The Vortex, May 2025: Coach Giunta Defends Pellegrini On "Zero Tolerance" Stance In Sinner Doping Case
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Matteo Giunta, who coached (and married) Italian swim legend Federica Pellegrini to more titles in the pool in the latter stages of her stellar career, has defended his wife's view that Jannik Sinner’s doping case “was handled differently” to that of other athletes when it came to the application of strict liability rules.
Citing a "zero-tolerance" stance, Giunta backed Pellegrini after her view on the grand-slam tennis player's doping case was described as 'controversial'.
Speaking to La Repubblica, Pellegrini simply questioned why the application of ‘strict liability’ rules in Sinner’s case differed so significantly to other doping violations.
Pellegrini suggested that the 23-year-old fellow Italian and World No 1 tennis player with three Grand Slam titles to his name, had received beneficial treatment in the handling of his case.
Many agree with her - and it's not hard to see why. It emerged that he had twice tested positive for the banned steroid clostebol in March 2024 and, when the adverse findings were reported in August last year, the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) found Sinner to have been of “no fault or negligence” for the two tests.
It transpired that he had successfully argued that he had accidentally been contaminated by physio Giacomo Naldi, who had used a cream containing clostebol before massaging Sinner without the use of gloves.
Sinner was later handed a three-month doping suspension after settling with the World Anti-Doping Agency after WADA applied the ITIA's lenient warning.
The 'controversy' sparked by Pellegrini is founded in the support of Italian fans for their tennis hero but the swimmer, who sits on domestic and international athlete commissions, urged her nation to reach for deeper understanding in the interests of all athletes.
Pellegrini told La Repubblica:
“Jannik is well-liked and is therefore defended in every way, no matter what, and I think that’s fair. However, I believe his case was handled differently from 99% of other athletes. The complexity of an athlete’s life is constantly subject to doping controls, 12 months a year. It’s important to explain how it works to fully understand what’s behind the Sinner case. The discussion also touches on strict team liability, an often underestimated but central concept in anti-doping regulations.
"It’s not my fault if my physio drinks a beer and knocks someone over, but it becomes my responsibility if he uses cream on me and I test positive. This isn’t the case with Sinner, which is strange. It applies to all athletes. So why should this case be handled differently?”
Brava!
Asked about the story during his 43rd birthday celebrations yesterday, Giunta, who married Pellegrini in 2022 after "three years of hiding" in Pellegrini's car boot when the Paparazzi were around, noted:
"I have lived in the world of sports for a lifetime and for me doping is a very sensitive topic: zero tolerance. Anti-doping is right to be strict. We should all measure our words a little, but even when this happens, there are those who ultimately misunderstand".
Bravo!
Car boot humour aside, Guinta explained that Pellegrini had just ended a relationship with his cousin, former World sprint freestyle champion Filippo Magnini when he and Pellegrini started to have feelings for each other but the main reason for caution in letting the wider world know was "because Fede continued to swim and I was her coach, we didn't want to create particular dynamics in the team ... at first I played hard to get".
"I wanted to be sure, he told reporters at his party, "that it would be something important and when I realised that I felt something for her that went beyond friendship or a fleeting story, then I let myself go".
In a touching conclusion to his comments, Giunta smiled as he noted:
"The wedding day was beautiful. When her father handed me her hand, I died, but then I recovered!"
Great Britain Selects 20 For European U23 Championships
A 20-strong swim team has been selected to represent Great Britain at the second edition of the European Aquatics Under-23 (U23) Championships.
The coaching staff is led by Nathan Hilton as Team leader and Andi Manley, Head Coach, Loughborough University, backed by Laurel Bailey, Warrender Baths Club, Edinburgh, Kevin Brooks, Wycombe District Swimming Club, Richard Denigan, Loughborough University, and former international and member of the Great Britain gold-medal winning 4x200m free squad, Calum Jarvis, Bath Performance Centre.
Aquatics GB announced today:
With another busy summer of aquatics action on the horizon, the return of the European Aquatics U23 Swimming Championships to the calendar for 2025 provides a high-level competition opportunity for the 20 British athletes selected following performances at April’s Aquatics GB Swimming Championships.
The team includes a pair of Paris Olympians in Alexander Cohoon and Honey Osrin – with the former a part of the Mixed 4x100m Freestyle relay bronze medal team at these championships in Dublin two years ago – while it’s also a second berth at this European competition for Evelyn Davies, Lucy Grieve and Charlie Hutchison.
European mission: clockwise from top left - Honey Osrin, Alexander Cohoon, Megan Barnes and Tyler Melbourne-Smith - photos by Morgan Harlow for Aquatics GB
Having secured a maiden British title in the Women’s 400m Freestyle last month, Megan Barnes is among a trio of debutants to feature, with Rory Dickson and Niamh Ward additionally obtaining their first exposure to British teams.
Eye-catching races in London showcased the next generation of swimming talent, and British title winning swims for Tyler Melbourne-Smith and Reece Grady respectively in the Men’s 800m and 1500m Freestyle contests see’s the pair selected for the U23 European competition open primarily to people born 2002-2006.
Seven members of the team who competed at the 2023 edition of the championships have progressed to secure their involvement at this summer’s World Aquatics Championships in Singapore:
Craig Lord
That transition onto the senior team in future years will be the ambition held by those competing in Samorin, Slovakia from June 26th-28th.
Reflecting on the European U23s team and looking ahead to the competition, Aquatics GB Team Leader for the Championships, Nathan Hilton said:
“It is an exciting prospect that we have put together a team with great depth to attend the second edition of this competition, one that will offer racing against world-class competitors in a big arena environment.
“As we progress towards the LA and Brisbane Games, exposure to these types of championship conditions play a key role within our strategic pathway to develop the next wave of talent – and provide an excellent opportunity for us to embed outstanding team behaviours as we transition athletes towards our senior team.
“With the calibre of this team including two Olympians and seven European junior medallists – while also exposing three new debutants to British teams – we know that each and every one of them can thrive in this big-meet environment and can use the opportunity to build on performances set the Aquatics GB Championships to underpin world class processes for future international competitions.”
Aquatics GB team:
- Alexander Cohoon, Loughborough Performance Centre
- David Annis, University of Stirling
- Megan Barnes, Mount Kelly Swimming
- Cameron Brooker, Bath Performance Centre
- Evelyn Davis, University of Stirling
- Rory Dickson, University of Stirling
- Nicholas Finch, Chelsea & Westminster
- Joshua Gammon, Bath Performance Centre
- Reece Grady, Stockport Metro
- Lucy Grieve, University of Stirling
- Charlie Hutchison, Loughborough University
- Erin Little, Mount Kelly Swimming
- Tyler Melbourne-Smith, Loughborough University
- Honey Osrin, Loughborough Performance Centre
- Alexander Painter, Millfield
- Darcy Revitt, Guildford City
- Jack Skerry, Bath Performance Centre
- George Smith, University of Stirling
- Matthew Ward, Bath Performance Centre
- Niamh Ward, University of Bath
Coaching Staff:
- Andi Manley, Head Coach, Loughborough University
- Laurel Bailey, Warrender Baths Club, Edinburgh
- Kevin Brooks, Wycombe District Swimming Club
- Richard Denigan, Loughborough University
- Calum Jarvis, Bath Performance Centre
ASU's Rossini Says College Sports Revenue-Share Announcement Close & 250 Scholarships To Be Added, Against Tide & Trend
Arizona State University athletic director Graham Rossini says his college, where France's Léon Marchand and Hungary's Hubert Kós prepared under the guidance of coach Bob Bowman on the way to becoming Olympic champions at Paris 2024, is set to announce a percentage breakdown per sport in a new revenue-sharing agreement in a realm that until recently operated under strict 'amateur' rules.
The agreement will take shape as a result of an impending House vs NCAA settlement in a case brought by former ASU swimmer Grant House and revenue-sharing in college sports is one of the consequences for schools that opt into the deal.
As things stand, the 'deal' involves roster limits that have had a negative effect on swimming, among other sports. Ten athletes from Ohio University’s swim and dive team were told in April that hey were off the team for the coming season, for example.
In some cases, whole program s have been shut down, prompting Claudia Wilken, the judge overseeing the case, to issue an April 24 order to both parties in the $2.8 billion antitrust lawsuit that they had to redo the part of the proposed settlement dictating roster limits.
Speaking to Arizona Republic's Logan Stanley, Rossini said he hoped that a decision on revenue-sharing would be reached this week. While noting that the changes represent a "kind of seismic shift in the landscape of college sports" and citing shrinkage in the sector, including Cal Poly’s closure of the swimming program among other , Rossini noted that ASU would add 250 scholarships:
The story in full:
, The Arizona Republic
Also in the May Vortex:
- Jordan Crooks Takes A Break From Racing
- Gary Hall Jr's Medals Back From The Flames
- Jon Rudd's Time In Ireland Is Done As He Heads Off To Lead Saudi Performance Program
- Lukas Märtens Makes It 200-400 Double With 1:44.25 Victory At German Nationals
- Gretchen Walsh Joins Sjöstrom In Club Of Sub-25 'Fly Dashers; Irish & Danish Marks For Ellen Walshe & Tomas Koski
- Katie Ledecky Sweeps To Her 2nd Career Fastest 400 Free - 3:56.8
IN OTHER COVERAGE -
May 4:
Craig Lord
Craig Lord
Craig Lord
Craig Lord
