelli, saying: “I feel like the child telling his family that he is going to leave home, with all the responsibilities that follow.”