Federica Pellegrini (Italian pronunciation: [fedeˈriːka pelleˈɡriːni]; born 5 August 1988) is an Italian retired swimmer. A native of Mirano, in the former province of Venice (Metropolitan City of Venice since 2015), she won a gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. At the 2009 World Championships in Rome (long course swimming pool, 50 m), Pellegrini became the first woman ever to break the 4-minute barrier in the 400 m freestyle with a time of 3:59.15. She also held the women's 200 meters freestyle world record (long course, 50 m).
Pellegrini is the only swimmer − male or female − to have won eight medals in a row in the same event (200 meters freestyle) at the World Championships. She is also the first female Olympic swimming champion from Italy and the only Italian swimmer to have set world records in more than one event. At the 2020 Summer Olympics, she became the first female swimmer to qualify for five consecutive Olympic finals in the same specialty (200 m freestyle). She is a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Pellegrini retired from active competition in 2021. She was nicknamed "La Divina" ("The Divine") by Italian sport journalists.
Pellegrini's first international podium was at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, where she won the silver medal in the 200 m freestyle at the age of 16, becoming the youngest Italian athlete ever to win an Olympic medal in an individual event.
Pellegrini competed at the 2005 Montreal, where she got a silver in the 200 m freestyle, just behind Solenne Figuès, after being the favourite in the event, because of setting previously the best time of the season in the distance. Two years after, she took part in the 400 m freestyle, her first attempt in the event, where she finished fifth. Then she competed also at the 200 m freestyle, where, in the semi-finals, she set her first world record of her career, with a time of 1:56:47, beating the previous one belonging to Franziska van Almsick. But it was beaten the day after in the final by her rival Laure Manaudou, who got the gold medal and immediately broke her world record, while she got just the bronze, behind Annika Lurz too.
Pellegrini's first long course (50 meters) gold medal came at the 2008 European Championships in Eindhoven, where she won the 400 m freestyle setting a world record (4:01.53). She was disqualified in the heats of 200 m freestyle for a wrong start.
At the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, she arrived as the world-record holder and favourite for the gold medal in the 400 m freestyle, having set the Olympic record in the heats (4:02.19), but only finished 5th in the final. On the same day, she recovered from that disappointment by setting a world record (1:55.45) in the heats of the 200 m freestyle; in the final, she broke her own world record (1:54.82) and won her first Olympic gold medal.
Pellegrini also proved her strength in short course events at the 2008 European Short Course Championships in Rijeka, when she won the gold medal in the 200 m freestyle at a world-record pace (1:51.85).
In March 2009, Pellegrini competed at the Italian Championships in Riccione. She broke the world record in the 200 m freestyle with a time of 1:54.47.
In June 2009, Pellegrini competed at the Mediterranean Games in Pescara. She broke the world record in the 400 m freestyle with a time of 4:00.41, surpassing Joanne Jackson's mark of 4:00.66 from March 2009.
In July 2009, Pellegrini competed at the 2009 World Championships in Rome. She went 4:01.96 in the heats of the 400 m freestyle, breaking Manaudou's championship record of 4:02.61 from 2007. In the final, Pellegrini won the gold medal in a world record time of 3:59.15, becoming the first female swimmer to break the 4-minute barrier in the event. Her next event was the 200 m freestyle. She broke the world record in the semifinals in a time of 1:53.67, then lowered it again in the final to win the gold medal in a time of 1:52.98.
At 2009 European Short Course Championships in Istanbul she broke the world record in the 200 m freestyle with a time of 1:51.17.
At the 2010 European Championships in Budapest, Pellegrini won the bronze medal in the 800 m freestyle, behind Lotte Friis and Ophélie-Cyrielle Étienne, and the gold medal in the 200 m freestyle with a time of 1:55.45; in the same year, she announced that she would be working with Manaudou's former coach, Philippe Lucas.
At the 2011 World Championships in Shanghai, Pellegrini won the gold medal in the 400 m freestyle with a time of 4:01.97, becoming the second female swimmer after Laure Manaudou to win the gold medal in this event at two consecutive World Aquatics Championships. Two days later, she won the gold medal in the 200 m freestyle too with a time of 1:55:58, becoming the first female swimmer ever to win this title at two consecutive editions of the World Aquatics Championships; after the success in Shanghai, she parted ways with her French coach and began working with Federico Bonifacenti.
In May 2012, she was surprisingly excluded from the final of the 400 m freestyle at the 2012 European Aquatics Championships, after winning two gold medals in other events (200-metre freestyle and 4 × 200 m freestyle relay) and a bronze medal in 4 × 100 freestyle relay.
At the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, Pellegrini finished fifth in the 400 metres freestyle with a time of 4:04.50 and the 200 metres freestyle with a time of 1:56.73.
After the Olympics, Pellegrini declared she wouldn't take part to 200 and 400 metres freestyle at 2013 World Aquatics Championships to take a gap year. She chose to prepare herself for 200 metres backstroke competition to compete for Italy at World Championships. Anyway, with a last-minute decision, Pellegrini took part to 200 metres freestyle event at the 2013 World Championships and eventually won a silver medal with a time of 1:55.14, her best since Rome. Pellegrini won the silver medal behind Missy Franklin.
At the 2014 European Aquatics Championships she repeated herself, winning the two gold medals of the previous championship, in the 200-metre freestyle (preceding Hosszú and Heemskerk) and in the 4 × 200 m freestyle relay, this one with an exceptional vamp over the Swedish team. She took part of 400-metre freestyle too, finishing fourth in the final, and this was her last international competition in that event.
At the World Aquatics Championships held in Kazan (Russia) in 2015, she won the silver medal in 200 metres freestyle behind Katie Ledecky and ahead of Missy Franklin with a time of 1:55.32, and the silver medal in the 4 × 200 meter freestyle relay behind the United States. By winning the silver medal in the individual 200 metres freestyle, she became the first female swimmer in history to get a medal in the same event at six consecutive World Championships.