Santo Condorelli will compete for his third country in international events after securing 2nd place in the men’s 50 free final on Saturday at the U.S. National Championships.
Condorelli completed the race in 21.68, finishing just behind Jack Alexy (21.36).
This means Condorelli will include Team USA on his resume after having represented Canada and Italy on the international stage. The 30-year-old sprinter competed in the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials and secured a spot to represent the U.S. at the 2013 World Junior Swimming Championships, but opted out to keep his eligibility to swim for Canada. However, he was part of the U.S. Junior National Team.
In 2015, Condorelli participated in the Canadian World Championship Trials and secured a spot to represent Canada at the World Championships. There, he secured a bronze medal in the 400 mixed freestyle relay. That year, he won four medals while representing Canada at the Pan American Games. One year later, he competed in the 2016 Olympic Trials and earned the chance to represent Canada at his inaugural Olympic Games.
He placed 4th individually in the 100 free with a time of 47.88, falling short of a bronze medal by .03 seconds.
That marked his final representation for Canada; after nearly two years absent from racing, he returned alive and racing for Canada. His initial depiction of his new home nation occurred during the 2018 World Short Course Swimming Championships.
Previously, individuals with a great grandparent from Italy could obtain Italian citizenship; this year, eligibility shifted to those with a grandparent, who must have held only Italian citizenship at their time of death.
Condorelli’s father, who passed away in January, has Sicilian lineage.
He earned his only Olympic medal to date, a silver in the 400 free relay, representing Italy at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
Condorelli sought to revert his sporting citizenship to the U.S. before the 2024 Olympic Trials, claiming eligibility prior to the Olympic Games, but an arbitrator ultimately rejected that request.
A recent change to World Aquatics’ regulations shortened the waiting period for citizenship changes in sports from 3 years to 1 year, but this came too late for Condorelli to try to represent the United States at last year’s Olympics.
Condorelli, raised in the United States, obtained U.S. citizenship since his father was an American citizen when he was born. He was born in Japan, yet he does not hold citizenship there since Japan does not automatically provide citizenship to individuals born on its soil.
Optimal Moment
Condorelli achieved a time of 21.68, setting a new personal record, surpassing his 21.83 from the 2016 Olympic Games.
He currently stands as the 11th-fastest American ever in the history of the event.
