In all of aquatic sports, there is no start more unusual than the second, third, and fourth swimmers on the exchange pontoon during the 4x1500m mixed team relay.

As teammates sprint to the finish of their leg and touch the relay exchange pontoon, the next teammate takes a giant leap off the opposite end of the pontoon.

Gregorio Paltrinieri has been anchoring the successful Italian team for years – and making giant dives each time.

Yesterday, yet again, he anchored Team Italy to victory in today’s World Aquatics Open Water Swimming World Cup opening event in Golfo Aranci, Italy.

Teaming up with Giulia Berton, Ginevra Taddeucci, and Andrea Filadelli, Paltrinieri touched first in 1:05:04.60 over Team France with Caroline Laure Jouisse, Sacha Velly, Clemence Coccordano and Marc-Antoine Olivier in 1:05:05.70.

Paltrinieri was his usual gracious self, “I was feeling Marco [Marc-Antoine] touching my feet, so I knew he was there. And the last 30 to 40 meters, I pushed to the max. In Italy it’s always very special, this is a beautiful race. There were a lot of fans, a lot of people. So, I was just excited to race with my teammates.”

World Cup 4×1500 km Mixed Relay Results from Golfo Aranci

1. Italy with Giulia Berton, Ginevra Taddeucci, Andrea Filadelli, and Gregorio Paltrinieri, 1:05:04.60
2. France with Caroline Laure Jouisse, Sacha Velly, Clemence Coccordano, and Marc-Antoine Olivier, 1:05:05.70
3. Australia with Moesha Johnson, Chelsea Gubecka, Euan Liney, and Nicholas Sloman, 1:05:09.20
4. Italy II with Elena Tortora, Alessia Ossoli, Marcello Guidi, and Ivan Giovannoni, 1:05:14.80
5. Spain with Paula Otero Fernandez, Angela Martinez Guillen, Mario Mendez Puga, and Mateo Garcia Castro, 1:05:15.00
6. Japan with Airi Ebina, Ichika Kajimoto, Kaito Tsujimori, and Taishin Minamide, 1:06:44.20
7. Australia II with Tiana Kritzinger, Jacqueline Davison-McGovern, Bailey Armstrong, and Kyle Lee, 1:08:02.10
8. USA with Colin Jacobs, Becca Mann, Alex Siegel, and Aiden Hammer, 1:08:57.10
9. Switzerland with Emma Fredersdorf, Christian Schreiber, Anina Bruhin, and Nolan Carrel, 1:09:21.00
10. Mexico with Paulo Strehlke Delgado, Yuritzi Salgado Gonzalez, ]], Diego Obele Cisneros, and Dalia Berenice Moreno Velasco, 1:10:55.40

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