Italian swimmer Filippo Magnini has announced a return to swimming.
The two-time world champion is 38 years old and hasn’t swam competitively for almost three years.
“This was not an easy choice, but I decided to come back,” Magnini told the AFP. “I almost hit rock bottom but rather then knock me out, all this gave me the motivation to fight, overcome and start competing again.”
Filippo Magnini posted this on Instagram, announcing his return:
“There are moments in life when nothing seems to make sense…
All your certainties are suddenly swept away by something completely out of control.
What you have built start to crumble…
You feel slowly sinking, inch by inch.
You just wait to hit rock bottom, lie down, close your eyes and hold the breathe, hoping that everything will be over soon…
In those moments, you really understand who you are… and you only have two choices:
letting yourself go and accept things as they really are…
Or keep on fighting, and show who you really are…
A winner who doesn’t stop in front of anything and anyone…for yourself, for your family, for your children…
so you can look at yourself in the mirror without being afraid of crossing your own gaze…
No opponent is too strong to be defeated… no goal is too big to be achieved.
No matter how long it takes you, no matter how much it will cost you, the only thing that matters will be getting always all the way through.
In my career I’ve won so much, but let me tell you something…
The greatest victories are those without a podium, without medals, those in which winning meant getting to the finish line and not being the first one to cut it.
The only way you have to lose is to refuse to fight.
Never let anyone decide your fate. And even when they count you as defeat… don’t give up!
Even when you feel like letting go, remember there is always someone who supports you.
I decided to get back in the water as a winner, because inside I’ve already won it all. Be master of your life, build your destiny!”
Filippo Magnini won gold in the 100 freestyle at both the 2005 and 2007 world championships. At the 2004 Olympics in Athens, he was part of the bronze-medal 4×200 freestyle relay.
In 2018, Magnini was suspended for four years by Italy’s anti-doping agency.
In February the Court of Arbitration for Sport overturned that suspension.
According to the AFP, Magnini was suspended after a court case against Guido Porcellini, who was banned for 30 years by the Italian authorities for trafficking doping products and counterfeit medicine.
According to the report, Magnini’s name was found among the evidence, which revealed products were to be sent to him, though the report states investigators conceded he might not have received them.