Hail Gregorio Paltrinieri: 30-Lap Emperor Intends To Reign From Rio To Tokyo

The Rio 2016 Olympics long gone, SwimVortex continues its look at the reflections of the champions and others who stepped up on the podium at the Games in August, at the things that flowed from success and plans already made for the follow-up.

In our series so far:  Anthony Ervin, Kyle Chalmers,  Joseph Schooling, Katie Ledecky, Sarah Sjostrom, Chad Le Clos, Adam Peaty,  Siobhan-Marie O’Connor, Simone Manuel, Jazz Carlin and Connor Jaeger.

Today, Gregorio Paltrinieri, Olympic 1500m freestyle champion aiming for the defence of the world crown and pioneering speed over 30 laps.

The Reign Of Gregorio the Great

The Roman Empire was in winning form for much of 500 years. We can expect the reign of Gregorio Paltrinieri to be a touch shorter but the mosaic and monument they may build one day in his honour out where Ostia meets the sea will celebrate more than his status as Olympic champion.

Paltrinieri’s ambitions include a long reign as world No 1 of 30-lap racing – and a pioneering sub-14:30 swim over 1500m freestyle. Shhhh! Don’t speak of it – and if you must, then pray keep it to a whisper. The 22-year-old knows well the history all about him: Rome was not built in a day, while advertising your ambition was among ways of ensuring you’d never achieve it.

(L-R) Gregorio Paltrinieri and Connor Jaeger  in Rio – by Patrick B. Kraemer

Gregorio Paltrinieri – Foto Fabio Ferrari – LaPresse

In other context, Paltrinieri spoke these words to the Italian media after his victory in the Rio 1500m freestyle final: “Often, ambition has prevented me from enjoying the fullness of success.” By that, he meant that winning was enough, not least of all when it came to the ultimate battle, the Olympic Games. A casualty of the day may well have been his potential to become world-record holder but that can wait for another day.

“I want to enjoy it and know that I’m at peace with myself,” says Paltrinieri as we meet on a stairwell just beyond the mosaic-walled indoor pool at the Eternal City’s Foro Italico.

The European, World and now Olympic champion and first from his continent to crack 14:40, Paltrinieri has just delighted a shoal of young swimmers by appearing in the lobby to sign a giant image of himself at the shop kitted out with the ware of his sponsor, arena. Never to be underetimated: inspiration is tangible in the wide eyes and smiles of the club swimmers who suddenly realise their heroe is a stride away from them. Pens, paper, caps and shirts at the ready.

Was it like that back in the days when a legion returned to base with the spoils of war? And what did the Romans ever do for us, anyway? We know the Pythonesque dimension of answers. So what had it all meant to this Italian schoolboy grown up and winning battles of his own?

“We study a lot of Roman history at school,” says Paltrineri through a smile. “From six years old to university, we learn about that history. I think, ‘okay they did a great job with a lot of things’ but it is more important to think about how they did it.”

Inspiration begat inspiration:

“If I imagine a gladiator or the Roman people, I imagine [he tries to find the English word] … imponente [that which arouses admiration and amazement for its grandeur; can inspire awe, respect and reverence]. They thought themselves the best. They knew they were the best in everything. I can go there, I can conquer and I can teach you how to do this better than you can do it. Not just art but architecture, engineering, everything in that day. In my mind it [The Romans] is like a huge thing and theme.”

They were pioneers. There are pioneers in sport, too. Would he like to be one?

“Wow. It would be amazing. I have had a lot of ambition in sport since I was a child so to be the best in something or win the 1500m for a long time – that’s my goal.”

Gregorio Paltrinieri by Patrick B. Kraemer

Home alone: Gregorio Paltrinieri – by Patrick B. Kraemer

Newly crowned with the ultimate prize in the pool for those going the longest distance, Paltrinieri is five years into his inexorable climb to the top under the guidance of coach Stefano Morini in Ostia.

The modern port meets the modern shoreline, the ancient town a touch inland these days. Paltrinieri and training partner Gabrielle Detti, who shared the 1500m podium in Rio for a second bronze after his third place in the 400m freestyle, work a short crow’s flight from the site of the Terme del Nuotatore (the Swimmers’ Baths). Underfloor heating, steam rooms, pools and corridors down which power surely oozed.

The baths were built in 89-90 AD, during the reign of Domitian, refurbished under Hadrian and Antoninus Pius, altered when Marcus Aurelius and the Severan Emperors held sway. By 250 AD, the baths had been plundered, the site used as a rubbish dump. Not quite a parallel with the way FINA treats the aquatic gladiators of yesteryear but swimming’s guardians have not taken care to build a lasting temple for its achievers and architects.

Ostia was a scene of fighting during civil wars, its importance to the flow of trade to Rome critical to outcome. Pirates sacked the place before being sacked themselves by Pompey the Great’s Lex Gabinia, a law that allowed the emperor to raise an army and destroy the pirates. And that he and they did with brutal efficiency.

Fast forward and we find Ostia featured in the novels I, Claudius and Claudius the God, both written by British novelist Robert Graves; Ostia forming the main setting for “The Roman Mysteries” series of historical novels for children by Caroline Lawrence; Ostia the heart of A War Within: The Gladiator by Nathan D. Maki; Ostia in the 2000 film Gladiator, when Maximus learns that his army is camped there and awaiting orders; and on and on to the place where Paltrinieri practicised to take the Rio 2016 Olympic 1500m final by storm.

Courage won the day. Paltrinieri set a blistering pace. As silver medallist Connor Jaeger put it after setting the American record of 14:39.48, Detti on 14:40.86:

“At a certain point, he just took off and I thought I could hang with him. But I couldn’t. And then you have to hope, ‘man, I hope he’s going fast because otherwise I’m really going pretty slow.’ I have so much respect for that guy. He’s such a hard worker and really talented.”

Following Dad To The Pool – And Coach Morini In It

Stefano Morini and Gregorio Paltrinieri, courtesy of Stefano Arcobelli of La Gazzetta dello Sport

For Paltrinieri, the son of Luca and Lorraine, the pool was home from a very early age. “My father is the director of a few pools in my zone. … I’m from North Italy. My dad is the director so as a child I went to the pool almost every day. I started swimming because of him and I enjoyed everthing. I started out in a small pool, 25 metres in a town near my home with a local club until I was 16 and then at 16 I won some good races in Italy: I was junior champion and so I went to Ostia near Rome and have been training there since 2011, now I’m 22.”

His choice of coach was a wise one. Morini, who took over as head Italy coach after Alberto Castagnetti passed away in 2009, has had many strings to his bow, including work with Federica Pellegrini that delivered two world titles retained in 2011. That was the year in which Morini moved from Verona to take up the post of technical manager at Ostia, Paltrinieri one of his first recruits alongside Detti.

How would he sum up his relationship with Morini? Paltrinieri replies:

“It’s important. When I was 16 I wanted to change something to show myself – yes, others too, but mostly myself – that I was able to do something important in swimming. I decided to come here because I knew Stefano, not in person but by reputation. Our relationship is stronger with each passing day. He doesn’t speak a lot.”

A man of few words? “Yes,” says Paltrinieri breaking into laughter before explaining how that suits his own nature: “I prefer to [settle] on things in my mind, not by talking about it, so that works well. He doesn’t speak a lot and I don’t speak a lot but we understand each other. I like his training, his method, almost everything. It’s a strong relationship.”

What he describes was there for all to see in the mixed zone in Rio. Morini walked up to Paltrinieri, gave him a hug with a murmur of ‘good job’ and that was it. After the champion got through the scrum, coach was waiting with a few more words. Says Paltrinieri:

“He said ‘good job’ but you could have got under 14:30, you’re stupid’, he said to me.” Rolls of laughter from the distance ace who took ‘stupid’ to mean what it meant – ‘ok, so you won, which is good enough’.

The 1500m and preparation for it are not for everyone. The physical and mental challenges are keen and require the gladiator to be blunt when it comes to keeping blade sharp for more blows than any other race in the pool has to offer, stroke for stroke.

What keeps the light on in the dark of winter? Says Paltrinieri: “It’s not easy. Not as easy as some people think. I swim 15 to 16km every day except Sunday, sometimes more.

“Usually, during the winter period when its more difficult to jump in the water, I think about my future goals and even if I am not in the mood to jump in the water, I always want to reach for something new, a new level in the 1500 so that’s good to me to jump into the water and start swimming. I may not be in the mood out of the water but when I start swimming It’s another feeling, you know. The more I swim, the more I want to swim. That’s what its like for me. Sometimes its difficult but I’m in a good place for training and I have a lot of drive in me.”

Gregorio Paltrinieri – Fabio Ferrari – LaPresse

It was ever thus, he suggests. “I’ve always been competitive. A lot,” he recalls. “I remember when I was a child in my first competitions, my first races, I always wanted to win or at least improve my own performances every day. It was like that in competition but also in training. I couldn’t end a session without thinking I had improved something, maybe technique, whatever, just something had to be better.

That nature has long spilled beyond the pool but is at its keenest when Paltrinieri hits the water:

“I’m competitive in most things not just in the pool. Not with the others but more with myself. I just want to be the best I can be. I like the race and to be on the stage with the other great guys and challenge the others but the most important thing is to keep challenging and improving myself, to remeber what it takes to reach that level, stay comitted and make improvements every day.”

Seasonal Gains

In his first season with Morini, Paltrinieri clocked 15:22.03 at the World Championships in Shanghai in his 17th year. …

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