Raphaël Stacchiotti

Raphaël Stacchiotti
Netanya 2015
Personal information
National team  Luxembourg
Born (1992-03-09) 9 March 1992
Luxembourg, Luxembourg
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Weight 78 kg (172 lb)
Sport
Sport Swimming
Strokes Freestyle, medley
Club SC Le Dauphin Ettelbruck (LUX)[1]

Raphaël Stacchiotti (born March 9, 1992 in Luxembourg City) is a Luxembourgish swimmer, who specialized in the freestyle and individual medley events.[1][2] He is a three-time Olympian (2008, 2012 and 2016), a multiple-time Luxembourgian record holder in all freestyle and medley events, and a double European junior champion. Stacchiotti also holds numerous meet records and collects a total of 27 medals (24 golds, two silvers, and one bronze) from the Games of the Small States of Europe (2009, 2011, 2013 and 2015). At the 2008 Summer Olympics, Stacchiotti became the youngest athlete (aged 16) to be chosen by the Luxembourg squad, and was given the honor of carrying the nation's flag in the opening ceremony.

Career

International career

Stacchiotti made his official debut, as Luxembourg's youngest athlete in history (aged 16) at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, where he was given the honour of carrying the nation's flag in the opening ceremony.[3][4] He qualified for the men's 200 m freestyle by eclipsing a FINA B-cut of 1:50.30 from the FINA World Junior Championships in Monterrey, Mexico.[5][6] Stacchiotti challenged seven other swimmers in heat four, including India's 16-year-old Virdhawal Khade and Czech Republic's three-time Olympian Květoslav Svoboda. He rounded out the field to last place by 0.15 of a second behind Khade in 1:52.01. Stacchiotti failed to advance into the semifinals, as he placed forty-ninth overall out of 58 swimmers in the prelims.[7]

In 2009, Stacchiotti earned his first ever career gold medal in the 200 m individual medley (2:02.56) at the European Junior Championships in Prague, Czech Republic.[8] Two weeks later, at the FINA World Championships in Rome, Italy, Stacchiotti placed forty-seventh in the 200 m individual medley (2:05.51), thirty-fifth in the 400 m individual medley (4:26.63), and forty-fifth in the 200 m freestyle (1:49.61, a Luxembourgish record).[9][10][11]

At the 2010 European Junior Swimming Championships in Helsinki, Finland, Stacchiotti stormed home on the final lap to defend his 200 m individual medley title in 2:02.52, holding off Great Britain's Ieuan Lloyd by two-tenths of a second (0.20).[12] He also collected a silver medal in the 400 m individual medley at 4:21.28.[13]

At the 2011 FINA World Championships in Shanghai, Stacchiotti failed to reach the semifinals in any of his individual events, finishing twentieth each in the 200 m individual medley (2:00.87) and 400 m individual medley (4:20.64), both with a personal textile best and a new Luxembourgish record.[14][15]

2012 Summer Olympics

Stacchiotti competed in an individual medley double, as a 20-year-old, at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. He achieved Olympic invitation times (formerly a FINA B-standard) of 2:00.22 (200 m individual medley) and 4:18.98 (400 m individual medley) from the European Long Course Meet in Luxembourg City.[16][17][18]

On the first day of the Games, Stacchiotti placed eighteenth in the 400 m individual medley. Swimming in heat two, he blasted a new Luxembourgian record of 4:17.20, but came up short in second place by nearly half a second (0.50) behind Belgium's Ward Bauwens.[19] Four days later, in the 200 m individual medley, Stacchiotti registered a time of 2:00.38, just a small fraction outside his own record, but missed the semifinals by a tenth of a second (0.10) behind Canada's Andrew Ford.[20] Ending up with frustration and disbelief, Stacchiotti failed in what was to be his most surprising moment of all time: "It's my fault. I completely lost my rhythm during the breaststroke”.[21]

Personal bests

As of May 29, 2013.
Long course
Event Time Meet
200 m individual medley 2:00.22 European Long Course Meet
400 m individual medley 4:17.20 2012 Summer Olympics
Short course
Event Time Meet
200 m individual medley 1:56.51 2011 European Championships
400 m individual medley 4:10.91 2011 European Championships

References

  1. 1 2 "Raphaël Stacchiotti". London 2012. Retrieved 1 April 2013.
  2. ↑ "Raphaël Stacchiotti". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 9 November 2012.
  3. ↑ "Olympic profile: Raphael Stacchiotti makes a splash for Luxembourg". Luxemburger Wort . 28 June 2012. Retrieved 9 November 2012.
  4. ↑ "List of Flagbearers Beijing 2008" (PDF). Olympics. Retrieved 6 September 2011.
  5. ↑ "Olympic Cut Sheet – Men's 200m Freestyle" (PDF). Swimming World Magazine. p. 13. Retrieved 9 April 2013.
  6. ↑ Cametti, Camilo (9 July 2008). "Monterrey 2008, Day 2: Izotov (RUS) And Ayoama (JPN) the best". FINA. Retrieved 11 April 2013.
  7. ↑ "Men's 200m Freestyle Heat 4". Beijing 2008. NBC Olympics. Retrieved 17 December 2012.
  8. ↑ "European Junior Championships: European Junior Record Book Torched; Few National Records Fall as Well". Swimming World Magazine. 10 July 2009. Retrieved 1 April 2013.
  9. ↑ "2009 FINA World Championships (Rome, Italy) – Men's 200m Individual Medley Heats" (PDF). Omega Timing. Retrieved 11 February 2013.
  10. ↑ "2009 FINA World Championships (Rome, Italy) – Men's 400m Individual Medley Heats" (PDF). Omega Timing. Retrieved 11 February 2013.
  11. ↑ "2009 FINA World Championships (Rome, Italy) – Men's 200m Freestyle Heats" (PDF). Omega Timing. Retrieved 11 February 2013.
  12. ↑ "European Junior Championships: Bence Biczo Drops Hammer in 200 Fly, Yannick Agnel, Emma Saunders Turn in Strong Times". Swimming World Magazine. 16 July 2010. Retrieved 1 April 2013.
  13. ↑ "European Junior Championships: Yannick Agnel Posts Meet-Record 200 Free, Anton Lobanov Strong In 100 Breast". Swimming World Magazine. 18 July 2010. Retrieved 29 May 2013.
  14. ↑ "2011 FINA World Championships (Shanghai, China) – Men's 200m Individual Medley Heats" (PDF). Omega Timing. Retrieved 11 February 2013.
  15. ↑ "2011 FINA World Championships (Shanghai, China) – Men's 400m Individual Medley Heats" (PDF). Omega Timing. Retrieved 11 February 2013.
  16. ↑ "Euro Long Course Meet: Laurent Carnol, Ioannis Drymonakos Set Meet Records; Post Early Season Bellwether Marks; Ian Thorpe Competes". Swimming World Magazine. 28 January 2012. Retrieved 1 April 2013.
  17. ↑ "Qualifying Athletes – Men's 200 m individual medley" (PDF). FINA. Retrieved 11 February 2013.
  18. ↑ "Qualifying Athletes – Men's 400 m individual medley" (PDF). FINA. Retrieved 11 February 2013.
  19. ↑ "Men's 400m Individual Medley Heat 2". London 2012. Retrieved 1 April 2013.
  20. ↑ "Men's 200m Individual Medley Heat 2". London 2012. Retrieved 1 April 2013.
  21. ↑ "Frustration as Stacchiotti just fails semifinals". Luxemburger Wort . 28 June 2012. Retrieved 2 April 2013.
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