Salvatore Rinella
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Salvatore Marcello Rinella | ||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality |
 Italy | ||||||||||||||||||
| Born |
27 February 1975 Palermo, Italy | ||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.76 m (5 ft 9 1⁄2 in) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 74 kg (163 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Wrestling | ||||||||||||||||||
| Style | Freestyle | ||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Gruppo Sportivo Fiamme Oro[1] | ||||||||||||||||||
| Coach | Mauro Massaro[1] | ||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Salvatore Marcello Rinella (born February 27, 1975 in Palermo) is a retired amateur Italian freestyle wrestler, who competed in the men's middleweight category.[2] He won three bronze medals in the 69 and 74-kg division at the Mediterranean Games (1997, 2001, and 2005), and also represented his nation Italy at the 2004 Summer Olympics. Having worked as a police officer for Polizia di Stato, Rinella trained full-time for the wrestling squad at Gruppo Sportivo Fiamme Oro in Rome, under head coach Mauro Massaro.[1][3]
Rinella qualified for the Italian squad in the men's 74 kg class at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. Earlier in the process, Rinella received a ticket to the Olympics by defeating Tajikistan's Yusup Abdusalomov for a third spot at the Olympic Qualification Tournament in Sofia, Bulgaria.[4][5] He easily ousted Australia's Ali Abdo in his opening match on technical superiority, but fell behind Belarus' Murad Haidarau by a 2–4 deficit at the end of the prelim pool. Finishing second in the pool and seventh overall, Rinella's performance was not enough to advance him to the quarterfinals.[6][7]
In 2005, Rinella overcame his Olympic setback with a third career bronze medal in the same class at the Mediterranean Games in Almería, Spain.[8] He also sought his bid for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, but failed to earn a spot from the Olympic Qualification Tournament, effectively ending his sporting career.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "CONI Profile – Salvatore Rinella" (in Italian). Italian National Olympic Committee. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
- ↑ "Salvatore Rinella". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
- ↑ "Lotta: Fiamme oro ancora campioni d'Italia" [Wrestling: Fiamme Oro is still the Italian champion] (in Italian). Polizia di Stato. 4 December 2009. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
- ↑ Abbott, Gary (15 July 2004). "Olympic Games preview at 74 kg/163 lbs. in men's freestyle". USA Wrestling (The Mat). Retrieved 22 June 2014.
- ↑ "Lotta: A Sofia Salvatore Rinella è terzo si qualifica per Atene nello stile libero" [Wrestling: Salvatore Rinella placed third in Sofia; qualifies for Athens in freestyle] (in Italian). Lo Sport Italiano. 4 February 2004. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
- ↑ "Wrestling: Men's Freestyle 74kg". Athens 2004. BBC Sport. 15 August 2004. Retrieved 30 September 2013.
- ↑ "Olimpiadi, lotta libera: eliminato Salvatore Rinella nei 74kg" [Olympics: Salvatore Rinella eliminated in 74kg freestyle wrestling] (in Italian). La Repubblica. 28 February 2004. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
- ↑ "Castro y Atanes, quintos en lucha, lejos de las medallas" [Castro and Atanes finished fifth in wrestling; out of medal podium] (in Spanish). Terra Networks. 29 June 2005. Retrieved 9 July 2014.