Novella Calligaris

Novella Calligaris

Novella Calligaris at the 1972 Olympics
Personal information
Nationality	Italian
Born	(1954-12-27) 27 December 1954 (age 69) Padua
Height	1.63 m (5 ft 4 in)
Weight	48 kg (106 lb)
Sport
Sport	Swimming
Strokes	Freestyle and medley
Medal record Olympic Games 1972 Munich 400 m freestyle 1972 Munich 800 m freestyle 1972 Munich 400 m medley World Championships 1973 Belgrade 800 m freestyle 1973 Belgrade 400 m freestyle 1973 Belgrade 400 m medley European Championships 1974 Vienna 800 m freestyle 1970 Barcelona 800 m freestyle 1974 Vienna 400 m freestyle Mediterranean Games 1971 Izmir 400 m freestyle 1971 Izmir 200 m medley

Novella Calligaris (born 27 December 1954) is a retired Italian swimmer, and the first Italian to win an Olympic medal in swimming. Her elder brother Mauro Calligaris was also an Olympic swimmer.^[1]

Biography

Aged 13 Calligaris competed at the 1968 Olympics in the 200 m, 400 m and 800 m freestyle, but was eliminated in the heats of all events. At 14, she set her first European record. At the 1972 Summer Olympics, she won a medal in every event she competed: a silver medal in the 400 m freestyle, a bronze in the 800 m freestyle, and another bronze in the 400 m individual medley.^[1]

The following year, the first FINA World Championships took place in Belgrade. On 9 September 1973, Novella swam 8:52.97 in the 800 m freestyle event, setting a new world record and winning a gold medal. In the same competition she also finished third in the 400 m freestyle and 400 m individual medley.

At the 1974 European Championships, she won two medals, one silver and one bronze. These were the last international achievements of her career, which ended shortly afterward. In retirement she coached swimming, and in the 1980s worked with the junior national team in Rome.^[2]

During her career Calligaris won 76 national titles and set 82 national and 21 European records.^[2] Until Federica Pellegrini's second place in 200 m freestyle at the 2004 Athens Olympics, she was the only Italian woman to win an Olympic medal in swimming.^[3] In 1986 she was inducted to the International Swimming Hall of Fame.^[2]

See also

• List of members of the International Swimming Hall of Fame
• Italian sportswomen multiple medalists at Olympics and World Championships
• Italy national swimming team – Multiple medalists
• World record progression 800 metres freestyle

References

1. Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Novella Calligaris". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 2020-04-17.
2. "Novella Calligaris (ITA) – 1986 Honor Swimmer". ISHOF.org. International Swimming Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on 2015-06-14. Retrieved 2015-06-13.
3. "I Campioni Olimpici – Novella Calligaris" (in Italian). olimpiadi.it. Archived from the original on 27 February 2012. Retrieved 6 May 2012.

External links

• Novella Calligaris at World Aquatics
• Novella Calligaris at SwimRankings.net
• Novella Calligaris at the International Swimming Hall of Fame
• Novella Calligaris at Olympics.com
• Novella Calligaris at Olympedia