Former world champion swimmer Filippo Magnini may have retired last year from the sport of swimming, but the 36-year-old is still under investigation by Italy’s National Anti-Doping Organization (NADO) for his connection to a nutritionist involved in a Pesaro criminal probe.
When we originally reported the investigation, Pesaro authorities had previously cleared Magnini, along with teammate Michele Santucci, but alleged that there was proof of unusual meetings, phone conversations and payments between Magnini and the nutritionist.
Now, however, La Gazzetta dello Sport reports that the Chief Prosecutor of the Procura Nado Italia, Pierfilippo Laviani, has requested the sanction of 8 years for Magnini and 4 years for Santucci for the following violations for the WADA code:
- use or attempted use of doping substances
- abetment
Both swimmers deny wrongdoing. A ruling is expected in September.
Magnini is a two-time World Champion in the 100m freestyle event, winning titles in 2005 and 2007. The Pesaro native was also a member of his nation’s bronze medal-winning 4x200m freestyle relay at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens.
Santucci earned bronze at the 2015 World Championships as part of Italy’s 4x100m freestyle relay. His most successful international competition to date has been the 2006 World Junior Championships where he won 2 golds and a bronze.
You can read our SwimSwam Italy article here.
If he’s currently 36, during the World Junior Champs in 2006 he would have been 24?