Efrem Morelli, captain of Italy’s paralympic swimming team, has published his autobiography detailing his career in motocross, a life-altering accident at age twenty, and his subsequent rebirth in the pool.
From Motocross Tracks to Paralympic Podiums
Published by Ultra Edizioni on October 23, 2026, the 142-page volume is titled “Giù la testa, mai lo sguardo. Tutte le volte che mi sono rialzato.” The book retails for 14 euros and was written alongside collaborators Nicola Fioni and Cristina Coppola. Morelli’s athletic palmarès includes five Paralympic Games appearances, a bronze medal at the 2016 Rio Games, and a silver medal at the 2024 Paris Games in the 50-meter breaststroke SB3, alongside three consecutive world titles and a world record.
Beyond his racing and swimming achievements, the autobiography addresses personal trials that remained outside the public eye for three decades. “The book, besides being my sporting autobiography, also speaks about a great many anecdotes and experiences lived in the last thirty years of my life,” Morelli explained. He added that recounting the past meant confronting painful pages, singling out the motorcycle accident and his mother’s illness as the hardest episodes to put into words.
Collaborative Interviews Lead to Award Recognition
The project emerged from a lengthy interview process intertwining Morelli’s memories with testimonies from people who shared different phases of his life. Fioni described the endeavor as team sports rather than a solitary pursuit, noting that doing the interviews together with Cristina and Efrem allowed him to open up completely and tell his whole life.
Before its recent release, the manuscript earned recognition at the 25th edition of the Premio InediTO – Colline di Torino 2026, associated with the Turin International Book Fair. The work placed among the top ten finalists out of 425 entries submitted in the Novel-Narrative section.
“It is a very human book, a book of life and sport,” Fioni said. “I recommend it to anyone who wants to be moved, to enter the life of another person, a life that is not ordinary.”
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