Salvatore Gionta took up aquatic sports as a teenager and had a lengthy and successful water polo career representing Italy. His first major international success came at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics, when he won a bronze medal with the national team. Two years later, he followed that up with bronze at the 1954 European Championships, before taking home gold in the competition at the 1955 Mediterranean Games. He was not selected for the team at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, but returned in 1960 in his home country to capture the gold medal. In-between, he took bronze at the 1959 Summer Universiade. He retired from active competition shortly after the Rome Olympics, but continued to remain active in coaching and administration. He received in 2015 the Collare d’Oro for Sporting Merit from the Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI).
With the exception of the 1949 season, when he played with Libertas Roma in the Second League, and in 1957, when he moved to Sturla, Gionta spent most of his career with S.S. Lazio and helped them win their only Italian title in 1956. Gionta won 62 caps with the national team and between 1976-97 was a Lazio region official of the Italian Olympic Committee.
Italy