PALTRINIERI Gregorio

General
OPEN WATER SWIMMING
After winning gold in the 1500m freestyle at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, he announced his intention to add open water swimming to his competitive schedule ahead of the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. His inspiration was Tunisian Oussama Mellouli, who won gold medals in the 1500m freestyle at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing and in the 10km open water event at the 2012 Olympic Games in London. "I need stimulation and I would be bored doing another four years of only 800m and 1500m. Open water is intriguing and exciting. I love swimming in the ocean more than in the pool. It's cool. It allows you to see incredible places. In open water, maybe you also have a strategy but it never goes like you think it will, because you are fighting with people and there are waves. It's also a long race, like a Formula One race, and you can change tactics while you're swimming." In 2020 he signalled his intention to swim in three races at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. "At the Olympics I will do 800, 1500 and 10km open water. It's a tour de force that I already tried to tackle at the world championships [in 2019]." (Olympics Facebook page, 18 May 2021; repubblica.it, 09 Jul 2020; vanityfair.it, 02 Aug 2019; oasport.it, 13 Sep 2018; swim4lifemagazine.it, 27 Dec 2016)

TRAINING IN AUSTRALIA
In October 2017 he moved to Australia to train with Australian freestyle swimmer Mack Horton. He returned to Italy in early 2018. "It was a beautiful experience, it was fun. I needed to get out from the normal routine I had in Ostia [Italy]. I wanted to make a change and it was the perfect time to do it." (milanosportiva.com, 09 May 2018; oasport.it, 27 Sep 2017)

BOOK
In 2017 he published an autobiography titled 'Il Peso Dell'Acqua' [The Weight of Water]. (gliamantideilibri.it, 24 Jan 2018)