Gianni De Magistris

Gianni De Magistris was an Italian water polo player, one of the best Italian center forwards, who captained the Italian national team beginning in 1973. Domestically he won two Italian titles with R.N. Florentia Firenze (1976 / 1980, the second also as coach), the Italian Cup in 1976, and finished his career with Camogli in 1986, after having scored 1,880 goals in the Top League.

De Magistris made his début with the national team in 1967, competing at five Olympic Games (1968-84) and winning silver in 1976 at Montréal. The previous year he won bronze at the World Championships in Cali, Colombia. In 1977 he was again bronze medalist at the Jönköping European Championships and at the Summer Universiade in Sofia. In 1978 De Magistris had his greatest victory, winning gold at the West Berlin World Championships. In his career with the national team, he made 382 appearances, scoring 775 goals.

After his playing days, De Magistris became coach of the men’s team Rari Nantes Florentia and subsequently of the women’s team Fiorentina Waterpolo, leading them to titles in the 2006/07 season in the Italian Top League, the European Champions Cup, and the European Super Cup. He later became a television commentator for water polo. Since 1995 he has been a member of the International Swimming Hall of Fame.

In December 2015, a plaque with his name was placed on the Walk of Fame of Italian sport at the Foro Italico Olympic park in Roma, reserved for Italian athletes who have distinguished themselves in international competition.