| Salvatore Rinella | |
| Fullname: | Salvatore Marcello Rinella |
| Birth Date: | 27 February 1975 |
| Birth Place: | Palermo, Italy |
| Weight: | 740NaN0 |
| Style: | Freestyle |
| Club: | Fiamme Oro[1] |
| Coach: | Mauro Massaro |
| Show-Medals: | yes |
Salvatore Marcello Rinella (pronounced as /it/; born 27 February 1975 in Palermo) is a retired amateur Italian freestyle wrestler, who competed in the men's middleweight category.[2] He won three bronze medals in the 69 and 74-kg division at the Mediterranean Games (1997, 2001, and 2005), and also represented his nation Italy at the 2004 Summer Olympics. Having worked as a police officer for Polizia di Stato, Rinella trained full-time for the wrestling squad at Gruppo Sportivo Fiamme Oro in Rome, under head coach Mauro Massaro.[3] [4]
Rinella qualified for the Italian squad in the men's 74 kg class at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. Earlier in the process, Rinella received a ticket to the Olympics by defeating Tajikistan's Yusup Abdusalomov for a third spot at the Olympic Qualification Tournament in Sofia, Bulgaria.[5] [6] He easily ousted Australia's Ali Abdo in his opening match on technical superiority, but fell behind Belarus' Murad Haidarau by a 2–4 deficit at the end of the prelim pool. Finishing second in the pool and seventh overall, Rinella's performance was not enough to advance him to the quarterfinals.[7] [8]
In 2005, Rinella overcame his Olympic setback with a third career bronze medal in the same class at the Mediterranean Games in Almería, Spain.[9] He also sought his bid for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, but failed to earn a spot from the Olympic Qualification Tournament, effectively ending his sporting career.