Antonino Pizzolato

Antonino "Nino" Pizzolato (born 20 August 1996) is an Italian weightlifter, Olympian, and three-time European Champion competing in the 85 kg category until 2018 and the 81 kg and 89 kg categories starting in 2018 after the International Weightlifting Federation reorganized the weight classes.

Career In 2019 Pizzolato competed at the 2019 European Weightlifting Championships in the 81 kg category, winning the gold medal in the Clean & Jerk and total. Later, in 2019 he competed at the 2019 World Weightlifting Championships, finishing in sixth place with a 358 kg total in the 81 kg category.

He competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics, in Men's 81 kg, winning a bronze medal.

He won the gold medal in the men's 89 kg Snatch and Clean & Jerk events at the 2022 Mediterranean Games held in Oran, Algeria.

In August 2024, Pizzolato competed in the men's 89 kg event at the 2024 Summer Olympics held in Paris, France. He lifted 384 kg in total and won his second Olympic bronze medal. Pizzolato originally failed all three attempts in Clean & Jerk but the jury overturned a unanimous no-lift decision by the referees on his final lift. Pizzolato made just four successful attempts to win two Olympic medals.

Personal life Pizzolato received a 10-month ban from competition for making threats and engaging in intimidation, bullying, and in some cases physical violence, as well as for showing pornographic videos to underage athletes at the national team training center.

In November 2024, Pizzolato went on trial for aggravated gang rape. He and his three friends raped a 27-year-old Finnish female tourist at a residence in Trapani, Italy, on 22 July 2022. On 6 July 2026, he was sentenced to five years and four months in prison.

Major results