| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| National team |  Italy |
| Born | 5 August 1988 Mirano, Italy |
| Height | 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in) |
| Weight | 65 kg (143 lb) |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Swimming |
| Strokes | Freestyle |
| Club | C.C. Aniene |
| Coach | Philippe Lucas |
Federica Pellegrini (born 5 August 1988) is an Italian swimmer. A native of Mirano, in theprovince of Venice, she holds the women's 200 m freestyle world records (long course and short course), and won a Gold Medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. At the 2009 World Championships inRome, Pellegrini became the first woman ever to breach the 4 minute barrier in 400 m freestyle with the time 3:59.15. Pellegrini is the first female Olympic champion in the history of Italian swimming; she is also the only Italian swimmer to have set world records in more than one event.
Biography
Career
Pellegrini's first international podium was at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, where she won the silver medal in the 200 m freestyle at the age of 16, becoming the youngest Italian athlete ever to win an Olympic medal in an individual event.
Pellegrini's first long course gold medal came at the 2008 European Championships in Eindhoven, where she won the 400 m freestyle setting a world record (4:01.53).
At the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, she arrived as the world-record holder and favourite for the gold medal in the 400 m freestyle, but only finished 5th in the final. On the same day, she recovered from that disappointment by setting a world record in the heats of the 200 m freestyle; in the final, she broke her own world record (1:54.82) and won her first Olympic gold medal.
Pellegrini also proved her strength in short course events at the 2008 European Short Course Championships in Rijeka when she won the gold medal in the 200 m freestyle at a world-record pace (1:51.85). At the 2009 Mediterranean Games in Pescara, Pellegrini broke the world record in the 400 m freestyle with a time of 4:00.41 to better Joanne Jackson's record of 4:00.66.
At the 2009 World Championships in Rome, Pellegrini broke the world record again in the 400 m freestyle with a time of 3:59.15, winning the gold medal and in doing so becoming the first female swimmer to break the 4 minute barrier in the event; she won the gold medal also in the 200 m freestyle and she broke her own world record with a time of 1:52.98. At 2009 European Short Course Championships in Istanbul she broke the world record in the 200 m freestyle with a time of 1:51.17. At 2010 European Championships in Budapest Pellegrini won the bronze medal in the 800 m freestyle, behind Lotte Friis and Ophélie-Cyrielle Etienne, and the gold medal in the 200 m freestyle with a time of 1:55.45; in the same year, she announced that she would be working with Laure Manadou's former coach, Philippe Lucas. At the 2011 World Championships in Shanghai, Federica won the gold medal in the 400 m freestyle with a time of 4:01.97, becoming the second female swimmer after Laure Manaudou to win the gold medal in this event at two consecutive World Aquatics Championships; after two days, she won the gold medal in the 200 m freestyle too with a time of 1:55:58, becoming the first female swimmer ever to won this title at two consecutive editions of World Aquatics Championships; after the success in Shanghai, she parted ways with her French coach and began working with Federico Bonifacenti.
May 2012 saw her surprisingly excluded from the final of the 400 metre freestyle at the 2012 European Aquatics Championships, after winning two gold medals in other events (200 metre freestyle and 4×200 m freestyle relay) and a bronze medal in 4×100 freestyle relay).
At the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, Pellegrini finished fifth in the 400 metres freestyle (4:04.50) and the 200 metres freestyle (1:56.73).
After the Olympics, Pellegrini declared she wouldn't take part to 200 and 400 metres freestyle at 2013 World Aquatics Championships to take a gap year. She chose to prepare herself for 200 metres backstroke competition to compete for Italy at World Championships. Anyway, with a last minute decision, Pellegrini took part to 200 metres freestyle event at 2013 World Championships and eventually won a silver medal with a time of 1:55.14, her best since Rome. Pellegrini won the silver medal behind Missy Franklin. At the World Aquatics Championships held in Kazan (Russia) in 2015, she won the silver medal in 200 metres freestyle behind Katie Ledecky and ahead Missy Franklin, and the silver medal in the 4x200 meter freestyle behind United States. By winning the individual silver in 200 metres freestyle, she became the first female swimmer in history to get a medal in six consecutive editions at the World Championships.
Private life
Since August, 2011, she has been in a relationship with fellow swimmer, Filippo Magnini, having previously been engaged to another teammate, Luca Marin.
Personal bests
She currently holds 1 world records (WR), 3 European records (ER) and 10 National records (NR). Her personal bests (as of the 30 July 2009) are:
| Event | Long course (year) | Short course (year) |
|---|---|---|
| 50 m freestyle | 25.47 (2004) | 25.02 (2004) |
| 100 m freestyle | 53.55 (2009)  | 52.86 (2013) |
| 200 m freestyle | 1:52.98 (2009)  | 1:51.17 (2009) |
| 400 m freestyle | 3:59.15 (2009)  | 3:57.59 (2011) |
| 800 m freestyle | 8:24.99 (2010) | 8:15.20 (2010) |
| 100 m backstroke | 1.00.69 (2013) | 58.80 (2013) |
| 200 m backstroke | 2:08.05 (2013) | 2:03.75 (2013) |
| 200 m butterfly | 2:08.69 (2013) | |
| 4×50 m freestyle relay | 1:37.56 (2013) | |
| 4×100 m freestyle relay | 3:39.18 | 3:39.18 (2006) |
| 4×200 m freestyle relay | 7:46.57 (2009) | 7:50.39 (2006) |
| 4×50 m medley relay | 1:47:05 (2008) | |
| 4×100 m medley relay | 4:04.90 (2008) |
Medal Record
Woman's swimming
Competitor for Italy
| Event | 1st | 2nd | 3rd |
|---|---|---|---|
| Olympic Games | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| World Championships (LC) | 4 | 4 | 1 |
| World Championships (SC) | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| European Championships (LC) | 6 | 1 | 4 |
| European Championships (SC) | 5 | 2 | 5 |
| Universiade | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Mediterranean Games | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 20 | 9 | 14 |
Olympic Games
Gold: 2008 Beijing - 200 m freestyle
Silver: 2004 Athens - 200 m freestyle
World Championships (LC)
Gold: 2009 Rome - 200 m freestyle
Gold: 2009 Rome - 400 m freestyle
Gold: 2011 Shanghai - 200 m freestyle
Gold: 2011 Shanghai - 400 m freestyle
Silver: 2005 Montreal - 200 m freestyle
Silver: 2013 Barcelona - 200 m freestyle
Silver: 2015 Kazan - 200 m freestyle
Silver: 2015 Kazan - 4x200 m freestyle
Bronze: 2007 Melbourne - 200 m freestyle
World Championships (SC)
Silver: 2006 Shanghai - 200 m freestyle
Bronze: 2006 Shanghai - 400 m freestyle
Bronze: 2010 Dubai - 400 m freestyle
Bronze: 2014 Doha - 4x100 m freestyle
European Championships (LC)
Gold: 2008 Eindhoven - 400 m freestyle
Gold: 2010 Budapest - 200 m freestyle
Gold: 2012 Debrecen - 200 m freestyle
Gold: 2012 Debrecen - 4x200 m freestyle
Gold: 2014 Berlin - 200 m freestyle
Gold: 2014 Berlin - 4x200 m freestyle
Gold: 2016 London - 200 m freestyle
Gold: 2016 London - 200 m freestyle
Silver: 2008 Eindhoven - 4x100 m freestyle
Silver: 2016 London - 4x100 m freestyle
Silver: 2016 London - 4x100 m mixed freestyle
Silver: 2016 London - 4x100 m mixed medley
Silver: 2016 London - 4x100 m freestyle
Silver: 2016 London - 4x100 m mixed freestyle
Silver: 2016 London - 4x100 m mixed medley
Bronze: 2008 Eindhoven - 4x200 m freestyle
Bronze: 2010 Budapest - 800 m freestyle
Bronze: 2012 Debrecen - 4x100 m freestyle
Bronze: 2014 Berlin - 4x100 m freestyle
European Championships (SC)
Gold: 2005 Trieste - 200 m freestyle
Gold: 2008 Rijeka - 200 m freestyle
Gold: 2009 Istanbul - 200 m freestyle
Gold: 2010 Eindhoven - 800 m freestyle
Gold: 2013 Herning - 200 m freestyle
Silver: 2006 Helsinki - 400 m freestyle
Silver: 2007 Debrecen - 400 m freestyle
Bronze: 2005 Trieste - 400 m freestyle
Bronze: 2008 Rijeka - 4x50 m medley
Bronze: 2010 Eindhoven - 4x50 m medley
Bronze: 2011 Szczecin - 4x50 m freestyle
Bronze: 2013 Herning - 400 m freestyle
Universiade
Gold: 2007 Bangkok - 200 m freestyle
Gold: 2007 Bangkok - 400 m freestyle
Mediterranean Games
Gold: 2009 Pescara - 400 m freestyle
Gold: 2009 Pescara - 4x100 m freestyle
