Davide Belletti

Davide Belletti

Personal information
Native name	Davide Belletti
Nationality	Italian
Born	Parma, Italy
Height	181 cm (5 ft 11 in)
Weight	85 Kg (2025)
Sport
Country	Italy
Sport	Long distance swimmer and Winter swimmer
Achievements and titles
World finals	3rd - 1000 m M50-55 Ice Swimming World Championship (Molveno 2025)
Regional finals	2° - 1500 m M40 Regional Masters Championships (Bologna 2019)
Medal record Men's ice swimming Representing   Italy Event 1st 2nd 3rd World Ice Swimming Championship – – 1 Total 0 0 1

Davide BellettiDavide Belletti (born in Parma, Italy) is an Italian swimmer specializing in long-distance and cold water swimming.

In 2023, he was awarded the "Best Athlete of the Month" ^[1] by the National Union of Sports Veterans and Panathlon. ^[2]

Career

Early career and transition to long distance

Belletti began swimming in 2014 during rehabilitation following a shoulder injury. He joined Villa Bonelli Nuoto ASD and competed in regional freestyle events before moving to open water competitions. ^{[3] [4]}

Open water and marathon swimming

• In 2015, he participated in the Byron Cup in the Gulf of La Spezia.
• From 2015 to 2017, he competed in the "Oceanman Lake Orta" (14 km), placing 14th in 2017.
• In September 2017, he completed a solo crossing of the Strait of Bonifacio (15 km) under FINA rules. ^{[5] [6]}

Charity and endurance events

• In 2018, he organized a 22 km swim from Portovenere to Monterosso ^{[7] [8] [9] [10]} to support a humanitarian project in Ethiopia. ^{[11] [12] [13]}
• In 2020, he won the “Longest Distance” category at the 6-Hour Swim in Castelnuovo ne’ Monti and swam the full perimeter of Lake Orta (29 km). ^[14]
• In 2021, he swam 30 km during a 12-hour charity event ^[15] and joined the International Ice Swimming Association (IISA).

Ice swimming

• In 2021, he placed 1st in both the 800 m and combined ranking at a cold water event in Lake Avigliana. ^[16]
• In 2022, he finished 6th (250 m) and 7th (500 m) at the IISA World Championships in Głogów, Poland. ^{[17] [18] [19] [20] [21]}
• In 2023, he was 8th in the 1000 m at the World Championships in Samoëns, France. ^[22]
• In 2025 he earned 3rd place in the 1000 m (M50–55) category at the World Championships in Molveno, Italy ^[23] with a time achieved in 1.94 °C water that was also recognized as an IISA world record. ^[24]

Coaching and technical roles

Since 2022, Belletti has worked as a certified swimming instructor and, from 2024, as a licensed coach for the Italian Swimming Federation (FIN). He also collaborates with the International Ice Swimming Association (IISA) as observer. ^[25] and event director.

Palmares

Year	Meet	Host city	Ranking	Distance	Cat.
2019	Regional Masters Championships	Riccione	4º	1500 m	M. 40
2019	Regional Masters Championships	Bologna	2º	1500 m	M. 40
2022	Ice Swimming World Championships	Glogow	6º	250 m	M. 45-49
2022	Ice Swimming World Championships	Glogow	7º	500 m	M. 45-49
2023	Ice Swimming World Championships	Samoëns	7º	500 m	M. 45-49
2023	Ice Swimming World Championships	Samoëns	8º	1000 m	M. 45-49
2025	Ice Swimming World Championships	Molveno	10°	250 m	M. 50-55
2025	Ice Swimming World Championships	Molveno	9°	500 m	M. 50-55
2025	Regional Masters Championships	Riccione	2º	1500 m	M. 50
2025	Ice Swimming World Championships	Molveno	3°	1000 m	M. 50-55

References

1. "L'elenco dei vincitori: Davide Belletti (nuoto in acque gelide-gennaio)". la Repubblica (in Italian). 2024-02-13. Retrieved 2024-09-12.
2. 12 TV Parma - Gazzetta di Parma - Redazione Web (15 February 2023). "Torna il premio dell'Unione Nazionale Veterani dello Sport". www.gazzettadiparma.it (in Italian). Retrieved 2023-02-23.
3. "FIN Emilia Romagna - Stagione 2017/2018". www.federnuoto.it. Retrieved 2025-07-30.
4. "Atto N. 2875 di Determinazione Dirigenziale del 08/11/2019" (PDF and DOC documents available in the page). atti.comune.parma.it. Archived from the original on 2019-01-11.
5. "Belletti si «mangia» le Bocche di Bonifacio". www.gazzettadiparma.it (in Italian). Gazzetta di Parma. 16 September 2017. Retrieved 2017-09-16.
6. "Attraversa a nuoto le Bocche di Bonifacio". La Nuova Sardegna (in Italian). Retrieved 2017-09-23.
7. "22 km a nuoto per una buona causa | Fondazione Opera Don Bosco ONLUS". www.operadonbosco.it (in Italian). Retrieved 2018-07-09.
8. "Belletti, da Portovenere a Monterosso a nuoto per l'Etiopia". la Repubblica (in Italian). 2018-06-22. Retrieved 2018-06-22.
9. "A nuoto da Porto Venere a Monterosso per aiutare i bambini etiopi". Citta della Spezia (in Italian). 2018-06-22. Retrieved 2018-06-22.
10. "22 km A NUOTO, da Portovenere a Monterosso, per "una Mensa per Dilla" al TG3 RAI". News Report on Italian National State Television (in Italian). 8 July 2018. Retrieved 2022-11-09.
11. "Ventidue km a nuoto per aiutare 300 bambini". Corriere della Sera: 14. 2018-07-03.
12. "Nuota in mare 8 ore per... solidarietà". La Nazione (in Italian). 2018-07-10. This article is no longer available online. A scan of the printed version is privately archived by the contributor.
13. "Da Porto Venere a Monterosso a nuoto per la solidarietà, la sfida di Davide Belletti". Città della Spezia (in Italian). 2018-07-09. Retrieved 2025-07-31.
14. "Altra impresa di Belletti: il giro del Lago d'Orta". www.gazzettadiparma.it (in Italian). Gazzetta di Parma. 24 July 2020. Retrieved 2020-07-24.
15. "Per Davide Belletti la storia si chiama «Swim for them»: fatte mille vasche". Gazzetta di Parma (in Italian). 2021-08-23. p. 23. Archived from the original (Print (private scan held by contributor)) on 2022-11-08. Retrieved 2024-01-16. This article is no longer available online. A scan of the printed version is privately archived by the contributor.
16. "Davide Belletti trionfa alla «Extreme Swim Brulè»". Gazzetta di Parma (in Italian). 2021-11-25. p. 38. Archived from the original (Print (private scan held by contributor)) on 2025-07-23. Retrieved 2025-07-30. This article is no longer available online. A scan of the printed version is privately archived by the contributor.
17. "IISA 4th World Championship". IISA International Ice Swimming Association. 2021-11-01. Retrieved 2022-02-03.
18. "IISA Member Bio | International Ice Swimming Association". 2014-09-03. Retrieved 2022-11-08.
19. Redazione (2022-02-14). "Acque gelide, 13 medaglie per gli Ice Swimmer italiani ai Mondiali 2022". Corsia4 (in Italian). Retrieved 2022-11-08.
20. "Davide Belletti sesto di categoria e 30esimo assoluto ai Campionati del mondo in acque gelide". Gazzetta di Parma - Inserto Sport: 13. 2022-02-14. Archived from the original (Print (private scan held by contributor)) on 2022-11-08. Retrieved 2024-01-16. This article is no longer available online. A scan of the printed version is privately archived by the contributor.
21. Simon, Holliday. "Davide Belletti - Openwaterpedia". www.openwaterpedia.com. Retrieved 2024-09-12.
22. "5th World Championship (Samoens 2023) - Results".
23. "Belletti, lo squalo delle acque gelide: "Fino a 12 anni fa non sapevo nuotare"". Il Resto del Carlino (in Italian). 2025-01-27. Retrieved 2025-06-19.
24. "IISA 1km World Records". International Ice Swimming Association. 5 January 2015. Retrieved 2025-07-31.
25. "IISA Officials". 2017-02-03. Retrieved 2022-11-07.