Nuotatore

Nuotatore is the Italian noun for a person who swims. In everyday usage it can refer to anyone who swims regularly, and in sport it denotes an athlete who competes in swimming events. The feminine form is nuotatrice.

A nuotatore develops proficiency across the four competitive strokes: stile libero (freestyle/front crawl), dorso (backstroke), rana (breaststroke), and farfalla (butterfly). Medley events require proficiency in all four. Training combines in-water sets with technique drills, starts and turns, and dry-land conditioning to improve endurance, power, and efficiency. Swimmers compete in pool races ranging from 50 metres to 1500 metres, and in open-water events that cover longer distances. Successful nuotatori pay attention to nutrition, recovery, and race strategy as well as technique.

Governing bodies include World Aquatics, formerly FINA. Major competitions feature the Olympic Games, World Championships, and continental championships such as the European Aquatics Championships. National federations organize domestic meets, talent development, and selection for international events. Records and rankings are maintained by the governing bodies and reflect performances in both short-course (25m) and long-course (50m) pools, as well as open-water results.

In Italy, the sport has produced notable nuotatori such as Federica Pellegrini, an Olympic and world champion in middle to long-distance freestyle, and Gregorio Paltrinieri, a world champion and Olympic medalist in distance freestyle. The sport emphasizes technical precision, pacing, and race strategy, alongside physical conditioning.