Rachele Bruni (born 4 November 1990) is an Italian swimmer, specialising in open water long-distance races. She won the silver medal in the 10 km marathon at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio. She competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics, in 10 km open water.[3] She won the FINA 10km Marathon Swimming World Series 3 times in 2015,[4] 2016[5] and 2019.[6]

Rachele Bruni
Bruni at the 2016 Olympics
Personal information
National team Italy
Born (1990-11-04) 4 November 1990 (age 34)[1]
Florence, Italy[2]
Height1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Weight59 kg (130 lb)
Sport
SportSwimming
StrokesFreestyle
Medal record
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
Olympic Games 0 1 0
World Championships 0 1 2
European Championships 10 2 2
Total 10 4 4
Representing Italy
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place 2016 Rio de Janeiro 10 km open water
World Championships
Silver medal – second place 2019 Gwangju Team relay
Bronze medal – third place 2017 Budapest Team relay
Bronze medal – third place 2019 Gwangju 10 km open water
European Championships
Gold medal – first place 2008 Dubrovnik 5 km
Gold medal – first place 2008 Dubrovnik 5 km team
Gold medal – first place 2011 Eilat 5 km
Gold medal – first place 2011 Eilat 5 km team
Gold medal – first place 2012 Piombino 5 km
Gold medal – first place 2012 Piombino 5 km team
Gold medal – first place 2016 Hoorn 10 km
Gold medal – first place 2016 Hoorn 5 km team
Gold medal – first place 2020 Budapest Team relay
Gold medal – first place 2022 Rome Team relay
Silver medal – second place 2010 Budapest 5 km team
Silver medal – second place 2011 Eilat 10 km
Bronze medal – third place 2018 Glasgow 5 km
Bronze medal – third place 2020 Budapest 10 km

Career

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In 2015, Bruni became the first Italian swimmer to win the FINA 10km Marathon Swimming World Series. She won it again in 2016.

At the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Bruni won the silver medal in the 10 km marathon, behind Sharon van Rouwendaal. She initially finished in 3rd position, just behind world champion Aurélie Muller, but the latter was disqualified for obstructing Bruni at the finish line.[7][8] She has dedicated her medal to her girlfriend, Diletta Faina.[9]

She is a 10-time gold medalist at the European Open Water Swimming Championships.[10]

In 2019, she won for the third time the FINA Marathon Swim World Series 2019.[11]

During the 2019 World Aquatics Championships, held in Gwangju, Bruni won the bronze medal in the 10 km and the silver medal in the 5 km team.[12]

In January 2020, with 73.9% of the votes, she won the LEN Award in the Cross-Country category, an award assigned by the European Swimming League to the best continental performers in aquatic disciplines.

In November 2021 she was inducted into the prestigious International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame, entering the list of the best swimmers in the world ever.[13]

Works

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Volevo solo nuotare (200.000 bracciate con Rachele Bruni), the Bruni’s biography written by the Italian author Luca Farinotti was published in 2020.[14] This book was very important in Italy as Rachele Bruni was the first Italian Olympic athlete to “come out”.[15] This news was deemed by the newspapers more interesting than her Olympic silver medal: instead Bruni tells the true sporting life of a woman. The book won Bancarella Selezione Sport, most prestigious sport books prize in Italy.[16][17]

References

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  1. ^ "Rachele Bruni". Rio 2016 Organizers. Archived from the original on 22 September 2016. Retrieved 15 August 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  2. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Rachele Bruni". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 2020-04-17.
  3. ^ "Marathon Swimming BRUNI Rachele - Tokyo 2020 Olympics". olympics.com. Retrieved 2021-09-26.
  4. ^ Marsteller, Jason (2015-10-17). "Christian Reichert, Rachele Bruni Win 2015 FINA 10K Marathon Swimming World Cup". Swimming World News. Retrieved 2024-03-08.
  5. ^ "Competition Results | World Aquatics Official". World Aquatics. Retrieved 2024-03-08.
  6. ^ "Expand Medicaid's Investment In Community Violence Intervention". Forefront Group. 2023-07-28. doi:10.1377/forefront.20230727.637306. Retrieved 2024-03-08.
  7. ^ "Rio Olympics 2016: Sharon van Rouwendaal wins open water swim; Keri-Anne Payne seventh". BBC. 15 August 2016. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
  8. ^ Keith, Braden (15 August 2016). "Aurélie Muller DQ'ed after winning silver medal in women's 10km swim". Swimswam. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
  9. ^ "Olimpiadi, Rachele Bruni dedica la sua medaglia d'argento alla compagna Diletta: "Troppi pregiudizi, io vivo serena"" [Olympic games, Rachele Bruni dedicates her silver medal to her girlfriend Diletta: "Too many prejudices, I live a nice life"]. L'Huffington Post (in Italian). 16 August 2016. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
  10. ^ Anderson, Jared (16 July 2016). "Blueseventy swim of the week: Bruni maintains OW Euros dominance". Swimswam. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
  11. ^ "PR 80- Rasovszky (HUN) and Bruni (ITA) top overall FINA/CNSG Marathon Swim World Series 2019". FINA. 2019-09-30.
  12. ^ "2019 World Championships: Xin Wins 10K, First Wave Qualifies for Tokyo 2020". SwimSwam. 14 July 2019. Archived from the original on 2019-07-15. Retrieved 2020-01-29.
  13. ^ "Class of 2022 Italy".
  14. ^ "Il libro sulla Bruni per il Bancarella sport: "Se ti perdi nell'acqua allora sei nel posto giusto"" (in Italian). Retrieved 2023-02-27.
  15. ^ "Rachele Bruni, la prima italiana a fare coming out alle Olimpiadi - Donnamoderna". Donna Moderna. 2016-08-17. Retrieved 2023-02-27.
  16. ^ "Federazione Italiana Nuoto - "Volevo solo nuotare" terzo al Premio Bancarella". www.federnuoto.it. Retrieved 2023-02-27.
  17. ^ umbriaecultura (2020-05-15). "Premio Bancarella: Luca Farinotti vince per il secondo anno". Umbria e Cultura (in Italian). Retrieved 2023-02-27.
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