LORENZO ZAZZERI
Lorenzo Zazzeri was born in Florence, Italy, on March 8, 1994. He is primarily a sprint freestyle specialist.
Lorenzo made his first national junior team at the 2012 European Junior Championships. He finished 9th in the men’s 50m free and 5th in the men’s 400 freestyle relay.
At 19 years old, he swam the 3rd fastest time in “cadetti” category in men’s 50m free (SCM) with a time of 22.00.
In 2016 he swam under 49 seconds (48.96)for the first time in the men’s 100m free, winning silver at the Italian National LC Championship.
At the 2017 World University Games, held in Taipei, he won his first international gold medal in men’s 400m freestyle relay, swimming the opening leg in 48.89.
2017 European SC Championships (Copenhagen)
Zazzeri won a silver medal in the men’s 200m freestyle relay and a bronze medal in the mixed 200m freestyle relay.
He also swam the semifinal of the men’s 100m freestyle, missing the final by 0.02 s.
2018 World Short Course Championships (Hangzhou)
- Won bronze in the 200 freestyle relay and fourth in the 400 freestyle relay
- Finished 14th in the 100 freestyle (46.98)
2018 European Championships (Glasgow)
- Won silver as part of the 400 freestyle relay and finished fourth in the 400 freestyle mixed relay
- Individually was 18th in the 50 free and 100 free.
2020 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP (LCM) Budapest
The 2020 European Championships were postponed until 2021 due to the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic.
Lorenzo Zazzeri won a bronze medal as part of the 400m freestyle relay
2021 SETTECOLLI TROPHY
During the 2021 Settecolli trophy in Rome, Lorenzo Zazzeri qualified for his first Olympics, swimming a time of 48.54 in the men’s 100 meter freestyle.
TOKYO OLYMPICS
At the Tokyo Olympic games, Zazzeri won a historic silver medal for Italy in the men’s 400m freestyle relay.
Zazzeri had the fastest split on Italy’s silver medal-winning 400 free relay. He clocked 47.31 while swimming third as the team lowered the National Record in 3:10.11 to win the country’s first medal in the event in Olympic history.
He was joined on the relay by Alessandro Miressi (47.72), Thomas Ceccon (47.45) and Manuel Frigo (47.63), as the Italians finished second to the Americans (3:08.97).
Zazzeri also split 47.29 on the prelim relay that had broken the Italian Record the night prior.
He was also an individual finalist in the men’s 50 free, placing seventh in a time of 21.78. The last Olympic final contested by an Italian in this specialty was 21 years earlier thanks to Lorenzo Vismara at the Sydney Olympic Games.
2021 SC EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP
At the 2021 Short Course European Championship, which took place in Kazan, Russia, Zazzeri set the new world record as a part of the men’s 200m medley relay.
The Italian team of Michele Lamberti, Nicolo Martinenghi, Marco Orsi and Lorenzo Zazzeri scorched the time of 1:30.14 to win gold and broke the previous WR of 1:30.44 that Russia put on the books at the 2017 edition in Copenhagen.
In Kazan, Zazzeri also won:
- silver, as a part of men’s 200m freestyle relay;
- silver-medal in men0s 50m freestyle (20.84)
- silver, in mixed 200m freestyle relay
2021 SC WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
The last effort of an intense 2021 came for Lorenzo Zazzeri with the participation in the FINA World Short Course Championships, which took place in Abu Dhabi in December.
There, Zazzeri took gold with the men’s 4×50-meter freestyle relay, swimming a second leg in 20.42.
Zazzeri also set the new national record in the men’s 400m freestyle relay with a time of 3:03.61 en route to the silver medal along with Alessandro Miressi, Thomas Ceccon, Leonardo Deplano.
LORENZO ZAZZERI BEHIND THE LANE LINES
Zazzeri, a student at the University of Motor Sciences, combines the commitments of study and training of swimming with his greatest passion: painting.
Zazzeri is a self-taught artist. About his passion he said:
Painting for me is the best way to express my emotions and have people enjoy them. It is also a way to disconnect from the stressful life of swimming and competitions.
Painting, like swimming, is a challenge to myself and my abilities. Reproducing a detail in the best possible way or seeing how far my creativity can go is something that excites me. We can say that I like challenges and my life is a bit of a challenge to myself.
2023 World Aquatics Championships (Fukuoka, Japan)
Zazzeri swam just 2 events: the 400 free relay and the 50 free. On the prelims 400 free relay, Zazzeri was the fastest Italian with a 47.91 split. In the 400 free final, Zazzeri was a bit off his prelims performance with a 48.13 split to help the Italians to silver. In the 50 free, he was 22.28 for 30th.
At the 2024 World Championships in Doha, Qatar, Lorenzo Zazzeri qualified in the men’s 50-metre freestyle for the Paris Olympics, clocking a time of 21.80. He also won the silver medal with the Italian men’s 400 freestyle relay.