Draft:Davide Belletti

Biography
Belletti began his swimming career later in life in 2014 following an injury that led him to spend several months daily at a local pool. During the rehabilitation period, he taught himself to swim and quickly discovered his endurance capabilities. He soon joined the city's swimming team, "Villa Bonelli Nuoto asd," where he initially found success in middle-distance swimming. In 2019, he became the vice-champion Cat. M40 in the 1500 meters freestyle at the Regional Championships of Emilia Romagna. He later transitioned to long-distance swimming and ultra-endurance.

Since 2022, Belletti has been a federal swimming instructor for the Italian Swimming Federation FIN and an observer and event director for the International Ice Swimming Association.

Sporting Career
His stamina led him to undertake increasingly longer and more challenging feats. In 2015, he participated in his first long-distance race, the Coppa Byron, crossing the Gulf of La Spezia. He continued his career by competing for three consecutive years in the OceanMan Lago d'Orta, a 14 km race, finishing 14th in 2017. In September of the same year, he solo-swam the Strait of Bonifacio in standard conditions, covering the distance in 5 hours following FINA rules.

In 2018, Belletti organized a fundraising event for the Dilla canteen, managed by the Opera Don Bosco Onlus Foundation in Ethiopia. This initiative was associated with a 22 km swimming marathon from Portovenere to Monterosso, alongside fellow swimmers Diego Zanotti and Marco Risoli.

In January 2020, he secured the 1st place in the "Longest Distance" category at the "6-Hour Swim" competition in Castelnuovo ne' Monti. Later, in June, he completed a 29 km swim around Lake d'Orta.

In the summer of 2021, Belletti participated in the "Swim for Them" relay at the Fornovo Taro municipal sports center, a charity event for people with disabilities. He decided to swim consecutively for 12 hours without any changes, covering a total of 1200 laps (30 km). In the winter of 2021, after venturing into cold water swimming, he joined the International Ice Swimming Association. In his debut in cold waters, he achieved a double first place at Lake Avigliana, part of the Nobile dei Laghi circuit, winning the 800 meters and the combined race. He confirmed his success the following year, securing the 3rd place in the "Cold Water Swimmers" category.

In 2022, Belletti participated in the Ice Swimming World Championship in Glogow, Poland, achieving 6th place in the 250 meters freestyle and 7th in the 500 meters distance.

At the Ice Swimming World Championship in Samoëns, he finished 8th in the 1000 meters race, making him one of the ten Italian athletes to successfully complete the Ice Kilometer, swimming a kilometer below 5°C.

In 2023, he was awarded the "Best Athlete of the Month" by the National Union of Sports Veterans and Panathlon.