Gregorio Paltrinieri’s sporting history has been swimming in Italy for the past fifteen years. In fact at all times, as “Greg” as he has been nicknamed over the years, represents the best in Italy in the pool.
Linked for years to swordsman Rossella Fiamingo, team gold medal in Paris on the same day as Greg’s bronze in the 800 freestyle, Paltrinieri began swimming under the guidance of his father, Luca, a good swimmer, manager of the swimming pool in Novellara and then in Carpi, a city where Greg was born. Moving to Ostia to follow Stefano Morini, who meanwhile became his coach, he started as a breaststrokera specialty performed until the age of twelve. His large size imposes a free stylewhere he achieved all his successes. A member of the State Police team since 2012, he is one of only three Italians (the others are Massimiliano Rosolino and Thomas Ceccon) to have won an Olympic medal in every metal.
It is in his palmares gold at the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Games in the 1500 freestyle, a race where he came within a whisker of breaking the world record. Behind him Connor Jaeger and the other Italian Gabriele Detti. Silver in 800 meters in the pool and bronze in 10 kilometers in open water at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. So he is the third athlete in history to win a medal in swimming and open water in the same edition of the Games. Before tonight’s podium, he already achieved bronze in the 800 meter freestyle in Paris. The main one is being the only Italian swimmer to medal in three consecutive editions of the Games.
His great passion is basketball, in fact he dreams of playing in the NBA and supports the New York Knicks, while his swimming idol is the Australian Ian Thorpe who won 5 medals in the 2000 Sydney Games (three gold and two silver). Greg watched him on TV, for years millions of Italians rooted for him from the couch at home waiting for him to hit his goal. Mission accomplished.