Gian Corrado Gross

Italian swimming icon Gianni Gross was born in Berlin during World War II. He trained at Patavium Padova and was responsible for discovering Novella Calligaris, the first Italian swimmer to win an Olympic medal when she won silver in the 400 metres freestyle at the 1972 Olympics.

Gross was the founder and president of the Plain Team in Veneto, the best swimming team in the Veneto region, and he trained many Venetian champions including the Olympians Fabrizio Rampazzo, Alice Carpanese, Renata Spagnolo, and [Luca Dotto] (). Iin addition to his coaching record, however, he was a highly respected and successful swimmer.

A member of the Rari Nantes Florentia club, Gross first represented the Italian national team as a breaststroke swimmer in 1963. He went on to win eight national titles and set 12 Italian individual and relay records. He won a silver at the 1963 Universiade, and finished seventh in the 4x100 medley relay at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. Gross won two golds at the 1967 Mediterranean Games in Tunis. He beat the Spaniard José Durán in the 100 metres final and set the Italian record in winning gold in the 4x100 medley relay.

As a national coach, Gross was at the 1983 and 1985 European Championships, and the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, and was a member of the LEN technical commission. Gross was always devoted to training and physical education and attended daily sessions at the gym at the Padova Nuoto club. After being taken ill at the gym in September 2013, however, he underwent a delicate operation. After a partial recovery he had a relapse and was operated on again in 2015 and the onset of complications enforced a long hospital stay until he died at the age of 74.