Salvatore Marcello Rinella (Italian pronunciation: [salvaˈtoːre riˈnɛlla]; born February 27, 1975, in Palermo) is a retired amateur Italian freestyle wrestler, who competed in the men's middleweight category.[3] 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.[2][4]
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Salvatore Marcello Rinella | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality |  Italy | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | February 27, 1975 Palermo, Italy | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.76 m (5 ft 9+1⁄2 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 74 kg (163 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Wrestling | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Style | Freestyle | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Fiamme Oro[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Coach | Mauro Massaro[2] | ||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Biography
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.[5][6] 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.[7][8]
In 2005, Rinella overcame his Olympic setback with a third career bronze medal in the same class at the Mediterranean Games in Almería, Spain.[9] 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
External links
- Salvatore Rinella at the International Wrestling Database
- Salvatore Rinella at Olympics.com
- Salvatore Rinella at Olympedia
