MORLACCHI Federico

Classification
S9, SB8, SM9 (IPC, 14 Mar 2021)

Origin of Impairment
Congenital (Athlete, 03 Dec 2017)

Impairment Details
He has hypoplasia [incomplete tissue development] in his left leg. (Athlete, 03 Dec 2017, 26 Aug 2010)

General
CHANGE OF COACH
In 2020 he parted ways with coach Massimiliano Tosin who had trained him since 2006. He has since begun training with coach Marco Pedoja. "In March [2020] I bought a house near Luino, my hometown, and having taken this important step in my life, unfortunately I could not afford to continue living in Milan and training with Massimiliano. Given that I have known Marco Pedoja very well and for many years, with whom we have also been athletes together, and that I respect him a lot as a coach, the choice to rely on him was obvious." (swim4lifemagazine.it, 03 Jul 2020)

CONSIDERING RETIREMENT
In 2019 he said he is considering retiring after the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo to focus on his career in osteopathy and start a family. "I believe that the period of Federico 1.0 will end with Tokyo. At age 27, it is right to give space to other things in life too. But then again, quitting or not quitting, saying it today seems a little premature." (nuoto.com, 23 Nov 2019)

SHARING GOLD
At the 2019 World Championships in London, England, he and Simone Barlaam tied for first in the S9 100m butterfly final. When he lived in Milan the pair trained together everyday for a number of years. "For a year we dreamed of such an epic end to the 100m butterfly, and incredibly it actually happened. Tied for first, I couldn't believe it. The 100m fly is a race that we are both well-suited to. Simone has his explosiveness, and I have my endurance. Simone is stronger than me and will improve further. But as long as I keep getting selected, I have experience on my side." (nuoto.com, 23 Nov 2019)

ITALIAN TEAM SPIRIT
He believes the Italian swimming squad's strong emphasis on team spirit is one of the main reasons why its teams have performed well at major tournaments, particularly in relay events. "The strength of the group is so important. It seems trivial, but in a sport like swimming, where when you enter the water there's just you and the blue line, reaching such a high level of cohesion both from both a human and a team point of view is an extraordinary feat. In our team the unity translates into the relay races - the only moment that a swimmer can enjoy the sport he loves as part of a team. At the [2018] European Championships in Dublin, we really dominated almost all the relay races." (repubblica.it, 10 Aug 2019)

BIOGRAPHY
In December 2017 he released his biography, written by author Davide Di Giuseppe, titled 'Born for the Water'. (varesenews.it, 12 Dec 2017)