Alberto Amodeo

Started: He took up Para swimming in 2017. "When I started swimming after the accident, I didn't know anything about the Paralympic world. For example, in my second training session [Italian Para swimmer] Federico Morlacchi came to pick me up. It was 2017, so it was a year after the 2016 Paralympic Games, where he had just won four medals, but I had no idea who he was." (mam-e.it, 12 Oct 2021; ecodellacitta.it, 21 Jun 2018) Reason: He played water polo before he acquired his impairment. "I started swimming sceptically, mostly to please my high school physical education teacher, Professor Musi. She encouraged me and put me in contact with a coach, and I began to like swimming. I continued playing water polo after the accident for a while. But it was a bit strange, water polo requires a lot of leg work, so I was struggling." (mam-e.it, 12 Oct 2021; ecodellacitta.it, 21 Jun 2018) Ambition: To compete at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris. (comune.albairate.mi.it, 03 Nov 2023) Awards: In 2022 he received the Collare d'Oro al Merito Sportivo [Golden Collar for Sporting Merit] from the Italian National Olympic Committee [CONI]. (primamilanoovest.it, 23 Nov 2022)