Meet the Olympic swimmer who has given his coach dad the finger before every race since he was EIGHT
Canadian hopeful Santo Condorelli's rude gesture has landed him in hot water before... when his dad was stood RIGHT behind the camera
THIS Olympic swimmer gives his dad the middle finger before every race, and his old man came up with the idea when the athlete was just eight years old.
Santo Condorelli has landed in hot water for his rude pre-match ritual in the past.
And, amazingly, it was his dad and coach Joseph Condorelli who came up with the idea of the gesture – as a confidence boost for a child who was reportedly frustrated at repeatedly getting beaten by older swimmers.
Santo explains to : “You’ve got to build your confidence and say eff everybody else that you’re racing.
“He said ‘every time you’re behind the blocks, give me the finger and I’ll give it back to you’.”
The cheeky Canadian is quickly becoming one of his country’s star swimmers.
The goggled 21-year-old will race in Rio 2016 in the freestyle relay tomorrow, the men's 100-metre freestyle on Tuesday, and a double-whammy with the 50-metre freestyle and 100m butterfly next Thursday.
As he’s risen through the ranks of success, Santo has had to tone the gesture down – and now brings his middle finger close to his forehead.
Unfortunately at junior nationals, when Santo was just a child, his dad was stood directly behind the camera.
Santo recalls: “I was looking at my father and I gave him the finger… directly it right at the camera.
“I had to write an apology.”
He doesn’t want the gesture to detract from his swimming, but refuses to give it up.
Santos says: “Athletes always have that one thing that gets them going that they need to do.
“That happens to be mine and it still is. Seeing everybody’s reaction to it has been interesting.
“I’m not trying to p*** people off. I just put it in the middle of my forehead now.
“My dad is definitely giving it to me and I can see him from a mile away.”
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Santo’s parents split up when he was five and, according to CBC, the pair describe their relationship as tight – but unorthodox.
The swimmer was born in Japan and grew up in New York but his mum in from Kenora, Ontario, allowing him to compete for Canada.
Santo got a bronze medal at the 2015 World Aquatics Championships for the mixed freestyle relay event, and came 4th in the 100m freestyle, narrowly missing out on a podium place by just 0.07 seconds.