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Salvatore Rinella
Personal information
Full name	Salvatore Marcello Rinella
Nationality	Italy
Born	27 February 1975 (age 49); Palermo, Italy
Height	1.76 m (5 ft 9+1⁄2 in)
Weight	74 kg (163 lb)
Sport
Sport	Wrestling
Style	Freestyle
Club	Fiamme Oro
Coach	Mauro Massaro
Medal record
Men's freestyle wrestling
Representing Italy
Mediterranean Games

Salvatore Marcello Rinella (Italian pronunciation: [salvaˈtoːre riˈnɛlla]; born 27 February 1975 in Palermo) is a retired amateur Italian freestyle wrestler, who competed in the men's middleweight category.^[3] He won three bronze medals in the 69 and 74-kg division at the Mediterranean Games (1997, 2001, and 2005), and also represented his nation Italy at the 2004 Summer Olympics. Having worked as a police officer for Polizia di Stato, Rinella trained full-time for the wrestling squad at Gruppo Sportivo Fiamme Oro in Rome, under head coach Mauro Massaro.^[2]^[4]

Biography

Rinella qualified for the Italian squad in the men's 74 kg class at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. Earlier in the process, Rinella received a ticket to the Olympics by defeating Tajikistan's Yusup Abdusalomov for a third spot at the Olympic Qualification Tournament in Sofia, Bulgaria.^[5]^[6] He easily ousted Australia's Ali Abdo in his opening match on technical superiority, but fell behind Belarus' Murad Haidarau by a 2–4 deficit at the end of the prelim pool. Finishing second in the pool and seventh overall, Rinella's performance was not enough to advance him to the quarterfinals.^[7]^[8]

In 2005, Rinella overcame his Olympic setback with a third career bronze medal in the same class at the Mediterranean Games in Almería, Spain.^[9] He also sought his bid for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, but failed to earn a spot from the Olympic Qualification Tournament, effectively ending his sporting career.

References

^ "Fiamme Oro discipline sportive - Lotta" (in Italian). poliziadistato.it. Retrieved May 14, 2020.
^ ^a ^b "CONI Profile – Salvatore Rinella" (in Italian). Italian National Olympic Committee. Retrieved July 9, 2014.
^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Salvatore Rinella". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on April 18, 2020. Retrieved July 9, 2014.
^ "Lotta: Fiamme oro ancora campioni d'Italia" [Wrestling: Fiamme Oro is still the Italian champion] (in Italian). Polizia di Stato. December 4, 2009. Retrieved July 9, 2014.
^ Abbott, Gary (July 15, 2004). "Olympic Games preview at 74 kg/163 lbs. in men's freestyle". USA Wrestling. The Mat. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved June 22, 2014.
^ "Lotta: A Sofia Salvatore Rinella è terzo si qualifica per Atene nello stile libero" [Wrestling: Salvatore Rinella placed third in Sofia; qualifies for Athens in freestyle] (in Italian). Lo Sport Italiano. February 4, 2004. Retrieved July 9, 2014.
^ "Wrestling: Men's Freestyle 74kg". Athens 2004. BBC Sport. August 15, 2004. Retrieved September 30, 2013.
^ "Olimpiadi, lotta libera: eliminato Salvatore Rinella nei 74kg" [Olympics: Salvatore Rinella eliminated in 74kg freestyle wrestling] (in Italian). La Repubblica. February 28, 2004. Retrieved July 9, 2014.
^ "Castro y Atanes, quintos en lucha, lejos de las medallas" [Castro and Atanes finished fifth in wrestling; out of medal podium] (in Spanish). Terra Networks. June 29, 2005. Retrieved July 9, 2014.