Gilberto Elsa

Gilberto Elsa was an Italian backstroke swimmer in the later 1950s and a member of the Canottieri Milano club. Coached by Giordano Raggi, he participated in the 1958 European Championships held in Budapest where he was seventh in the final of the 100 metres (1:07.2) and won a bronze medal in the 4x100 medley relay alongside Roberto Lazzari, Fritz Dennerlein and Paolo Pucci .

Elsa won two gold medals at the 1959 Torino Universiade, while at the 1960 Roma Olympics he failed to survive the heats. Between 1957 and 1959 he took part in meets with the national teams of Great Britain, Sweden, and Yugoslavia. Nationally, Elsa won only one Italian title in the 100 backstroke in 1957 in Torino (1:09.3), clearly beating Bruno Cescon and Mario Cavari. He was also runner-up in 1956 and 1960 and third in 1959 and 1961.