Gianni Paliaga

Biographical information

RolesCompeted in Olympic Games
SexMale
Full nameGiovanni Salvatore "Gianni"•Paliaga
Used nameGianni•Paliaga
Born11 February 1931 in Trieste, Trieste (ITA)
Died29 December 2019 in Trieste, Trieste (ITA)
AffiliationsFIAT Torino, Torino (ITA)
NOC Italy

Biography

Gianni Paliaga was one of the best Italian swimmers of the 1950s. In 1949, at the age of 18, he won the Italian 200 freestyle championship, the first of his seven individual Italian titles, while in 1950 he won in the 200, 400 and 1,500 free. In addition to numerous podiums, he was Italian champion over 1,500 metres for three consecutive years (1952-54) and, with the FIAT Torino team, he also won the 4x200 free relay three times.

Internationally Paliaga competed at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics and, two years later, at the 1954 European Championships in Torino where he was sixth with the 4x200 free relay. After his career in the pool, Paliaga won the Traversata dello Stretto (The Crossing of the Strait) between Villa San Giovanni and Messina in both 1957-58, setting a record of 1-02:47 in 1957, which lasted over 20 years.

Results

Games Discipline (Sport) / Event NOC / Team Pos Medal As
1952 Summer Olympics Swimming (Aquatics) ITA Gianni Paliaga
4 × 200 metres Freestyle Relay, Men (Olympic) Italy 14

Special Notes