Federica Pellegrini Returns to Training With Playful Pantomime

Olympic champion and World Record holder Federica Pellegrini posted a video of her first swim in 6 weeks on Monday morning. Italy began “phase 2” of its reopening after the peak of the coronavirus pandemic in that country.

After a roller-coaster weekend, Pellegrini finally received permission from her regional government to train at the National Training Center in Verona.

The video shows Pellegrini stalling her entry into the water. Her coach Matteo Giunta jokes by instructing her how to climb onto the block and put her hands in a streamline, as if she’s forgotten in their 6 weeks away from the water.

Pellegrini responds “are you treating this like a swimming school?” to which Giunta replies “yes, this is a swimming school.”

Pellegrini finally splashes in to the pool to begin her first training session. She and her coach entered the facility donning masks, though by the time she arrived on deck the mask was gone. Other support personnel in the facility were still wearing masks.

The pool was mostly deserted, though pictures posted to social media show at least one other unidentified swimmer in the water with her, separated by an empty lane.

While the National Training Center at Verona has an outdoor pool, with outdoor activities being viewed as generally safer from the spread of coronavirus, Pellegrini trained in the indoor pool on Monday. While summer has arrived in the southern part of Italy, it is still cool in Verona with a low on Monday of 38 degrees Fahrenheit (3 Celsius).

The Italian government published its guidelines for restarting sport on Monday. Professional athletes, those of a national interest, can return to training Monday if they have tested negative for coronavirus.

The guidelines include reductions in the total number of people present in the facility. At least 1 meter must be guaranteed between all operators (including coaches), and athletes must remain at least 1 meter away, preferably 2, when not engaged directly in training. Those distances are to be altered depending on the sport on the possible spread of droplets containing the virus. In changing rooms, individuals must not be face-to-face.

According to government guidelines:

1. At least 1 meter distance must be guaranteed between sports operators (coaches, teachers, and other support staff or people present)
2. Athletes, when not directly engaged in training, must be at least 1 meter away, preferably 2, from each other and from the sports operators
3. For each category of sport, the correct distances must be identified based on the possible spread of droplets.
4. In refreshment rooms or restrooms (e.g. changing rooms) the positioning of people must not be face to face

The rules are then further divided into professional and amateur categories.

Professionals

All athletes must be in possession of the certification of competitive suitability (DM 18/02/82) and have complied with the assessments pursuant to law 23/03/81 n.91.