Valentina Procaccini (Fame)
August 2025: Valentina Procaccini will try to be at the European Championships in Paris together with her training partner Simona Quadarella, with whom she trains at Aniene under the orders of Gianluca Belfiore. Then the Pescara native will fly to Gainsville to start the adventure with the Gators at the University of Florida and will train with Katie Ledecky, Bobby Fink, the Tunisian Jaouadi, the Canadian Josh Liendo under the orders of Anthony Nesty. In Gainsville, she will meet the Italian breaststroker Anita Bottazzo, fourth at the World Championships. The freestyler from Abruzzo is the last of the Italians who will fly to the USA to grow and improve. (here is a summary: https://questionedistile.gazzetta.it/2025/10/21/ritrovarsi-in-america-da-azzurri-a-coltivare-il-grande-sogno-via-college/). It is another significant moment in Italian swimming: a great honor for Valentina to be able to train with the strongest freestyle swimmer in history. Today Procaccini, born in 2008 and new Fiamme Azzurre, posted: “There are dreams that grow slowly, silently, stroke after stroke. Dreams that one day become bigger than you, and take you far away… From next year I will fly to Florida, where I will start a new chapter at the University of Florida, joining the Florida Gators team, under the guidance of Coach Anthony Nesty, coach of the American national team. Training alongside athletes like Katie Ledecky, Bobby Finke, Ahmed Jaouadi and Josh Liendo, some of the best in the world, it will be an emotion and a responsibility that I will carry with all my being. It is not just a dream come true: it is a new starting point because it represents excellence, both in studies and in swimming. I am thrilled to be part of a program that pushes every athlete to reach their maximum potential, in and out of the pool Gators and the University of Florida for the trust and incredible opportunity they are offering me. Thanks to the Aniene Rowing Club and the Fiamme Azzurre Sports Group, my sporting family, for believing in me and allowing me to proudly carry their colors even overseas. Now it’s time to learn again, with a heart full of gratitude and a dream always before my eyes.”
Photo area –
The announcement of Valentina’s signing with the Gators
Valentina Procaccini with coach Anthony Nesty, Suriname’s first Olympian in the 100 butterfly in Seoul 1988
Katie Ledecky welcomes Valentina Procaccini
The procaccini with the Gators symbol