Hello swimming enthusiasts!
Today, I am here to recount to you the feats of Federica Pellegrini, an Italian swimmer known as the Lioness of Verona.
In 2004, at the age of sixteen, Pellegrini took home the silver medal in the 200 meter freestyle at the Olympic Games, making her the youngest Italian athlete to win an individual Olympic medal. Four years later, at the next Olympic Games, she became the first Italian female swimmer to win a gold medal, which she won for the same event. Between the four years, Pellegrini dropped almost four seconds!
Pellegrini is also known for her achievement as the first female swimmer to go under four minutes in the 400 meter freestyle.
More recently, at the 2017 FINA World Championships, Pellegrini edged out Katie Ledecky to win the 200 meter freestyle. Some were very surprised by what they perceived to be an upset, but in fact, Pellegrini had been there on the podium for more than a decade. Although she had not felt the glory of the gold for several years, her resilience allowed her to keep working at it until she found her way to the top.
The wealth of superlatives that come attached to Pellegrini’s name demonstrate that she is truly a trailblazer for women in the sport of swimming. What’s more, her ability to stick with the sport for so many years and wait for her moment of victory is exemplary.
Sources
- https://www.nbcolympics.com/athletes/federica-pellegrini/467490
- https://www.olympic.org/federica-pellegrini
- https://swimswam.com/bio/federica-pellegrini/
- https://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/news/why-federica-pellegrinis-200-free-victory-isnt-all-that-surprising/
Photos
- https://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/news/for-the-first-time-katie-ledecky-comes-up-short/
- http://www.fanpop.com/clubs/federica-pellegrini/images/32011236/title/federica-pellegrini-photo
- https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-federica-pellegrini-ita-competing-in-the-400m-freestyle-swimming-competition-36503546.html?pv=1&stamp=2&imageid=DDC1CE2E-4735-4B89-9266-86B3C1A9ECF4&p=71827&n=0&orientation=0&pn=1&searchtype=0&IsFromSearch=1&srch=foo%3dbar%26st%3d0%26pn%3d1%26ps%3d100%26sortby%3d2%26resultview%3dsortbyPopular%26npgs%3d0%26qt%3dfederica%2520pellegrini%26qt_raw%3dfederica%2520pellegrini%26lic%3d3%26mr%3d0%26pr%3d0%26ot%3d0%26creative%3d%26ag%3d0%26hc%3d0%26pc%3d%26blackwhite%3d%26cutout%3d%26tbar%3d1%26et%3d0x000000000000000000000%26vp%3d0%26loc%3d0%26imgt%3d0%26dtfr%3d%26dtto%3d%26size%3d0xFF%26archive%3d1%26groupid%3d%26pseudoid%3d%26a%3d%26cdid%3d%26cdsrt%3d%26name%3d%26qn%3d%26apalib%3d%26apalic%3d%26lightbox%3d%26gname%3d%26gtype%3d%26xstx%3d0%26simid%3d%26saveQry%3d%26editorial%3d1%26nu%3d%26t%3d%26edoptin%3d%26customgeoip%3d%26cap%3d1%26cbstore%3d1%26vd%3d0%26lb%3d%26fi%3d2%26edrf%3d%26ispremium%3d1%26flip%3d0
- https://sport.sky.it/static/contentimages/original/sezioni/sport/altri_sport/2011/06/30/federica_pellegrini_nuoto_swimsonic_credit_ugo_zamborlini.jpg
