Paolo Barelli was born in
Rome is a former athlete of the
Gruppo Sportivo Fiamme Oro. Barelli broke 23 times the
Italian record in several distances, including the 100m
butterfly and relays. He swam for Italy at the
1972 and
1976 Summer Olympics. In 1975, he won the 100m butterfly at the
1975 Mediterranean Games (58.10). In the
1976 Olympics in Montreal, he reached the Olympic final with the
4 × 200 m Freestyle Relay (7th) and the
4 × 100 m Medley Relay (8th). Barelli entered politics with the
Silvio Berlusconi's party
Forza Italia, was elected to the
Italian Senate in 2001 and reelected in 2006. ==References==