Gregorio Paltrinieri (; born 5 September 1994) is an Italian competitive swimmer. He is a former world record holder in the short course 1500 metre freestyle. He holds the European record in the long course 800 metre and 1500 metre freestyle events with times of 7:39.27 and 14:32.80, respectively. In the 1500 metre freestyle, he is a 2016 Olympic, three-time world long course, two-time world short course, three-time European long course, and three-time European short course champion. In the 800 metre freestyle, he is a 2019 world long course, 2022 world short course, three-time European long course, and 2021 European short course champion. In the 10 kilometre open water swim, he is a 2022 world and 2020 European champion. In the 5 kilometre open water swim, he is a two-time European champion.
Swimming career
Paltrinieri started swimming at a very young age, and until the age of 12, he specialized in breaststroke. However, as he grew, he converted to freestyle, specializing in the longer pool distances.
2011: Junior
His first international success came as a 16-year-old at the 2011 European Junior Swimming Championships in Belgrade, where he won the 1500 metres gold and an 800 metres bronze. Having qualified for the World championships in Shanghai, he did not progress further than the heats, but a few weeks later at the World Junior Championships in Lima, Peru, he was back on the podium with a 1500 metres freestyle silver and an 800 metres bronze.
2012: Summer Olympics and European Champion
In March 2012 Paltrinieri won the Italian 800 metres freestyle title, and two months later, he left everyone in his wake at the European Championships in Debrecen, defeating renowned Hungarians Gergő Kis and Gergely Gyurta in the 1500 m. His time of 14:48.92 qualified him for the Olympics and, at the time, was the year's second-fastest 1500 m swim, breaking the championship record. He is trained by Stefano Morini. At 2012 Summer Olympics, the 17-year-old Italian advanced to his first Olympic final with the 4th fastest time of 14:50.11. In the final he finished 5th in 14:51.92.
At the end of 2012 Paltrinieri finished 2nd in the 1500 meter freestyle event at the 2012 FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m), and was later awarded a gold medal after a positive doping test for Danish swimmer Mads Glæsner. However, upon appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, Glæsner's 1500-meter freestyle gold medal was reinstated based on the fact that a test after that race, two days after his initial positive test following the 400-meter free, was clean. This means that Paltrinieri was returned to his silver medal position in the 1500 m freestyle.
2013 World Aquatics Championships
Paltrinieri competed for Italy at 2013 World Aquatics Championships. He reached his first 800 metres freestyle final at a long course world championship event finishing sixth in 7:50.29. In the 1500 metres freestyle event Paltrinieri won a bronze medal with a time of 14:45.38, establishing a new national record.
2014
In 2014 Paltrinieri at the Italian Swimming Championships in Riccione finished second in 800 metres freestyle event with a time of 7:43.01, behind Gabriele Detti who established a new European record in the distance. Three days later Paltrinieri established a new national record of 14:44.50 in the 1500 m freestyle event. The day before the meet, Paltrinieri had swum an unofficial world best time of 50:56.50 in the 5 km (long course pool) at the Italian indoor distance championships in Riccione.
In August, at the 2014 European Aquatics Championships, Paltrinieri won the 800 m and 1500 m freestyle events establishing the new European record of 14:39.93; with this result he became only the fifth swimmer ever to swim under 14:40.00 in the 1500 m freestyle long course. At the 2014 FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m) in Doha, Paltrinieri became World champion for the first time with the new European record of 14:16.10, which was also the second fastest time ever swum behind Grant Hackett's world record.
2015: World Champion and World Record Holder
At the 2015 World Aquatics Championships, in Kazan, Paltrinieri won the silver medal in the 800 m, losing to Sun Yang. Later he won the 1500 m, setting a new European record, a race in which Sun did not take part despite having qualified for the final with the second best time after Paltrinieri.
