Pietro Figlioli (born 29 May 1984) is an Italian professional water polo player. He competed for Australia at the 2004 and 2008 Olympics and for Italy in 2012 and 2016 and won two medals for Italy. He also won the world title in 2011. In 2012 he received the Gold Collar of Sporting Merit from the Italian Olympic Committee.[3]

Pietro Figlioli
Figlioli at the 2015 World Championships
Personal information
NationalityBrazilian/Italian
Born (1984-05-29) 29 May 1984 (age 40)
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil[1]
Height1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)[2]
Weight98 kg (216 lb)
Sport
Country Australia
 Italy
SportWater polo
ClubCN Barcelona
RN Sori
Pro Recco
BPM Sport Management[1]
Medal record
Representing  Australia
FINA World League
Bronze medal – third place 2007 Berlin
Representing  Italy
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place 2012 London Team
Bronze medal – third place 2016 Rio de Janeiro Team
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2011 Shanghai Team
European Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2014 Budapest Team

Personal life

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Figlioli was born in Brazil, but his family moved to Australia when he was three years old. His father José Fiolo is a former Olympic swimmer.[1] Figlioli is married to Laura and has sons Lorenzo and Matteo.[3]

Career

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Figlioli started competing with the North Brisbane Polo Bears at Albany Creek, Queensland in Australia.[4] He was part of Australia's Olympic squad for the 2004 and 2008 Summer Olympics. He was the top sprinter at these two Olympics, with 24 and 21 sprints won, respectively.[5][6] He was also a member of the Australian squad that finished 10th at the 2007 FINA World Championships in Melbourne and won the bronze medal at the 2007 FINA Water Polo World League in Berlin. Figlioli is regarded as one of the world's fastest water polo swimmers and shooters.[7]

In May 2009, Figlioli signed a deal with Italian club Pro Recco. The deal included becoming an Italian citizen, to comply with the Italian league's rule changes to restrict extra-European players from two to one player per team.[8] As a result of this, he was able to play for Italy at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics, winning a medal on both occasions.[3][2] He was the joint top sprinter at the 2012 Olympics, with 19 sprints won.[9]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c Pietro Figlioli. sports-reference.com
  2. ^ a b Pietro Figlioli Archived 18 October 2016 at the Wayback Machine. rio2016.com
  3. ^ a b c Pietro Figlioli. nbcolympics.com
  4. ^ Lee Oliver (21 November 2007) Aussie call-up makes Nick’s day. thewesterner.com.au
  5. ^ "Official Results Book – 2004 Olympic Games – Water Polo" (PDF). la84.org. LA84 Foundation. p. 183. Archived from the original on 21 November 2018. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
  6. ^ "Official Results Book – 2008 Olympic Games – Water Polo" (PDF). la84.org. LA84 Foundation. p. 178. Archived from the original on 28 July 2019. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
  7. ^ Bruce Matthews and Katie Peart (March 20, 2007) Serb superstar chases gold. Heraldsun.com.au. Retrieved on 2016-10-17.
  8. ^ Rocket-arm poached by Italy. Corporate.olympics.com.au (14 May 2009). Retrieved on 2016-10-17.
  9. ^ "Official Results Book – 2012 Olympic Games – Diving, Swimming, Synchronised Swimming, Water Polo" (PDF). fina.org. FINA. p. 465. Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 December 2018. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
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