Underwater Federica Pellegrini (2022) - full transcript

Who cares.

I want to go back home to mommy.

I want to do a piercing,
get my driver's license,

graduate high school, celebrate.

The world final
of the 200m freestyle begins,

with Federica Pellegrini
in lane number four...

Now Federica Pellegrini is going stronger,

- impetuous, powerful.
- Pellegrini's pace accelerates.

She's about to make yet another dream,
another feat come true.

That's incredible.

Eight times in a row on the podium of the
world championship, in the same race.



It will be remembered forever.

VERONA, OCTOBER 2019

How many shoes are you taking with you?

I haven't packed them yet.

If I buy another pair of shoes,
there won't be any room left for me.

- Have you already finished? Really?
- Yes.

I can't believe it.

I don't know if in my life
I swam more laps

or closed more suitcases, but for sure...

today, leaving is not easy at all.

Are you ready?

They will be three tough weeks for you
too, you struggle on high ground.

Training in the mountains is tiring...

and necessary.



I know it well, it's been almost 20 years
that I train that way.

LIVIGNO
OCTOBER 2019 - WINTER COLLEGIAL

As I told you, the next three weeks
will be very difficult, very hard,

but all-important both for those who are
training for the European championship,

and for those who are not.

I will be quite strict.

I want maximum concentration,

we are here to train.

You only have to think about swimming.

If you want to reach
the objective of qualification,

which is the minimum goal for all of you,

you have to work hard.

Let's go in the water.
I won't have mercy of you today.

In position.

One and three. Four and nine,

six and seven... don't start earlier.

It's since I was 15 years old that people
always expect great feats from me.

If I'm still here it's because
there have been great feats.

Go.

But maybe also because I feel
there's still a long way to go.

I'm still hungry.

Two.

Come on.

After all, it doesn't matter
what others expect from me,

but what I feel.

I do it for myself. Absolutely.

Not for other people. Just for me.

Four. Nine, nine.

If in the 100m freestyle
and 200m freestyle I tell you,

"Don't breathe after the turn,"

the idea is that you train
to do things well.

During training,
it's needed to make it feel automatic.

If during training it's automatic
to breathe before the turn,

how can you think that in the race
you will do it right?

You know very well that for a hundredth
of a second, you can arrive fourth.

What I'm experiencing
these days it's a bit...

It's as if there's an internal struggle
in me, because...

On one hand, there is
the woman who wants...

to have a different life,

to have what she has always dreamed of,
like children,

building something solid.

And on the other hand, there is
the sportswoman who says, "Yes, but...

the fifth Olympics...

it's the fifth Olympics."
There's nothing much more than that.

My life has brought me

to be much more reluctant
to really open up to everyone.

I do not know if, temperamentally,
I'm strange,

but when friendship is considered

as the most important value
in life, I disagree.

I disagree because basically
I've never had a best friend.

For me, for example,

it has always been much more important
the love of a man,

than friendship per se.

I think that, apart from her family,

I am the only person
who knows her so deeply.

With me, she takes off that armor

that she created
over the years to defend herself

from the outside world
and become a beautiful woman,

a beautiful girl.
Strong, but fragile at the same time.

That's exactly what no one sees.

When she is with me, when she's at home,
when it's just me and her, that's...

It's hard to describe, but that's
what made me fall in love with her.

Until I started
training her in September 2012,

our relationship was very limited.

2012 - LONDON
XXX OLYMPICS

Lane six. Here she is,
Federica Pellegrini.

Seat belts fastened in the pool,
they've already turned on the jet engines.

Federica is in sixth position.
There's still hope she can climb back up.

Federica Pellegrini is placed in...

After the 2012 Olympics,

she decided to completely change
her training.

Matteo Giunta is a decisive guy,
32 years old, from Pesaro.

For a few weeks, he's been
Federica Pellegrini's new coach.

I wasn't seen as a coach

with enough experience
to be able to manage

the strongest Italian athlete
of all times.

2015 - KAZAN, RUSSIA
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

A wonderful Federica Pellegrini.

1:55.32. It is silver medal.

It is the sixth consecutive time
on a world championship podium.

This long wave of positivity, given by
the silver in the world championship

immediately left room for determination,

for the desire to do something important.

Now there's the countdown
for the race of the rebirth.

The Arab phoenix Federica Pellegrini
in her 200m freestyle.

Federica Pellegrini starts quite well.

Federica Pellegrini is arriving
at high speed.

She manages to be...
She's back in second, third,

now even in first position!

Something incredible is about to happen,

something unbelievable, unthinkable.

1:54.73! Gold medal
for Federica Pellegrini.

Guys, what a fairy tale.
Guys, what a record.

She's the best ever.

2019 - GWANGJU, SOUTH KOREA
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

The world championship final begins.

Federica Pellegrini has managed
to overcome the Australian Titmus.

Sjöström is growing a lot.

But Federica Pellegrini
is still in first place.

1:54.22. The Legend
of the Arab phoenix continues.

Gold medal, two years after Budapest.

She's fantastic.

It's been incredible.

The time is great and...

this means that all the work
we are doing together with Matteo

pays a lot. Perhaps as never before.

I'm very happy.

Because this is
my last world championship.

-Are you crying?
-Not because I'm sad.

Because I'm too happy.

VERONA, DECEMBER 2019

We will leave soon,
we have to take the race swimsuit.

Headphones, goggles.

We're going to Glasgow, to the European
Short Course Championships,

that will serve as a test.
It's the first race of the season.

Of course, I will want to do well.

I don't feel great, but that's okay.

- Bye.
- You'll have fun with grandma.

Bye.

This time I Haven't cried.

You've been good. Incredible.

I'll cry tonight.

In my bed.

Just don't watch Dumbo on the plane.

No.

I've already watched Dumbo.

GLASGOW, SCOTLAND - DECEMBER 2019
EUROPEAN SHORT COURSE CHAMPIONSHIPS

We are here in Glasgow.

Of course, it's basically always night.

I'm not feeling very well.

There will be very young athletes,
but I know that.

We knew it, because they are getting
younger and younger

as I get older. But I don't care,

it's nothing new to me.

PRE-RACE WARM UP

-Fede?
-Uh?

You made it...

I'm struggling.

Why? Huh?

- Uh?
- Why?

I'm trying to feel good in the water.

But...

I was okay until two days ago.

No, if you start thinking like that,

you won't get anything good out of it.
It's the first race you do, don't worry.

Today I really...

I feel like shit.

Yes, I understand. But why
do you feel you're not swimming well?

Representing Italy...

Federica Pellegrini.

200M FREESTYLE FINAL

Soon I will enter the water
for my 200m freestyle.

My routine before a race
it's always the same.

I isolate myself inside a bubble.

I need to be alone and stay focused.

I try not to hear all the noises, all
the confusion that exists before a race,

all the chatter, the looks.

It's just me, Matteo
and my lane, in this case.

A very focused Federica Pellegrini

in the moment she's entered the pool.

An incredible race,
with Federica Pellegrini

who now considerably increases her speed.

Federica Pellegrini is in front.
Watch out for lane number six,

because Anderson comes in
fast like an arrow.

You also need to arrive second.
A tenth of a second is really nothing.

She arrived a bit long,
but what do you want to do with it?

It is how it is.

I really haven't seen her.

Not... I mean...

You haven't seen her because
you were breathing on the other side.

-But...
-You're pissed off.

I'm not, I'm...

No. I'm telling you...

You can't-- I know
that you have given your best,

but you can't be so hard on yourself
for a fucking European championship.

- That's what I mean.
- I threw up before the race.

I wasn't feeling well.

Can I remove the strap?

I am calm, you're the one who's pissed.

No, but I feel you're not being objective.

I am crazy, but not that much.

In the water, I'm alone. But as soon as
I go out, I know that Matteo is there.

For better or for worse, whatever happens,

he is the first person with whom I share
the post-race impressions,

the joy of successes, the anger

or the disappointment
for the defeats, of course.

Even those that hurt me the most.

Federica Pellegrini, immediately present.

She who will be among the more awaited
and busier protagonists.

To bring back home a medal in Rio,
12 years after

her first Olympic medal in 2004,

it was something beautiful.

Fede was fine, physically ready
and the muscles were reacting well.

Mentally, she was full of confidence and
she couldn't wait to be put to the test.

Federica was doing things
during training...

that I had never seen her do.

It meant coming home with a medal.

And, probably, a nice and heavy medal.

A big show for this 200m freestyle final

at the Rio 2016 Olympics,

where Federica is looking for a medal.

200M FREESTYLE FINAL

Another medal for being a goddess

in the legend of swimming
and of the 200m freestyle.

Olympic final of the 200m freestyle.

Federica Pellegrini in lane number three.

There is the desperate comeback attempt
by Federica Pellegrini

on the edge of the third position,
now occupied by Emma McKeon.

You see that she's not swimming as usual,

you see that she is not reacting
as you would have liked.

And you understand that something
is not working.

You say, "Now she will come back."

So, you hope for it until the last second,

until the touch, until
you look up at the board

and you see that unfortunately...

Every one of your negative thoughts
becomes reality.

Federica Pellegrini is fourth.
1:55.18 for the Italian athlete.

Off the podium.

Too bad. Too bad indeed.

My first thought definitely
went to Federica.

I said, "I dare not imagine
what she's thinking right now."

I wished I could lift
her mood in some way.

She didn't deserve to finish
with a fourth place at the Olympics.

After Rio I could actually stop swimming,

after that fourth place.

For a tenth of a second.
I thought about it seriously.

RICCIONE, DECEMBER 2019
ITALIAN CHAMPIONSHIPS

I didn't give up.

Three years have passed,
we are here in Riccione

and... we are here to
to try and get another pass

for another Olympics.
It would be the fifth.

It all depends on the time, actually.

Everything has always depended on time.

A truly precise time limit

which, of course, would take me
to Tokyo if I swim faster than that.

If I go slower,
I'll have another chance in March.

My relationship with time has always been
a very good relationship,

in the sense that I have always
considered it as the only supreme judge...

that can definitely be
an enemy or a friend.

But it is an objective concept,
that's not forgiving,

or charitable, without any excuse.

200M FREESTYLE FINAL

Federica Pellegrini!

Go, Fede!

1:55.04 is the time it takes
to go to the Olympics.

The time for the Olympics
is not arriving now.

Swimming like this,
at this stage of the season,

she can be more than satisfied.

Racing like this, alone...

I'm not saying you would get a second
less. But in the end, in the last part,

even if you die, when you have
to fight against someone,

you have more energy, got it?

I'm tired inside.

I don't want to put on a swimsuit anymore,
to get the adrenaline pumping, everything.

Sometimes, winning is not enough.

I wasn't fast enough, we knew that...

in December, it would have been
very difficult to swim that time.

It's all postponed until next spring,
to the next Italian Championships.

We have four months
of really intense training ahead of us.

But for my family, there is no hurry.

They are waiting for me
as they actually have always done

since the first races.

Well, she has always shown
to have... quite a temper.

She has always been a free little girl,
but you could see that...

she wanted her own space.

At the swimming course, at the beginning
the instructor told me...

"This little girl doesn't want
to put her head under the water,

I don't know what to do anymore."

But soon after that,
she became friends with other girls

who attended the course
and it all started.

And she no longer came out of the water.

Look at Federica Pellegrini,
the young rising talent.

The athlete who has
the most interesting potential.

LIVORNO, MARCH 2004

- Impressive performance.
- It's an Italian record, 54:40!

54:40. That is perhaps the only time
that I remember really well.

In the 100m freestyle, on that day,
she had been the fastest in the world.

And she was 15 years old.

It's a time worth an Olympic final.

It meant Olympics.

You understand that your child
is going to the Olympics

when the bag
with the five circles arrives.

Tracksuit of Italy, uniform of Italy.

Something we never thought could happen.

Instead, we have a daughter
who was going to the Olympics.

Hi.

This is our room.

OLYMPIC VILLAGE
ATHENS, 2004

Nemo. Lion.

We went to get this camera,
because we wanted to record the races,

a little bit of everything.

So, I'll show you. This is the bed
of my beast with her lions.

Her brother.

2004, ATHENS
XXVIII OLYMPICS

Tickets in hand.

ATHENS, AUGUST 2004

She had made one of the best world times
on the 100m freestyle.

So we took the race package
for the 100m freestyle.

Look at Pellegrini.

He pulled out the flag.

Here we go. I'll see my Fede soon!

At Athens 2004, my first Olympics,

I unexpectedly win the silver medal
in the 200m freestyle,

because I had qualified
for the 100m freestyle.

So actually, my parents arrived
the day after the medal

to see me in the 100m freestyle.

Fede!

SPINEA
THE DAY BEFORE

Hello! Thank you!

We wanted to do something soft,
but our friends arrived

with posters, balloons...

200M FREESTYLE FINAL

Now is the moment of truth.

Federica's passage in the lead, 1:28.20.

And she throws herself towards
the possible gold medal.

1:58.22. Silver medal in this Olympics.

What a lovely hug.

In the end, I hugged the television

and I gave a kiss to Fede
who was being interviewed.

What could you tell him? Just "Thank you."

You're making Novella Calligaris
excited too.

- What can I do?
- It's beautiful.

Olympic medal at 16 years and 11 days old.

Then, we went
to pick up Federica at the airport

and there we realized
that there was ta lot of people,

because there were a lot of local TVs,

there was Rai, there were
friends, relatives...

And then, Federica arrived.

It was really nice.

I had goosebumps.

VERONA, JANUARY 2020

Today is January 6, the Epiphany.

There are exactly 200 days left
until the Tokyo Olympics.

And I honestly can't help
but think about it.

Considering the period,
considering what has been done,

I've seen good things from you.

I don't want you to set yourself
goals that are out of your reach.

In March, from the 17th to the 21st,
there will be the qualifying championships

for the Olympics.

When you take things
with a little more lightness,

it's better.

I'm sorry for you,
but today I won't have mercy.

The fact that I don't want to disappoint,

the fact of wanting to close
in a way that satisfies me...

And for me, satisfying
means that it has to go well.

The other thing that worries me

is that now, on January 25, we will leave

for an American collegiate
and I'll be away for five weeks.

In fact, I'm already thinking of how
I can be without Vanessa for that long.

And how Vanessa will be without me.

And this thing makes me feel bad,
because...

because five weeks is a lot

and I'm afraid she will miss me.

Let's go, come on, let's go.

Come on.

Fuck.

I've prepared Dumbo, White Fang...

Then I've prepared Lilo & Stitch,

and then, that of the dog that crosses
America, to find his owner and dies.

And I'll make you watch them all.

All with Polish subtitles.
So you'll also learn Polish.

FEBRUARY 2020 - WINTER COLLEGIATE

Fede has a problem to her shoulder.

It honestly worries me a bit,

because something is missing.
A 100% physical condition is missing.

Flagstaff is a situation that must be
managed in the best way possible.

She has to recover the shoulder
from the physical point of view,

and then arrive
to the last part of the season

with an impeccable physical condition.

Let's see.

So... the Olympics are not in six
or seven months for everyone,

but only for those who qualify.

For those who don't qualify,
they don't exist.

Work well now,
qualify and then we talk about it.

I want to see maximum commitment.

Let's go, guys! Let's go!

During every workout,
I swim at least for six kilometers.

Every 50 meters,
I do about thirty strokes.

This means that, during every workout,
my shoulders rotate 3600 times.

About 30,000 times every week.

120,000 every month.

And I've been training
for almost 20 years.

Let's measure Fede's lactate.

Measuring lactic acid, lactate,

so the salt that comes
from production in the absence of oxygen,

makes you understand when you go
in the absence of oxygen

and when the body manages to recover

that so-called "waste" product,

which instead is reused to produce energy.

In the past,

Federica suffered from a form of asthma

confirmed by the tests.

Bronchoconstriction and having
"shortness of breath"

are common problems for all swimmers,

because coming in contact
with chlorine and moisture,

the respiratory tract
is constantly stimulated

and they all have sinusitis.

They all have chronic sinusitis
that produces

an obstruction at the nasal level.

Hello, Mom. Hey. Did I tell you I've had
conjunctivitis these past few days?

Yes and you also made me worry.
I didn't tell you anything, but...

Why?

Because the first symptom
of Coronavirus is conjunctivitis.

Oh, shit.

Now you've made me worry too.

-Yes, but...
-And then?

And then, it hits the lungs.

Do you know the Olympics are at risk?

No way, Mom!
Before cancelling the Olympics...

-Let's hope so.
- Bye, Mom.

FEBRUARY 2020, WINTER COLLEGIATE

After three weeks of hard work
on the high ground of Flagstaff,

two weeks in the sun, in the heat,
outdoors, let you have

a flexible effect.

You don't lower
the intensity of the workouts,

but at least, you are
in a warm and pleasant environment.

Do 400m snorkel style,

then you make four 50m
and a 100m for four times.

50m freestyle and 100m medley.

The freestyle series include
one exercise, one smaller number,

one exercise and one swim.

Five.

Up.

Five.

Up.

Up.

7.4. Good, come on.

What's wrong?

I don't like the way I'm swimming.

My pace is...

Actually, it's not...

It's like I never get the pace right.

The first series strokes are good enough,

but in the others I'm struggling a lot.

Let's say that the double stroke...

It is closer to...
to the second series one, right?

The second series.
While the third is more lime a 100m.

If I'm swimming 27 plus 27, it's 54.

So what?

It sucks.

Yes, but the 100m are two 50m.

It's one, not 40 laps.

It's not 3.5 kilometers, you know?

Are you listening to me?

Ok, now you don't want to talk.
Let's talk later.

I don't have the right stroke.
I'm not saying my workout is shit.

I get it, but it seems like...

you've been swimming at 30 seconds a lap.

You're going well. Be happy about it.

I have to convince you
that you are doing well.

Here we go!

You've pissed me off today.

Why?

- Uh?
- Me? When?

This morning.

Then we were both angry.

Go, Fede!

Huh? Only one.

-Fuck!
- Don't tell me.

-Uh?
-Don't tell me.

22.3, this is the best 50m

of these five weeks.
Get ready. Let's go home.

MARCH 2020

Growing concern for the new
lung virus, the Coronavirus.

The World Health Organization

declared the pandemic state, threatening,
therefore, the entire world population.

Another day with many new cases confirmed.

There have been 1,145 of them.

The total number of cases in Italy
has now reached 5,061.

Italy has always been a unique area.

Italy is protected.

But now we also declare the closure
of all commercial activities...

retail stores,
pharmacies and para-pharmacies,

Let's keep a distance today...

to run faster tomorrow.

As long as they let me swim.

ROME, MARCH 2020

Okay welcome to this...

Are these Olympics being held?

Yes, of course.

Will you swim without water?

You had to come and see me
at the races here in Italy, but...

-I can't anymore.
-Closed doors.

Oh, I'm so sorry you did...

-Bummer.
-I know.

But you have a bathtub at home,

-maybe you can invite her...
-I don't even take a bath,

I take showers.

FEDE! YOU'RE OUR CHAMPION AND WE HOPE
TO HAVE BECOME YOUR IGT FAMILY!

Anyway, I have a breaking news.

The pool in Riccione where we were
supposed to do the Italian championship

for the Olympic qualifiers is now closed.

So, we don't know if they will be held,

if they will do them there,
if they will be postponed,

or if they will be cancelled.

Anyway, Dad says that for now
there is no news.

Let's see.

Let's watch. Hello.

Mom! There's Mom, look! Look, Mom!

Have you seen how hot she is? Huh?

Here in Italy there's a really
big mess for this Coronavirus.

They are closing cities.

Let's say that 99%, the qualifications
in Riccione they will not be held,

also because all Rimini
and its province are a red zone.

We've been training for three months,

that I train for this. So now,
not being able to do the qualification

or at least not test myself now that
we are at the end of the season

it seems crazy to me.

Today's diary... What day is it?

March 9.
News is that the Italian Championships,

so the qualifications for the Olympics,
won't take place.

So... now we're screwed.

You're not heavy at all.

In the bedroom there's a spider web.

I'll clean that too.
Come on, let's go to the bedroom.

Go, go. It's in the corner
above my bedside table.

What do you see?

- Hello, potato, hello!
- Hi!

On those days, you feel a bit...

Yes, there is Matteo,
there is Vanessa, but...

It never happened in my career,

not even when I was younger,
to not being able to train for so long.

Anyway, since I have a past
as a chubby girl,

when I tend to gain
a little more weight than usual,

all that nastiness I experienced
in that period comes back.

I had just won the silver medal
in Athens in 2004.

I moved to Milan
and I was there until August 2006.

I think they were the two longest
years of my life.

It was hard also because
I was away from my family,

like I am now. Maybe that's why
I'm sensitive right now.

Keep pushing.
Even if it hurts, keep going.

Come on! Good!

11 seconds, oh!

- Is it an 11?
- 11.

Alessandro suffered...

after the Olympics.

Federica came home and said,
"Look, my coach

moves to Milan
and I would like to follow my coach."

They shared a bedroom

and so Alessandro found himself alone.

Me too, I have to be honest.

It wasn't easy knowing that
your little girl is leaving at 16.

Mario!

I had just won the silver medal in Athens,

and with this medal around my neck,
I found myself catapulted into a world

that I was not ready for.

With people who drag you
from pillar to post,

and you don't know
why you are doing those things,

you would just like to swim,
but there's the sponsor,

the percentage, this and that...

Something was wrong.

Then, we started talking about weight.

She was a girl
and she was becoming a woman.

And that led her to feel uncomfortable,

until one evening, when I arrived...

Carletta took me aside and told me,

"Cinzia, we have a problem with Federica,

because she locks herself in the bathroom
and begins to throw up."

I hurt myself, because...

I used to put my toothbrush
in my mouth and vomit

when I ate too much, in my opinion.

I have to say it hurts me
to think back at those years.

I was so mad at the world.

JULY 2005 - WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

The awaited final starts. Four laps
to know how it will end.

Is it silver for Federica or is it gold?

It's silver, it's 1:58.60.

Silver medal again.

We can't hide behind a finger,
we were waiting for a gold.

We are with a world championship
silver medalist, with Federica Pellegrini,

who wanted a podium, but wanted gold.

And she's pretty... angry?

Yes, I'm angry mainly for the feeling

I've had in the water, that's it.

I didn't even see the race,
but I saw Federica swollen,

with an acne on her face
like I had never seen.

She was not well. Definitely not.

- Let's leave...
- Let's wait a moment.

Yes.

My intention was
to change everything around me.

I changed coach,
I followed Alberto Castagnetti

and everyone said to me, "No Fede,

don't do it! You don't
know what person he is!

He has never trained a woman.

He won't have mercy on you,
and with the shoulder problem you have..."

Federica needed protection
and then Alberto arrived.

I don't want any argument,
you do what I tell you and that's it.

Alberto, the most beautiful person ever.

I have to say "thank you"
to Alberto. Thank you.

I think he loved Federica like a daughter.

Tell us a joke.

"Mom? Can you get pregnant
at nine years old?"

"No." "Yay!"

That summer was the turning point.

It was the summer
in which I tattooed the Phoenix,

which is the symbol of rebirth
and it was truly my rebirth.

Goodnight!

MARCH 2007 - WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

The first thing Alberto told me

when he started coaching Federica...

was, "I'll change her swim,
I'll make her swim like a man."

Federica Pellegrini changed everything
of her life, this last year.

She moved, she went elsewhere,
she changed coach.

She trained with Alberto Castagnetti.

Pay attention to the last lap.

Federica goes on, she touches first.

- It's a world record!
- World record!

Great!

A new world record.

That's to show that all changes
she has made are paying off.

Alberto was like the pool God.

With Federica, he got to experience
satisfactions

that he did not find with others.

And Federica, with Alberto,
has obtained ten world records.

2008 - BEIJING
XXIX OLYMPICS

In 2008, according to him,

Federica was the fastest
in the world in the 400m,

so she had to win two medals.
400m and 200m.

400M FREESTYLE FINAL

The final of the 400m freestyle,
the final of Federica Pellegrini,

the final in which Italy
could get where it's never been before.

She's six tenths of a second behind.
Federica must pick up the pace.

She doesn't make it.
Something is not working.

So, fifth place for Federica.

That badly done 400m...

took their tool on her.

When a race has to
go wrong, it goes wrong.

Federica called us and said, "Don't worry.

That was the wrong race."

Federica's phone call,
"Don't worry, that was the wrong race."

It's a tough race in the middle of a pool
in which it will not be easy to swim.

200M FREESTYLE FINAL

This is her position
before getting on the starting block.

The hope she'll keep
that attitude even during the race.

She's in the front, the others are behind.

This is Federica Pellegrini's race,
she has to lead.

Resist, Federica!

She has to resist!
It's a gold medal, if she can!

- Is it gold medal? Gold!
- Yes!

Gold!

A new world record, once again: 1:54.82.

You've finally won, Federica.

Yes, I've won!

- First gold in female swimming history.
- And with a world record.

So, we put together
the two things I care about the most.

She deserved it all.

- Did you expect it?
- No.

So, a great satisfaction.

- Definitely, yes.
- Alberto!

We let you go, because you are very moved.

ROME, ITALY
JULY 2009 - WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

In Rome, ten days lived with goosebumps.

There, if one asks me, "What did you
really live of swimming?"

I'd say, "Ten days in Rome."

I've never seen such a thing for swimming.

Federica already knows what she has to do.

Federica is still ahead. Go on!

A seemingly unlimited progression
for Federica.

In her local water
she's about to win the gold medal

and to get a historical world record!

The four-minute threshold
has been demolished.

She's confirmed herself.

I cried a lot

for the races she has done,
for the world records she obtained,

for the people in the stands,
the cheering, the flags.

It was beautiful, really.

200M FREESTYLE FINAL

27:34 for Federica.

She's started protecting herself
and goes to take the lead of the race.

Now she's accelerating.

Another incredible victory.
There's no match.

A lead that increases with each stroke.

Gold medal and world record
for the second time.

1:52.98. She goes under 1:53.

Second gold medal.

An amazing, wonderful Federica

who turns to greet the audience.

I always say it was
the most beautiful week of my life.

The emotion has been too strong,
I've had to live it alone.

She has became a true
world-class champion.

But it is not her chrono by right.

I think she has a chrono which may be less

of at least a couple of seconds.

And we will get to it
from now till the Olympics.

Alberto had told us, even before Rome,

that after the World Championships
he would go to the hospital

to have heart surgery.

I remember it like it was yesterday.
I'm at work and my wife calls me.

I hear her crying
and she tells me, "Alberto is dead."

Yes. If I close my eyes, I still hear
Federica's scream on the phone.

The next morning we arrived in Verona.

The guys were in the pool.

The feeling, even when
we entered, was that of...

of a still image.

The water was completely still.

There was no noise.

Suddenly, without anyone
saying anything, the guys got up.

They put themselves on the starting blocks
and they went in the water.

That's what I remember most clearly
about Alberto's death.

VERONA - OCTOBER 15, 2009

Now I'm in front of everyone,
without any protection,

without any reference point, for now.

Because that's what Alberto was too.

It's hard to recover from such a blow.

INSTANBUL, TURKEY - DECEMBER 2009
EUROPEAN SHORT COURSE CHAMPIONSHIPS

But she managed to do it greatly.

An amazing Federica Pellegrini
in lane four.

It is a world record! 1:51.17.

Gold medal for Italy.

And then, there was the beautiful image
of when she pointed the sky

to thank Alberto.

VERONA - MARCH 24, 2020

And the virus also stops the Olympics,

the Tokyo Olympic Games
will be postponed to 2021.

It's already night,
when Prime Minister Abe surrenders.

After a conference call
with the Olympic Committee,

he announces to the world that the
Olympic Games are postponed to 2021.

It's tough, because...

I will be 33 years old.

And another year...

I hope it doesn't change me physically.

I hope it doesn't change me mentally.

I want this fifth Olympics, but...

Heck, it will be very difficult for me.

VERONA - MAY 25, 2020

After almost three months, today gyms and
swimming pools throughout Italy reopen.

Athletes will start training again

and Federica Pellegrini goes back in the
water at the Swimming Centre of Verona.

Good morning.

Okay, get ready.

So, the quarantine is now over.

Today and tomorrow will be
the last two easy workouts.

From Monday, we start to get serious.

Therefore, I demand maximum commitment.

Let's go.

When you swim for so long,
for as long as I did,

water becomes your element.

In the weeks of quarantine
I missed it very much.

34.9.

Yes, very good.

VERONA, OCTOBER 2020

Record number of infections in the last
few hours in various regions of Italy.

It is still a progressive worsening
of data on the trend of new infections

from Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 in Italy.

And behind this rise in infections,
there may be hiding the possibility

of a Christmas 2020 in full lockdown.

It happened, yes.
Unfortunately, it happened to me too.

The coronavirus has not spared even
who, rediscovered strokes and enthusiasm,

was ready for the International
Swimming League of Budapest,

desiring a normality that,
suddenly, it seems more and more distant,

like the dream of the last Olympics.

The other night I had a bad dream.

I dreamed that I was doing a race...

and I stopped, because I couldn't breathe.

It seems like everything
is against me, this past year.

Third day of quarantine.

So, the night was so and so.

At 3:30am I woke up with a drilling pain
in the back of my head

and with 37.7 temperature.

I took a Tachipirina
and I fell back asleep.

I sweated a lot tonight.

Who is there?

Mom and Uncle
who brought me the groceries!

-Oh! Thank you, Ale.
-Hello.

-Here you go.
-Thank you!

-Bye.
-Bye.

Ninth day of quarantine.
Tomorrow is Sunday,

which will be the tenth,
and on Monday I'll do the nasal swab.

Swab done. Now we wait for the result.

I did it privately,
I have to tell the truth,

because I need to have a quick result.

If it's negative, I know
that in seven to ten hours,

tomorrow morning I'll be in the water.

Mom!

Mom!

I'm negative!

NEW YEAR'S EVE 2020

Wow.

Wow.

This is "New Year's Eve 2020 at home"
style, right?

Five, four, three...

two, one!

Happy New Year!

FONT ROMEU, FRANCE
FEBRUARY 2021, WINTER COLLEGIATE

2021. A new year.

But my life is always the same.

I am older, I had Covid,

I didn't train with the continuity
that I should've had.

Meanwhile, the last chance to conquer
the fifth Olympic pass

is getting closer and closer.

Ladies and gentlemen, let's get ready.

Shall we start to see
something interesting

or do we continue to have
this shitty speed?

Eight and seven.

Let's close with 50m. Change of pace.

Hold on.

60 yellow, last lap.

Let's go, react!

Five...

The question already arose
in 2018, so you can imagine how she feels.

"Can my body withstand
a certain type of training?"

And, "An I still able to swim
the 200m at high level?"

I have to see how she holds up
until the Italian Championships.

Then there will be 15 or 16 weeks
to the Olympics.

It's not time to worry.

No, exactly, I mean...

Today's training is
very important, very difficult.

I want to see you sweat blood.

Up.

From now on,

she is training with the goal
to achieve qualification

at the Riccione championships in March.

Fede, you see that you're slowly
picking up the pace?

I'm not tired,
but I can't do more than this.

I know.

Yes. The last one was good.

When she her period will be over,

she won't be bloated anymore...

I know.

...and her progesterone level will
decrease.

-No, the thing is... I mean...
-I know you know, but...

It's pointless to think about that now.

Because it won't change a thing.

Are you warm?

I feel like I was giving my all,

but my muscles were still in standby.

In the last 15m of the 100m,
it's like the light was out.

APRIL 2021 - ITALIAN CHAMPIONSHIPS

So, we have just arrived in Riccione.

The qualification races for the Olympics
will take place here.

So, it's a very important stage.

You have to try to be a couple of tenths
of second faster in the first 50m.

Okay?

The Italian Swimming Federation
welcomes you

to the Riccione Swimming Stadium.

Then, let go. It's 100m,
you have to show power and speed.

100M FREESTYLE FINAL

They're ready to go up
on the starting block.

Federica Pellegrini, lane number four.

And they go in, with the divine...

Well, the pace of the champion
in lane four is going to be important.

There's no match for first place,
the queen Federica Pellegrini,

is leading ahead. 53:86 is her time.

Tell me about it.

I've felt good until the 75m, then...

For the last few meters I've collapsed.

You did the second 25m very well.

26.0, perfect passage.

Maybe a bit too fast,
considering I've collapsed at the end.

The second 25m was perfect.

Tell me.

I just don't get it.

If you want to turn a good race
into a shitty race...

Don't be the guy who attacks
to defend himself.

No, but...

Fede, I am not defending myself.

You're pissed too.

But you did 53.8. It's not like...

I needed the right time, Matteo.
You don't get it.

I get it, so?

Matteo gets pissed off because...

Because I am always pessimist,

I am never satisfied.

While he always tries to
look at the bright side.

Anyway, I didn't get the time I needed,
so there's no bright side.

This continuous chase to get...

the time, the times, the races...

You take and leave,
you get tested and come back,

things go wrong
and you have to pull yourself up,

then things go wrong again
and you have to pull yourself up again

and again and again... I'm tired.

Federica, can you hear me?

- Yes.
- Fede, it's a situation...

I hadn't cried like that
in a very long time.

Last night my eyes were so swollen
I couldn't see a thing.

But I kept crying the whole afternoon too.

Yes, Fede. But all that tension

in the end...
Of course, now you must be exhausted.

Yes.

Adaptation is your strength and it seems
like you want to complicate your life,

to put yourself in the condition
of having to pull out everything you have.

In Riccione, the qualifying time
for the Olympics is 1:56.8.

It's been more than a year
that she isn't swimming below 1:57,

so she must swim well.

I'm already fed up today. That's enough.

PRE-RACE WARM UP

You're a bit under the pace.

Your frequency is 44.

If I don't make the time today,
there's no...

There's really no point in moving forward.

It doesn't make sense to me,
it doesn't make sense for the path I took

in these years, it makes no sense...

for all the effort
I put in this sport in all these years.

A few more seconds
of patience and waiting.

Something touched the slabs.

My God, what a mess.

It's a disaster.

Things like that can't happen
in an Italian Championship.

Their times are crucial,
you can't take them manually.

Fuck!

Time passes and there hasn't been a reset
of the timing system yet.

So, they go back again
inside the call room

the finalists
of the women's 200m freestyle.

She's in her own focused state of mind,

so anything that comes out of the ordinary
can divert attention,

she can lose her focus.

Maybe they've sorted it out.

Back out of the call room,
Federica Pellegrini,

as well as all the others athletes
of the 200m freestyle final.

The fine-tuning of the timing system
should be over.

200M FREESTYLE FINAL

The time to go to Tokyo is 1:56.9.

Here she is! This expresses
all her satisfaction.

Federica is emotional today.

We haven't seen you so excited
at an Italian championship in a long time.

I'm sorry, it's just that...

These past few months have not been easy.

So much anger yesterday for that tenth
of a second, because I said...

I could've done it yesterday
and take this "weight" off my shoulders.

Instead, I've done it today and maybe
it's even better,

because it's in my race, so...

Hey, you have the time.
You are officially qualified.

Okay, so I won't stop swimming, then.

We're going to Tokyo!

TOKYO 2020
XXXII OLYMPICS

24 hours to the opening ceremony,

that will be without an audience,
only television.

The Olympic village
in Tokyo is like a fortress,

only accredited athletes can enter,
vaccinated with two doses

and who have done the quarantine,
serological testing and swabs.

But the stadium will be almost empty.

With only just about 950 people,
mostly officials and journalists,

watching from the stands.

I'll show you our room.

The living room.

The walls are...

in plasterboard, if not...

Everything can be disassembled.

The bathroom.

Mini, but the toilet is super
and it is heated too.

There is no shelf, nothing.

And the beds are made...

of cardboard!

Now, let's move on to swimming.

There are four heats.

Ledecky is in the second one,

Faith is in the third one
and Titmus is in the first one.

Federica Pellegrini on the starting block.

The quick passage we saw
before, with Oleksiak at a slower pace.

There's the athlete who beat her at the
recent European Championships, Seemanova.

There is Siobhan Haughey
in lane five, who swam in 1:54

solo in Hong Kong.

She has a bit of difficulty
at the exit of turn.

She doesn't push well, she doesn't
collect the thrust from the wall well

with the higher leg, Federica Pellegrini.

56:73 is Federica's time in the middle
of the race, fourth position.

It's a difficult path,
loaded with fatigue and sacrifices,

that has led her here.

Come on, Fede.

Now, though, it's time
to push a little more.

Go!

Go, Fede!

Federica slipped in fourth,
now even in fifth position.

It's a slower heat
compared to the previous one.

Federica's time is 1:57.33,
fifth position.

If I have to say,
there's been many imperfections...

No. Is she out?

...at risk of elimination.

She's already in tenth position,
a bit too slow.

Perhaps, she overestimated her position
and her chronometric feedback.

I believe, I think and I hope, above all,

that Federica Pellegrini's journey
won't end here.

In the next heat there are eight athletes,

who should basically all go
faster than her.

Federica Pellegrini should be
qualified, even if just barely.

We are waiting for the official times,
then we'll go to the mixed zone

to listen to her interview.

She should be inside...

Yes, she's in with the fifteenth
and second to last time.

It seemed to me to be much more tired

than I actually was.

So I'm in in the nick of time,
we can say that.

Now, for sure tomorrow morning
I need to change pace

and fight from a side lane for the final.

- She's risked it, though.
- Yes.

This morning's race will be my final.

It's a semi-final,
but it will in fact be my final.

I will start from a side lane,
a lane where I have never swam,

but that doesn't worry me.

I absolutely want to give myself
a good race.

To fight until the end,
with everything I've got

to try and enter in that fifth final.

The final window remains open
for Federica Pellegrini.

We are all holding our breath

for the entrance
on the pool floor by Federica Pellegrini.

Here she is.

Federica Pellegrini, lane number eight,
climbs on the starting block.

It takes the attitude of the champion.

Federica tries to give everything she has.

Yes, go, damnit!

Federica Pellegrini improves
compared to yesterday.

She should be in the final.
I want to wait for the official timings

before giving the news, because the
calculation of the hundredth of seconds

and of the tenths is never easy

when the athletes are all so close.

Yes! Federica Pellegrini is in!

It is the fifth individual final
and a woman's first time

in the history of swimming worldwide.

Once again, Federica Pellegrini.

- Have you seen? She's crying.
- Yes, great.

I'm happy.

I'm happy, because...

she has a life ahead of her.

She hasn't lived it yet.

Now, it'll just be fun.

I'm really overjoyed to be there.

To race my last 200m freestyle...

At the Olympics.

It's all very nice.

On the last 15m, I wondered,

"Are you happy?" And I answered yes.

A strange thing happened,
as I walked back from the canteen.

One thing I didn't realize until now.

I realized that it will be my last race.

200M FREESTYLE FINAL

Federica Pellegrini!

Now is the time to make history,
the last race in the 200m freestyle

at the Olympics for Federica Pellegrini.

It was beautiful.
200 meters I've raced smiling.

I've felt an inner peace
that's difficult to describe.

It was a 20-year long journey, yes.

In those 200m, there were
20 years of swimming,

20 years of strokes, of kilometers,

of fatigue, of blood, of sweat.

I maybe only missed my family,

but my family is always there.

It was all nice, everything...

almost difficult to explain.

A feeling of indescribable
inner lightness.

It's as if I understood

to be in the right place
at the right time.

It was nice, really...

I end at peace with myself.

JULY 28, 2021
FEDERICA BECOMES THE FIRST FEMALE SWIMMER

IN THE WORLD TO RACE 5 OLYMPIC FINALS
IN THE SAME SPECIALTY.

HER WORLD RECORD IN THE 200M FREESTYLE
STILL HASN'T BEEN BEATEN.