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Italian two-time world champion in the 100-meter freestyle Filippo Magnini challenges dolphins Leah and King, during a performance at Zoomarine's aquatic amusement park in Torvaianica, near Rome. The captain of the Italian national swimming team lost Thursday against King, 19, and Leah, 9, at an event in Torvaianica. The dolphins had to swim about twice as many lengths as Magnini, but even so, they overtook him. (AP)
Italian swimmer Filippo Magnini once ruled the pool in the 100-metre freestyle, but now he's met his match dolphin-style.
The captain of the national swimming team raced a pair of dolphins - King, 19 years old, and Leah, nine years old - at a specially arranged event in a swimming pool in Torvaianica, south of Rome.
The dolphins had to swim about twice as many lengths as Magnini, but they overtook him to win in the last few metres.
"I never had such tough opponents," joked the two-time world champion. But he said he "fell a bit in love with dolphin Leah" and hoped to see her again.
Magnini - nicknamed Superpippo - won gold in the 100-metre freestyle at the 2005 world swimming championships in Montreal and at the 2007 event in Melbourne.
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