Since birth, Ciulli has had cerebral palsy. This has caused him a half-paresis on the right side of his body and from perineuroma [6] which is located on his right sciatic nerve.[1]
In 2012, he was introduced to the Paralympic organization and entered the world of Paralympic swimming by participating at the Italian Paralympic Swimming Championships in Pietralata, with Po.Ha.Fi. team. There, he was first classified as an S10, SM10 and SB9. At that meet, he broke two Italian records in the 50 and 100 freestyle.[7]
In 2013, he was invited for the first time to join the Italian national Paralympic swimming team and competed for the red, white and green at his first international meet in Berlin.[8]
A few months later, he was invited, together with the paralympic champion Federico Morlacchi, to compete at the XVII Mediterranean Games, in Mersin Turkey, where he won the silver medal in the 100 freestyle with a time of 57 "14.[9][10]
That same year he was selected by the National Team to take part in the FINA World Cup for non-disabled swimmers in Eindhoven. There he won three gold medals in the 50 and 100 freestyle and the 100 IM. At that same event, he competed together with non-disabled athletes from the Italian National Swimming Team including, Gregorio Paltrinieri, Fabio Scozzoli, Ilaria Bianchi and Federico Turrini.[11][12]
In August 2014 at the European Paralympic Swimming Championships in Eindhoven, he broke the Italian S10 long course national record with a time of 25"18, while placing fourth in the event. In Eindhoven, he also set the Italian S10 national backstroke record in the 4x100 mixed relay with a time of 1'04"69.[13]
In 2015, he once again was invited to join the National swim team to compete in an international meet in Berlin where he established two new Italian national S10 records in the 100 freestyle with a time of 56"35 and in the 100 butterfly, with a time of 1'00"88. These times were just a few tenths of a second away for the qualifying time for 2016 Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro.[14]
In 2017 at the Italian Winter Paralympic Swimming Championships held in Portici, he became the first Italian Paralympic athlete to swim the 50 freestyle under 25 seconds (24"89) and the 100 freestyle under 55 seconds (54"77), also establishing the new national short course records.[18]
At the 2019 World Series in Lignano, he was reclassified as an S9, SM9 SB8 swimmer because the tumor located on his right sciatic nerve grew and progressively hampered the functionality of his lower right leg.
In August 2021, he was called to XVI Paralympic Games in Tokyo 2020, winning a silver medal in the 4x100 freestyle relay with the time of 3'.45''.89 that was a new European Record.[22]
Extra-competitive activities
In 2011 he graduated with a master's degree in Law and subsequently, in 2015 passed the Bar exam to earn his license to practice. He has elected to not pursue his law career until he retires from competitive swimming.[13]
Concurrently in 2014, he obtain a number of state certifications to expand his expertise in swimming and water safety. His certifications include, life guard, second level triathlon trainer, water polo instructor, various fitness instructor, swim school coordinator, as well as sports and facilities management.[7]
Since 2010, he has also been the head coach Klab Nuoto Master Swim Team in Florence, Italy. He has built the program from scratch currently counts over 100 athletes: as of 2019[update], Klab Nuoto Masters has won six consecutive Italian Master Swimming Championships U.I.S.P.[23]
Additionally, since 2016 he has been the personal trainer of Noura Mana, who is a member of the Moroccan National Swimming Team and who participated in the Olympic Games of Rio de Janeiro in 2016. Under Ciulli's guidance, she has broken two Moroccan national records, in the 50 freestyle (25 and 50 metres). She has won a bronze medal at the 2019 Pan-African Games in Casablanca and has also participated at the World Short Course Championships in 2018 in Hangzhou.[24]
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