Filippo Magnini - Biography

Biography

Magnini was born in Pesaro, Marche.

As a youth he played basketball, soccer, beach volleyball and tennis, but shifted to swimming at the age of ten. His first cap with Italian Swimming National Team was in 1998. Raised as a breaststroker, after 2000 he dedicated totally to freestyle swimming, soon to achieving noteworthy results. Magnini gained his first international score in 2003, with a silver medal in 100 m freestyle at the Dublin European Swimming Championships (short course). He won more three gold medals (in the 100 m, 4×100 m relay and 4×200 m relay freestyle) and one bronze medal in Madrid 2004 European Championships (long course). At the 2004 Summer Olympics Magnini won the bronze medal in the 4×200 m freestyle relay, scoring 5th in the 100 m freestyle. His steady rise reached its highest point in 2005 World Aquatics Championships, when he won the gold medal in the men's 100 m freestyle with the time of 48.12, then all-time second fastest behind Pieter van den Hoogenband's world record.

At the 2006 European Aquatics Championships he won the gold medal in the 100 m and in the 4×200 m freestyle races, and a bronze in the 200 m freestyle. The following year, he defended his world championship gold medal in the 100 m, as he tied for first place with Canadian Brent Hayden in a time of 48.43, resulting in joint gold.

Magnini's nickname is "Superpippo". Pippo is the normal Italian nickname of Filippo but also of Goofy's Italian version, and therefore the complete nickname refers to the funny superhero in which the comics character transforms sometimes in his Italian edition. From August 2011 has a romance with fellow swimmer Federica Pellegrini.