Federica Pellegrini (; born 5 August 1988) is an Italian retired swimmer. A native of Mirano, in the

province of Venice The Province of Venice (''Provincia di Venezia'') was a province in the Veneto region of northern Italy. Its capital was the city of Venice. It had an area of 2,467 km2, and a total population of 846,962 (2011). The province became the Met ...

, she holds the women's 200 meters

freestyle Freestyle may refer to: Brands * Reebok Freestyle, a women's athletic shoe * Ford Freestyle, an SUV automobile * Coca-Cola Freestyle, a vending machine * ICD Freestyle, a paintball marker * Abbott FreeStyle, a blood glucose monitor by Abbott Lab ...

world record (long course, 50 m), and won a gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. At the 2009 World Championships in Rome (long course swimming pool, 50 m), Pellegrini became the first woman ever to break the 4-minute barrier in the 400 m freestyle with a time of 3:59.15. Pellegrini is the only swimmer − male or female − to have won eight medals in a row in the same event (200 meters freestyle) at the World Championships. She is also the first female Olympic champion in the history of Italian swimming and the only Italian swimmer to have set world records in more than one event. At the

2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...

, she became the first female swimmer to qualify for five consecutive Olympic finals in the same specialty (200m freestyle). She is a member of the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swis ...

(IOC). Pellegrini retired from active competition in 2021.

Biography

Career

2004 Olympics

Pellegrini's first international podium was at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, where she won the silver medal in the 200 m freestyle at the age of 16, becoming the youngest Italian athlete ever to win an Olympic medal in an individual event.

2005–2007

Pellegrini competed at the 2005 Montreal, where she got a silver in the 200 m freestyle, just behind Solenne Figuès, after being the favourite in the event, because of setting previously the best time of the season in the distance. Two years after, she took part of the 400 m freestyle, her first attempt in the event, where she finished fifth. Then she competed also at the 200 m freestyle, where, in the semi-finals, she set her first world record of her career, with a time of 1:56:47, beating the previous one belonging to

Franziska Van Almsick Franziska van Almsick (; born 5 April 1978) is a German swimmer. She won her first Olympic medals in 1992 at the Barcelona Olympic Games aged 14. Her career began at the SC Dynamo Berlin. She has the distinction of having the most career Olym ...

. But it was beaten the day after in the final by her rival

Laure Manaudou Laure Manaudou (; born 9 October 1986) is a retired French Olympic, world and European champion swimmer. She has held the world record in freestyle events between 200 and 1500 meter. She is the daughter of a French father and a Dutch mother, and s ...

, who got the gold medal and immediately broke her world record, while she got just the bronze, behind Annika Lurz too.

2008

Pellegrini's first long course (50 meters) gold medal came at the 2008 European Championships in

Eindhoven Eindhoven () is a city and municipality in the Netherlands, located in the southern province of North Brabant of which it is its largest. With a population of 238,326 on 1 January 2022,2008 Olympic Games The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Nat ...

in Beijing, she arrived as the world-record holder and favourite for the gold medal in the 400 m freestyle, having set the Olympic record in the heats (4:02.19), but only finished 5th in the final. On the same day, she recovered from that disappointment by setting a world record (1:55.45) in the heats of the 200 m freestyle; in the final, she broke her own world record (1:54.82) and won her first Olympic gold medal. Pellegrini also proved her strength in short course events at the 2008 European Short Course Championships in

Rijeka Rijeka ( , , ; also known as Fiume hu, Fiume, it, Fiume ; local Chakavian: ''Reka''; german: Sankt Veit am Flaum; sl, Reka) is the principal seaport and the third-largest city in Croatia (after Zagreb and Split). It is located in Prim ...

when she won the gold medal in the 200 m freestyle at a world-record pace (1:51.85). At the

2009 Mediterranean Games The 2009 Mediterranean Games, officially the XVI Mediterranean Games ( it, XVI Giochi del Mediterraneo) and commonly known as Pescara 2009, was a multi-sport event held in Pescara, Italy, from 26 June to 5 July 2009. It was governed by the Inter ...

in Pescara, Pellegrini broke the world record in the 400 m freestyle with a time of 4:00.41 to better Joanne Jackson's record of 4:00.66.

2009 World Championships

At the 2009 World Championships in Rome, Pellegrini broke the world record again in the 400 m freestyle with a time of 3:59.15, winning the gold medal and in doing so becoming the first female swimmer to break the 4-minute barrier in the event; she won the gold medal also in the 200 m freestyle and she broke her own world record with a time of 1:52.98. At 2009 European Short Course Championships in

Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

she broke the world record in the 200 m freestyle with a time of 1:51.17. At the 2010 European Championships in

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population o ...

Pellegrini won the bronze medal in the 800 m freestyle, behind

Lotte Friis Lotte Friis (born 9 February 1988) is a Danish competitive swimmer from Allerød Municipality. Career Friis was born in Blovstrød. Finishing third in the 1500 metre freestyle competition at the European Championships 2008 in Eindhoven she won ...

and Ophélie-Cyrielle Étienne, and the gold medal in the 200 m freestyle with a time of 1:55.45; in the same year, she announced that she would be working with Laure Manadou's former coach, Philippe Lucas.

2011 World Championships

At the 2011 World Championships in Shanghai, Pellegrini won the gold medal in the 400 m freestyle with a time of 4:01.97, becoming the second female swimmer after

to win the gold medal in this event at two consecutive

World Aquatics Championships The FINA World Championships or World Aquatics Championships are the World Championships for aquatics sports: swimming, diving, high diving, open water swimming, artistic swimming, and water polo. They are run by FINA, and all swimming events ...

. Two days later, she won the gold medal in the 200 m freestyle too with a time of 1:55:58, becoming the first female swimmer ever to win this title at two consecutive editions of the

; after the success in Shanghai, she parted ways with her French coach and began working with Federico Bonifacenti.

2012

In May 2012, she was surprisingly excluded from the final of the 400-metre freestyle at the

2012 European Aquatics Championships The 2012 European Aquatics Championships were held from 14 to 27 May 2012 in Debrecen, Hungary and Eindhoven, Netherlands. The 2012 European Swimming Championships were to take place in Antwerp, Belgium, but were reallocated to the City of Debrec ...

, after winning two gold medals in other events (200-metre freestyle and 4 × 200 m freestyle relay) and a bronze medal in 4 × 100 freestyle relay. At the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, th ...

in London, Pellegrini finished fifth in the 400 metres freestyle with a time of 4:04.50 and the 200 metres freestyle with a time of 1:56.73.

2013 World Championships

After the Olympics, Pellegrini declared she wouldn't take part to

200 __NOTOC__ Year 200 ( CC) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Severus and Victorinus (or, less frequently, year 953 ''Ab ur ...

and 400 metres freestyle at

2013 World Aquatics Championships The 15th FINA World Championships ( ca, Campionat Mundial de Natació de 2013, es, Campeonato Mundial de Natación de 2013) were held from 20 July to 4 August in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.2013 World Championships and eventually won a silver medal with a time of 1:55.14, her best since Rome. Pellegrini won the silver medal behind

Missy Franklin Melissa Franklin Johnson (born May 10, 1995) is an American former competition swimmer and five-time Olympic gold medalist. She formerly held the world record in the 200-meter backstroke (long course). As a member of the U.S. national swim team ...

2014

At the

2014 European Aquatics Championships The 2014 European Aquatics Championships took place from 13 to 24 August 2014 in Berlin, Germany. It was the 31st edition of the championships, and was held in a temporary facility placed in the centre of the Berlin Velodrome. Great Britain head ...

she repeated herself, winning the two gold medals of the previous championship, in the 200-metre freestyle (preceding Hosszú and Heemskerk) and in the 4 × 200 m freestyle relay, this one with an exceptional vamp over the Swedish team. She took part of 400-metre freestyle too, finishing fourth in the final, and this was her last international competition in that event.

2015 World Championships

Kazan 2015 - Victory Ceremony 200m freestyle W

At the World Aquatics Championships held in Kazan (Russia) in 2015, she won the silver medal in 200 metres freestyle behind

Katie Ledecky Kathleen Genevieve Ledecky (born March 17, 1997) is an American competitive swimmer. She has won seven Olympics, Olympic gold medals and 19 world championship gold medals, the most in history for a female swimmer. Ledecky's six individual gold ...

and ahead of

with a time of 1:55.32, and the silver medal in the 4 × 200 meter freestyle relay behind the United States. By winning the silver medal in the individual 200 metres freestyle, she became the first female swimmer in history to get a medal in the same event at six consecutive World Championships.

2016

In May 2016, she competed in European Championships in London and won the 200m freestyle with a time of 1:55.93, beating

Femke Heemskerk Frederike Johanna Maria "Femke" Heemskerk (; born 21 September 1987) is a former Dutch competitive swimmer2016 Summer Olympics ) , nations = 207 (including IOA and EOR teams) , athletes = 11,238 , events = 306 in 28 sports (41 disciplines) , opening = 5 August 2016 , closing = 21 August 2016 , opened_by = Vice President Michel Temer , cauldron = Vanderlei Cordeiro de ...

, Pellegrini was

flagbearer A standard-bearer, also known as a flag-bearer is a person (soldier or civilian) who bears an emblem known as a standard or military colours, i.e. either a type of flag or an inflexible but mobile image, which is used (and often honoured) as a ...

for Italy, and competed in the following disciplines: 200m freestyle, and in the 4 × 100 and 4 × 200 m freestyle relays. Pellegrini missed the podium during the competition, ranking fourth during the 200 m final. Eventually, she stated that failing to win an Olympic medal in the women's 200 metres freestyle final in Rio de Janeiro was so devastating for her that she may consider "making changes to her life". Nevertheless, she got a prime redemption at the World Short Course Championships in Windsor (Ontario), because she won her first gold medal in the 200 freestyle, beating Katinka Hosszú.

2017

Pellegrini competed in a Milan meet on 12 March 2017 and finished first in 100 m freestyle with 54.77 and second in 100 m backstroke with 1:01.59. She competed in Indiana 2017 Arena Pro Swim Series in 2–4 March 2017 and won gold in 200 m freestyle with a time of 1:56.07. At the World Aquatics Championships held in Budapest, she won the gold medal in 200 metres freestyle ahead of both Katie Ledecky and Emma McKeon with a time of 1:54.73. This was Ledecky's first loss at a major event. By winning the gold medal in the individual 200 metres freestyle, she became the first swimmer ever to get a medal in the same event at seven consecutive World Championships. She competed in the 100 metres freestyle too.

2018, the sabbatical year

After winning her seventh consecutive medal at the World championships of Budapest 2017 Pellegrini decides to allow herself a

sabbatical A sabbatical (from the Hebrew: (i.e., Sabbath); in Latin ; Greek: ) is a rest or break from work. The concept of the sabbatical is based on the Biblical practice of '' shmita'' (sabbatical year), which is related to agriculture. According ...

with milder training and partial abandonment of her beloved 200m freestyle. And this is how at the European Championships in Copenhagen in December 2017 as individual competitions she participates in the 100 m

which she finishes in seventh position in the final, and in the 100 m

backstroke Backstroke or back crawl is one of the four swimming styles used in competitive events regulated by FINA, and the only one of these styles swum on the back. This swimming style has the advantage of easy breathing, but the disadvantage of swimm ...

where she does not qualify for the final swimming only the tenth time of the semifinals. The only satisfaction of this review is the bronze medal in the 4 × 50 mixed freestyle

relay A relay Electromechanical relay schematic showing a control coil, four pairs of normally open and one pair of normally closed contacts An automotive-style miniature relay with the dust cover taken off A relay is an electrically operated switch ...

. We continue on this path also at the European Long Course Championships in Glasgow of the following season where there is only a fifth place in the final of the

100 m freestyle The 100 metre freestyle is often considered to be the highlight (Blue Ribbon event) of the sport of swimming, like 100 metres in the sport of Athletics. The first swimmer to break the one-minute barrier (long course) was Johnny Weissmuller, in ...

and several placings at the foot of the

podium A podium (plural podiums or podia) is a platform used to raise something to a short distance above its surroundings. It derives from the Greek ''πόδι'' (foot). In architecture a building can rest on a large podium. Podiums can also be use ...

in the relays, but also in this case Pellegrini seemed do not show up for the appointment in optimal conditions.

2019

Pellegrini won the gold medal (her fourth overall) in the 200 m freestyle race at the 2019 World Aquatics Championships held at

Gwangju Gwangju () is South Korea's sixth-largest metropolis. It is a designated metropolitan city under the direct control of the central government's Home Minister. The city was also the capital of South Jeolla Province until the provincial offic ...

, with a time of 1:54.22, before Ariarne Titmus and

Sarah Sjöström Sarah Fredrika Sjöström (; born 17 August 1993) is a Swedish competitive swimmer specialising in the sprint freestyle and butterfly events. She is the current world record holder in the 50 metre freestyle (long course), the 100 metre freestyle ...

, taking advantage of

, Emma McKeon and Taylor Ruck's withdrawals in the event, and so improving her record of being the one, among female and male swimmers, to achieve eight podiums in the same event during eight consecutive editions of the World Championships earning the title of 9th-most decorated swimmer history with individuals medals alone. She didn't go beyond the heats in the 50 metres freestyle and in the 100 metres freestyle. She took part in the finals of the 4×100-metre mixed freestyle relay and the medley relay.

2021

In May, Pellegrini competed at the European Championships in Budapest, where she won double silver medal respectively in the 200m freestyle and in the mixed freestyle, and a triple bronze medal in the freestyle, in the mixed freestyle and in the medley. At the

in Tokyo, she qualified for the final of the 200 metre freestyle. This made her the second swimmer in history (after Michael Phelps) to qualify for the final of the same event five times. Pellegrini announced that she would retire at the conclusion of her third ISL season. Her final race as a professional was in her home country in

Riccione Riccione (; rgn, Arciôn ) is a ''comune'' in the Province of Rimini, Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy. As of 2018, Riccione had an estimated population of 35,003. History The oldest archaeological findings in Riccione's area date to the 2nd ce ...

on 30 Nov 2021.

Personal life

From August 2011 to late 2016, Pellegrini was in a relationship with swimmer

Filippo Magnini Filippo Magnini (; born 2 February 1982) is an Italian retired competitive swimmer who was twice 100 metres freestyle World champion and three times European champion at that distance. Biography Magnini was born in Pesaro, Marche. As a yout ...

, having previously been engaged to another teammate, Luca Marin. On 30 October 2021, Pellegrini announced her engagement to her long-time coach Matteo Giunta.Carlson, Reid (30 October 2021)
"Federica Pellegrini And Matteo Giunta Announce Engagement"
''

SwimSwam ''SwimSwam'' news is a swimming news organization covering competitive swimming along with diving, water polo and synchronized swimming. SwimSwam launched as a website in March 2012 and quickly became the most-read swimming website in the world. ...

''. Retrieved 30 October 2021. They married at San Zaccaria, Venice on 27 August 2022.

Personal bests

Pellegrini currently holds 1

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organization ...

(WR), 2

European records European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe ...

(ER) and 16

National records National Records was a record label that was started in New York City by Albert Green in 1945 and lasted until early 1951. Big Joe Turner was signed at the beginning and remained until 1947. Billy Eckstine was also a big seller for the label as w ...

(NR). Her personal bests are (as of 15 December 2019):

International championships (50 m)

: Pellegrini swam only in the heats : Pellegrini qualified from the heats, but scratched the semi-finals

National championships

Federica Pellegrini on 13 April 2021 (spring edition) won 129 national swimming championships (both individual and relay races), in absolute (24), winter (38) and spring (66) editions

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pellegrini, Federica 1988 births Living people Sportspeople from the Metropolitan City of Venice Italian female swimmers Olympic swimmers of Italy Swimmers at the 2004 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2008 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2016 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists for Italy World record holders in swimming Olympic gold medalists for Italy Italian female freestyle swimmers World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming Medalists at the FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m) European Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists in swimming Olympic silver medalists in swimming Mediterranean Games gold medalists for Italy Swimmers at the 2009 Mediterranean Games Universiade medalists in swimming Mediterranean Games medalists in swimming Universiade gold medalists for Italy Medalists at the 2007 Summer Universiade People from Mirano International Olympic Committee members