Gregorio Paltrinieri

What makes the difference between a champion from an amateur athlete?
“The determination, the courage, the strength to get up when everything else collapses around you, the strength to react to problems”.

Gregorio Paltrinieri, known as Greg, born in 1994, has all these qualities and his history as a man and as an athlete proves it.

“For me, what really separates a win from a loss is the ability to fully focus on your goal and the desire to reach the finish line, despite everything,” says Greg.

Water has been his element from an early age. Led by his father Luca, Greg, he soon embarked on a competitive career.

Over the years he has set several european and world records: 4 gold medals at the world championships and 11 at the European championships.

In 2016 at the Rio Olympics Gregorio won the gold medal in the 1500m freestyle.

At the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 he surprisingly won the silver medal in the 800 meters.
‘A true miracle’, as he himself admits. Shortly before, in fact, he had been struck by mononucleosis which prevented him from participating in trainings for the entire month of June, just before the Olympics.

The Tokyo silver and bronze medals meant a lot to him: “They are the medals of motivation. The first won with the heart, the second is that of example and suffering “. Certainly a message of hope, that of Gregory, who with his example encourages not to break down in spite of the numerous unforeseen events that life can reserve.