Federico Colbertaldo enters Team Arena

The leading company in sport-waterwear confirms its strong ties with the world of swimming by enriching its Team of champions with the young hope Federico Colbertaldo. The nineteen-year-old from Valdobbiadene, nicknamed “ScIEnzY” due to his love for scientific subjects, has signed an agreement to swim in Arena caps and swimsuits until 31 December 2009.
The contract is for close cooperation between the athlete and the company also out of the pool:: Colbertaldo will have his image linked to PR campaigns, advertising promotions and below-the-line communications.

“Our company has for some time now been applying a policy of promoting the best talent on the international scene – explains Alessandro Carpignano, General Director of Arena Italia – Colbertaldo, although young, has shown himself to be in the top league and we are proud to associate our brand with his positive, clean and winning image.”
Winning the bronze medal for the 800 freestyle at the Melbourne World Championships – continues Alessandro Carpignano – represents the best confirmation yet of his outstanding talent and demonstrates that ours was a winning choice. Now we hope that Federico, whose human qualities and dedication to study we also appreciate, constantly gains new impulse to carry on obtaining important results”.

Federico Colbertaldo, who will be nineteen on 17 October, has been swimming for Veneto Banca Montebelluna since 2002 under the guidance of his coach Branislav (Bane) Dinic.
After a number of big successes at youth level, including national records and international titles, since 2006 he has been noted amongst the “greats” for his strong competitiveness.
At the last World Championships he was elevated to global position by getting through to three finals. In the 1500 freestyle he finished with a time of 14’ 56” 22 , coming 4th and smashing Emiliano Brembilla’s record (14’ 59” 05) obtained at Seville 1997 (one of the longest-lasting in Italian swimming). In the 400 freestyle he came 6th, while, in the 800 freestyle he pulled off his great feat. At that race, where he had stopped the clock at 7:49.98, he was awarded the bronze medal from FINA after the Tunisian Oussama Mellouli was disqualified for doping, having initially won the event in front of Stanczyk, Stevens and Colbertaldo.


Arena, founded in 1973 as a spin-off from Adidas, through strong market orientation and unquestionable flair for design, with product innovation and the use of the most sophisticated technology, was able to foresee the requirements of great swimming champions such as Matt Biondi, Alex Popov, Franziska Van Almsick, Filippo Magnini, Massimiliano Rosolino, Roland Schoemann, Ryk Neethling, Lazlo Cseh and Laure Manadou, by transferring the experience of success and the know-how gathered at competitions to products designed for all water sports enthusiasts.

The Arena Group has managed, in the space of a few years, to gain a position of consolidated leadership, obtaining second place in the world and in Europe in the Sports-Waterwear category, with respective value market shares of 12% and 16% (in Europe), and in 2005 reaching a turnover (retail price value) in excess of 350 million euros, of which about 40% generated in the Far East by the Descente Group.
Arena is present in more than 60 countries throughout the world. Further information is available on the site www.arenainternational.com