Born in 1999, Nicolo Martinenghi is part of a new wave of athletes now challenging Adam Peaty's dominance in sprint breaststroke.

The Italian rose to prominence at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, where he set a new national record in the men's 100m breaststroke record holder en route to the bronze medal, before helping his nation seal bronze in the 4x100m medley relay.

Martinenghi took full advantage of Peaty's absence at the 2022 World Championships, swimming 58.26 to lower his 100m breaststroke national record and take the gold medal.

In what was an excellent meet for the Varese native, he then joined Thomas Ceccon, Federico Burdisso and Alessandro Miressi to win the men's 4x100m medley relay.

Martinenghi's stellar past two seasons, in addition to the rise of USA's Nic Finc, has changed the landscape of men's breaststroke swimming.