Diego Mularoni (born November 27, 1979) is a Sammarinese former swimmer, who specialized in freestyle events.[1] He is a three-time Olympian (1996, 2000, and 2004), and a current Sammarinese record holder in the 100, 200, 400, and 1500 m freestyle since 2001. He has won a total of 13 medals (six golds, five silver, and two bronze) at the Games of the Small States of Europe.
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Diego Mularoni | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| National team | San Marino | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 27 November 1979 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 76 kg (168 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Swimming | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Strokes | Freestyle | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Mularoni made his official debut, as San Marino's only swimmer (aged 16), at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. He failed to reach the top 16 final in the 100 m freestyle, finishing in fifty-ninth place with a time of 57.11.[2]
In 1999, Mularoni reached his breakthrough in swimming, when he earned two gold medals each in the 400 and 1500 m freestyle at the Games of the Small States of Europe (GSSE) in Vaduz, Liechtenstein.
Mularoni also proved his strength in long-distance swimming at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, when he decided to compete in the 1500 m freestyle, which was later dominated by host nation Australia's Grant Hackett. Swimming in heat two, he rounded out a field of six swimmers to last place and thirty-ninth overall in 16:12.91.[3]
When San Marino hosted the 2001 Games of the Small States of Europe in Serravalle, Mularoni managed to defend titles in the 400 m freestyle (3:56.73) and 1500 m freestyle (15:57.20). He also set two Sanmarinese records each to earn silver medals in the 100 m freestyle (52.83) and 200 m freestyle (1:53.70).[4]
At the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Mularoni was elected by the Sammarinese National Olympic Committee (Italian: Comitato Olimpico Nazionale Sammarinese), as San Marino's top swimmer, to be the flag bearer in the opening ceremony.[5][6] He qualified only for the men's 200 m freestyle by clearing a FINA B-standard entry time of 1:53.87 from GSSE in Valletta, Malta.[7] He challenged seven other swimmers in heat three, including 16-year-old Shaune Fraser of the Cayman Islands. He rounded out the field to last place by a 3.16-second margin behind winner Aleksandar Malenko of Macedonia in 1:56.18. Mularoni failed to advance into the semifinals, as he placed fifty-sixth overall in the preliminaries.[8][9]
References
edit- ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Diego Mularoni". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 4 May 2013.
- ^ "Atlanta 1996: Aquatics (Swimming) – Men's 100m Freestyle Heat 1" (PDF). Atlanta 1996. LA84 Foundation. p. 36. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 May 2011. Retrieved 2 May 2013.
- ^ "Sydney 2000: Swimming – Men's 1500m Freestyle Heat 2" (PDF). Sydney 2000. LA84 Foundation. p. 141. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 August 2011. Retrieved 26 March 2013.
- ^ "Arnarson, Iceland Dominate Euro Small States Champs". Swimming World Magazine. 21 June 2001. Archived from the original on 30 June 2013. Retrieved 4 May 2013.
- ^ "IOC Latest News: Flag Bearers for the Opening Ceremony". Olympics. 13 August 2004. Retrieved 28 April 2013.
- ^ "La delegazione Sammarinese per le Olimpiadi 2004" [The delegation of San Marino for the 2004 Olympics] (in Italian). SMtv San Marino. 31 July 2004. Archived from the original on 27 December 2013. Retrieved 5 May 2013.
- ^ "Swimming – Men's 200m Freestyle Startlist (Heat 3)" (PDF). Athens 2004. Omega Timing. Retrieved 19 April 2013.
- ^ "Men's 200m Freestyle Heat 3". Athens 2004. BBC Sport. 15 August 2004. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
- ^ Thomas, Stephen (15 August 2004). "Men's 200 Freestyle Prelims: Thorpe Fastest in 1:47.22; Hoogie, Keller, Phelps and Hackett All in the Mix". Swimming World Magazine. Archived from the original on 28 December 2013. Retrieved 27 March 2013.