Gregorio Paltrinieri

Gregorio Paltrinieri is an Italian competitive swimmer, born on 5 September 1994 in Carpi, who built his career on the longest pool distances and on open water. After swimming breaststroke until about the age of twelve, he moved to freestyle and became a specialist in the 800 and 1500 metre events. His first international medals came at the 2011 European Junior Championships, and he reached the Olympic 1500 metre final at the age of seventeen in 2012. He won Olympic gold in the 1500 metre freestyle at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro, and in 2015 he set a short course world record in the same event, breaking a mark that had stood since 2001. He has since won world and European titles in the pool and in 10 kilometre and 5 kilometre open water races, and he holds European long course records at 800 and 1500 metres.