Rachele Bruni (born 4 November 1990) is an Italian

swimmer Swimming is an individual or team racing sport that requires the use of one's entire body to move through water. The sport takes place in pools or open water (e.g., in a sea or lake). Competitive swimming is one of the most popular Olympic ...

, specialising in open water long-distance races. She won the silver medal in the 10 km marathon at the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...

in Rio. She competed 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 ...

, in 10 km open water. She won the FINA 10km Marathon Swimming World Series 3 times in 2015, 2016 and 2019.

Career

In 2015, Bruni became the first Italian swimmer to win the FINA 10km Marathon Swimming World Series. She won it again in 2016. At the

in Rio de Janeiro, Bruni won the silver medal in the 10 km marathon, behind

Sharon van Rouwendaal Sharon van Rouwendaal (born 9 September 1993) is a Dutch swimmer and the Olympic gold medalist in the 10 km open water marathon at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. She grew up in Soest, and later moved to France with her parents. In 2009 ...

. She initially finished in 3rd position, just behind world champion

Aurélie Muller Aurélie Muller (born 7 June 1990) is a French swimmer, who specializes in long-distance freestyle events and open water marathon. She won the 10-kilometer competition at the 2015 world championship in Kazan, Russia and at the 2017 world champion ...

, but the latter was disqualified for obstructing Bruni at the finish line. She has dedicated her medal to her girlfriend, Diletta Faina. She is a 10-time gold medalist at the European Open Water Swimming Championships. In 2019, she won for the third time the

FINA Marathon Swim World Series The FINA Marathon Swim World Series, known as the 10 km Marathon Swimming World Cup until 2017, is a series of 10-kilometer, open water swimming races held annually since 2007. Prior to 2007, 10K races were held as part of the FINA's Open Water Gran ...

2019. During the 2019 World Aquatics Championships, held in Gwangju, Bruni won the bronze medal in the 10km and the silver medal in the 5km team. In January 2020, with 73.9% of the votes, she won the LEN Award in the Cross-Country category, an award assigned by the European Swimming League to the best continental performers in aquatic disciplines. In November 2021 she was inducted into the prestigious International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame, entering the list of the best swimmers in the world ever.

Works

'' Volevo solo nuotare (200.000 bracciate con Rachele Bruni),'' the Bruni’s biography written by the Italian author

Luca Farinotti Luca Farinotti (; 14 June 1972) is an Italian writer. Born in Parma, Farinotti made his debut as a poet and novelist. Later he became known for his work as a food analyst, critic and essayist, as well as a sports biographer. Food works Farino ...

was published in 2020. This book was very important in Italy as Rachele Bruni was the first Italian Olympic athlete to “come out”. This news was deemed by the newspapers more interesting than her Olympic silver medal: instead Bruni tells the true sporting life of a woman. The book won Bancarella Selezione Sport, most prestigious sport books prize in Italy.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bruni, Rachele 1990 births Living people Italian female swimmers Italian female freestyle swimmers Italian female long-distance swimmers Swimmers at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic swimmers for Italy European Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists for Italy LGBT swimmers Lesbian sportswomen Italian LGBT sportspeople Italian lesbians Olympic silver medalists in swimming Sportspeople from Florence Universiade medalists in swimming World Aquatics Championships medalists in open water swimming FISU World University Games gold medalists for Italy Swimmers of Gruppo Sportivo Esercito Medalists at the 2011 Summer Universiade 21st-century Italian women