Arianna Sacripante and Giorgio Minisini swam together at the European Swimming Championships, and it was exquisite.
The European Swimming Championships in Rome concluded on Sunday, August 21. Italy dominated the pool competitions, winning 19 gold, 19 silver, and 14 bronze medals, for a total of 52. But another event, on the sidelines of the official competition, captured the interest and hearts of spectators.
If you didn’t see the performance of Paralympic athlete Arianna Sacripante together with Olympic champion Giorgio Minisini, let us tell you about it.
Friends and great athletes
They swam a synchronized swimming choreography together to the notes of John Lennon’s “Imagine.” The setting was the Gala Event, the closing celebration of the European Artistic Swimming Championships at the Foro Italico Park. Giorgio Minisini arrived wearing around his neck the 4 gold medals he had won in the previous days (2 as a soloist and 2 paired with Lucrezia Ruggiero). Arianna Sacripante, his partner in the performance, is an artistic swimmer with Down syndrome who won a gold medal at the Trisome Games in 2016.
They are two great athletes and friends who cannot compete together in official competitions, but they wanted to show what the face of future sports could be if athletes with disabilities competed together with people without disabilities.
They entered the pool holding hands and smiling. Arianna had a fractured toe from an injury during a training session, but no spectator could have noticed this detail. Their performance was excellent and flawless.