Roma 2022 and sustainability: "the sea is an art form" to be protected for Olympic champion Paltrinieri

Olympic champion Gregorio Paltrinieri (ITA), who returned from the World Series in Setubal (Portugal) with another success in the men’s 10km open water swimming event, is one of the faces of Roma 2022 who has always shown his care for the fate of the environment with his fond love for the sea.
His commitment to the protection of the planet perfectly matches one of the fundamental pillars of the organisation of the next European Aquatics Championships in the Italian capital: sustainability and the protection of the sea and its resources are in fact the keys on which Rome 2022 intends to build an event that can offer hope for a better future for the new generations starting from now.

For the multimedallist athlete, whose achievements have kept Italy's name high in the world of swimming, "the sea is an art form" that must be respected. "When I swim, I feel like an artist. I try to shape the water on me and make my swimming as efficient as possible. Swimming in the sea is the most beautiful thing there is. Freedom and beauty, "says the 27-year-old champion, "are the sensations I feel. When I'm in the sea, I'm as calm as when I look at a well-done work of art. When I go around the world, I am ecstatic by beauty. That is why I have the greatest respect for the environment. In open water swimming there is a lot of pollution from the cups of supplies and the gels we use. I don't see why we should damage the places where we go. The culture of protecting Italian beaches can also be simply spread with common sense. It is crucial to make people aware of the importance of keeping the incredible coastline we have on our territory clean and well- preserved. The environment is an asset to be protected."

This summer, for the Europeans, Gregorio Paltrinieri will be one of the most awaited protagonists in the Ostia sea and also in the Foro Italico pool. "I know this pool well: I have competed many times at the Settecolli International Swimming Trophy,'' continued the Italian swimmer. "This year it will be even more exciting to swim in the most beautiful pool in the world. For the first time I will be competing in an international competition of the highest level in my country. There will be exciting events, the top of European swimming will be there. It will be a real show. Rome definitely has a bigger place in my heart this year, competing at home with the cheering of our public. When you walk in and you feel that the public's cheering is directed towards you and not towards others, it’s something incredible. It will definitely be a great experience and I am looking forward to it. The preparation is going well. The Europeans come at the end of the training cycle, they are the appointment of the summer."

"I think that open water swimming could be known in Italy more and more and above all that people will like it," Paltrinieri adds. "When you go into the sea, you realise that it gives you something extra, a sense of freedom and expression that you don't always have in the pool. Also thanks to the results we get, it can become a more popular and practised sport."

The Roma 2022 swimming event will take place at the Foro Italico sporting complex from 11 to 17 August, with the open water competition scheduled in Ostia from 18 to 21 August.

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