Italian swimmer Gregorio Paltrinieri, 2016 Olympic champion in the 1500m, qualified in his preferred distance for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games on Tuesday in Riccione (Italy).
Paltrinieri won the 1500m at the Italian Championships with a time of 14 min 41 sec 38/100, below the Olympic minimum set at 14 min 44 sec.
He is the first Italian swimmer officially qualified for the 2024 Olympics.
He will participate in Paris at the age of 29 in his fourth Olympics after London, Rio and Tokyo.
Paltrinieri, who also participates in open water swimming events, has three Olympic medals to his name, one in gold in Rio (1500 m), one in silver (800 m) and one in bronze (10 km freestyle) during the Tokyo Olympics 2021.
“I had these Olympic minimums in mind and wanted to succeed in them from my first race,” explained “Super Greg” who remained at a disappointing 2023 World Championships in Fukuoka (Japan) in the pool with an eighth place in the 800 m and an abandonment. over 1500 m. “I missed running and this (Tuesday) evening I had fun,” he added.
