Women’s 200m Freestyle
It was the final heat of the Women’s 200m Freestyle at the Beijing Olympics, and Federica Pellegrini had just won gold. She had no idea what she was doing there, until she turned around and saw herself on the giant stadium screen.
She had no idea what she was doing there, until she turned around and saw herself on the giant stadium screen. The crowd went wild as they watched her swim in front of them live for just one minute. She heard a roar from all sides that made her stop breathing before looking back at the screen to show where it came from”
The crowd went wild as they watched her swim in front of them live for just one minute. She heard a roar from all sides that made her stop breathing before looking back at the screen to show where it came from.” That’s when Federica realized “I hadn’t been swimming blind this whole time”.
It took less than twenty-four hours after winning gold and having someone else put you
“Turning Around to Find Herself in the Center of Attention”
Italian swimmer Federica Pellegrini didn’t know why the crowd was cheering until she turned around. When she did, there were no words needed; her expression said it all–she’d just won a gold medal at the Beijing Olympics and suddenly found herself thrust into stardom. “I realized that I had something really special happening,” says Federica. It’s not every day you’re cheered on by thousands of people for an Olympic victory, but this is one story where it happened twice: as a 13-year old when she made Italian history by winning bronze in Sydney 200 and then again four years later with gold from Athens 2004.
There The crowd was cheering as Federica Pellegrini went on to win the 100-meter freestyle event. She had no idea what they were cheering about until she turned around and saw her sister, who came in second place, right behind her. “I didn’t know why they were clapping at all,” said Pellegrini after the race. “They were clapping for my sister because she just arrived from Italy today.” Pellegrini’s younger sister Tania followed up with a victory in the 50-meter butterfly race minutes later bringing home gold medals for both siblings. “