Thousands of online users have been drawn to a picture of three Italian Olympic medalists, and their remarks haven’t exactly been about the shiny medals that the men are wearing around their necks.
The widely shared image has swimmers Gregorio Paltrinieri, Thomas Ceccon, and Nicolò Martinenghi posing without shirts while holding their medals.
The men’s physical attributes drew comments from onlookers, who labeled the athletes as the “Holy Trinity.”
On July 29, 2024, in Paris, Thomas, a native of Vincenza, won the gold medal in the men’s 100-meter backstroke competition.
Varese native Nicolò took home the gold in the 100-meter breaststroke.
Italian swimmers Nicolò Martinenghi, Thomas Ceccon, and Gregorio Paltrinieri set the internet on fire after posing together with their Olympic medals
Image credits: nicolomartinenghi
In the meantime, Carpi native Gregorio finished third in the 800m freestyle competition, his third podium result in three Olympic Games in a row. Irish swimmer Daniel Wiffen won the gold, and American Bobby Fink won the silver.
On the now viral photo with over 400,000 likes, a woman wrote, “One more reason not to learn to swim and get saved.”
Image credits: ceccon_thomas
Image credits: greg_palt
“What a trio, Mama mia!” wrote a woman from Italy. “I’m proud of you all. Very attractive and quite competent.
Another user cried, “May Italians be eternal.”
One of their countrymen remarked, “Our swimming heroes are talented and attractive,” while another stated, “The Olympic gods are all here.”
“The favorite swimmers of your favorite swimmers,” wrote 23-year-old gold medalist Thomas Ceccon
Image credits: nicolomartinnenghi/greg_palt/ceccon_thomas
Reposting the photo on his Instagram stories, Thomas jokingly wrote, “The favorite swimmers of your favorite swimmers.”
The 23-year-old told Rai News he had been dreaming of winning a gold medal ever since his childhood.
“When I was a kid, I used to go to training with Alberto (the coach, ed.) by car. He asked me what my dream was. I said I wanted to win the Olympics, and he said, ‘Calm down, one thing at a time. ‘ As a kid, I knew I could win it,” recalled the sportsman, nicknamed The Shark for his incredible speed and height of 1.97 meters (6.4 feet).
