Federica Pellegrini
.jpg)
.svg.png){kind=icon}
.svg.png){kind=icon}
.svg.png){kind=icon}
Federica Pellegrini (Italian pronunciation: [fedeˈriːka pelleˈɡriːni]; born 5 August 1988)[1] is an Italian swimmer. A native of Mirano, in the province of Venice, she holds the women's 200 m freestyle world records (long course and short course), and won a Gold Medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. At the 2009 World Championships in Rome, Pellegrini became the first woman ever to breach the 4 minute barrier in 400 m freestyle with the time 3:59.15. Pellegrini is the first female Olympic champion in the history of Italian swimming; she is also the only Italian swimmer to have set world records in more than one event.
Biography
Career
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.
Pellegrini's first long course gold medal came at the 2008 European Championships in Eindhoven, where she won the 400 m freestyle setting a world record (4:01.53).
At the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, she arrived as the world-record holder and favourite for the gold medal in the 400 m freestyle, but only finished 5th in the final. On the same day, she recovered from that disappointment by setting a world record 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 when she won the gold medal in the 200 m freestyle at a world-record pace (1:51.85). At the 2009 Mediterranean Games 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.[2]
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 she broke the world record in the 200 m freestyle with a time of 1:51.17. At the 2010 European Championships in Budapest Pellegrini won the bronze medal in the 800 m freestyle, behind Lotte Friis and Ophélie-Cyrielle Etienne, 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.
At the 2011 World Championships in Shanghai, Federica won the gold medal in the 400 m freestyle with a time of 4:01.97, becoming the second female swimmer after Laure Manaudou to win the gold medal in this event at two consecutive World Aquatics Championships. 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 World Aquatics Championships; after the success in Shanghai, she parted ways with her French coach and began working with Federico Bonifacenti.
In May 2012, she was surprisingly excluded from the final of the 400 metre freestyle at the 2012 European Aquatics Championships, 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. [3]
At the 2012 Summer Olympics 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.
After the Olympics, Pellegrini declared she wouldn't take part to 200 and 400 metres freestyle at 2013 World Aquatics Championships to take a gap year. She chose to prepare herself for 200 metres backstroke competition to compete for Italy at World Championships. Anyway, with a last-minute decision, Pellegrini took part to 200 metres freestyle event at 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.
At the World Aquatics Championships held in Kazan (Russia) in 2015, she won the silver medal in 200 metres freestyle behind Katie Ledecky and ahead of Missy Franklin with a time of 1:55.32, and the silver medal in the 4x200 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.
At the 2016 Summer Olympics, Federica Pellegrini competed in the following disciplines:[4] 200 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".[5]
Private life
Since August 2011, she has been in a relationship with fellow swimmer, Filippo Magnini,[6] having previously been engaged to another teammate, Luca Marin.[7]
Personal bests
She currently holds 1 world records (WR), 3 European records (ER) and 10 National records (NR). Her personal bests (as of the 30 July 2009) are:
| Event | Long course (year) | Short course (year) |
|---|---|---|
| 50 m freestyle | 25.47 (2004) | 25.02 (2004) |
| 100 m freestyle | 53.18 (2016)  |
52.17 (2016) |
| 200 m freestyle | 1:52.98 (2009)  |
1:51.17 (2009) |
| 400 m freestyle | 3:59.15 (2009)  |
3:57.59 (2011) |
| 800 m freestyle | 8:24.99 (2010) | 8:15.20 (2010) |
| 100 m backstroke | 1.00.69 (2013) | 58.80 (2013) |
| 200 m backstroke | 2:08.05 (2013) | 2:03.75 (2013) |
| 200 m butterfly | 2:08.69 (2013) | |
| 4×50 m freestyle relay | 1:37.56 (2013) | |
| 4 × 100 m freestyle relay | 3:39.18 |
3:39.18 (2006) |
| 4 × 200 m freestyle relay | 7:46.57 (2009) |
7:50.39 (2006) |
| 4×50 m medley relay | 1:47:05 (2008) | |
| 4 × 100 m medley relay | 4:04.90 (2008) |
See also
- List of Olympic medalists in swimming (women)
- List of World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming (women)
- Italian sportswomen multiple medalists at Olympics and World Championships
- Italy national swimming team – Multiple medalists
- World record progression 200 metres freestyle
- World record progression 400 metres freestyle
References
- ↑ "Olympics". sports-reference. Retrieved 22 July 2012.
- ↑ http://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/lane9/news/21514.asp#RT
- ↑ "Nuoto: Pellegrini shock, "forse sono malata"; oro 4x100 misti" (in Italian). agi.it. Retrieved 27 May 2012.
- ↑ "Federica Pellegrini - Athlete's Page". Rio2016 Official Website. Retrieved 12 August 2016.
- ↑ "Pellegrini gutted by missing Olympic podium in 200m freestyle final". Adnkronos International, Rome. Retrieved 12 August 2016.
- ↑ "Filippo Magnini and Federica Pellegrini pose naked in Vanity Fair". swimmersdaily.com. Retrieved 22 May 2012.
- ↑ "Luca Marin on how Federica Pellegrini split up with him". swimmersdaily.com. Retrieved 22 May 2012.
External links
- Federica Pellegrini at Sports Reference
- Official fan club website (Italian)
Media related to Federica Pellegrini at Wikimedia Commons
| Records | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Franziska van Almsick Laure Manaudou |
Women's 200 metre freestyle world record holder (long course) 27 March 2007 – 28 March 2007 11 August 2008 – present |
Succeeded by Laure Manaudou Incumbent |
| Preceded by Coralie Balmy |
Women's 200 metre freestyle world record holder (short course) 14 December 2008 – 7 December 2014 |
Succeeded by Sarah Sjöström |
| Preceded by Joanne Jackson |
Women's 400 metre freestyle world record holder (long course) 27 June 2009 – August 2014 |
Succeeded by Katie Ledecky |
| Awards | ||
| Preceded by Stephanie Rice |
World Swimmer of the Year 2009 |
Succeeded by Rebecca Soni |
| Preceded by Rebecca Adlington |
European Swimmer of the Year 2009–2011 |
Succeeded by Ranomi Kromowidjojo |
| Olympic Games | ||
| Preceded by Valentina Vezzali |
Flagbearer for Italy Rio de Janeiro 2016 |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
|
.svg.png){kind=small}
