Olympic weightlifter, 28, won bronze medal at Paris 2024 ‘while on trial for gang rape of tourist’

When Italian Olympic weightlifter Antonino Pizzolato won a bronze medal in the Olympics in Paris, he was allegedly on trial for rape.

The 28-year-old Pizzolato placed third for his country in the 81kg Clean and Jerk and Snatch weightlifting competition.

The two-time Olympian was allegedly on trial for gang rape during the Paris games, according to reports in Italy.

Pizzolato’s trial is said to have started far before this summer’s Olympics and is still ongoing.

Pizzolato is one of four defendants on trial for allegedly raping a Finnish traveler in Sicily who is 28 years old.

After meeting the victim at a restaurant, Pizzolato and his three pals Davide Lupo, Claudio Tutino, and Stefano Mongiovi were charged with aggravated gang rape in July 2022.

The victim made friends with the four offenders before going to a beachside club with them and two of her friends, according to testimony given in an Italian court.

Shen then testified in court that she was extremely drunk when she returned to one of the four accused men’s rooms and was raped by all four until she started crying and pleaded with them to stop.

Italian retailerCorriere Della Sera asserts that police-taken witness statements support the victim’s story.

Additionally, it is alleged that the woman has medical records from the hospital she went to after telling the police about the assault.

A person “with limited self-control and in a state of stupor and mental inhibition such as to prevent her from energetically resisting the acts of violence” was raped by the four offenders, according to the prosecutor’s office.

Pizzolato has participated in and won bronze at the Tokyo and Paris Olympic Games.

After acknowledging accusations of harassing and threatening teammates, the majority of whom were minors at the time, the athlete received a 10-month suspension from the Italian Weightlifting Federation in 2018.

His bronze this summer, however, was clouded by controversy after his final lift attempt was reexamined because to allegations that he had twisted his arm during the lift—an action that should render an effort null and void.