🛒 Shop the best Water Polo Gear now! →
🤑 10% off on selected briefs & merch 🤑
Support the Total Waterpolo mission!
TW-Brandmark-Whitex2
  • News
  • SINGAPORE 2025
    • Men’s tournament
    • Women’s tournament
  • Results

    National

    • Montenegro
      • Montenegrin League 2024/25
      • Montenegrin Cup 24/25
      • Montenegrin League 23/24
    • Nordic League
      • Nordic League Men 24/25
      • Nordic Trophy Men 2024/25
      • Nordic League Women 2024/25
      • Nordic League 23/24
      • Qualifications
    • Slovenia
      • Slovenian League 24/25
      • Slovenian League 23/24
    • Hong Kong
      • Hong Kong 24/25 – Women
      • Hong Kong 24/25 – Men
    • Austria
      • Austrian League 2025 – Men
      • Austrian League 23/24 – Women
      • Austrian League 23/24 – Men
    • Lithuania
      • Lithuanian League ’24
    • Latvia
      • Latvian Championship 2024
    • France
      • French League 23/24 – Men
    • Spain
      • Spanish League 23/24 – Men
    • Hungary
      • Hungarian League 23/24 – Men
    • Italy
      • Italian League 23/24 – Men

    International

    • SINGAPORE 2025
      • Women
      • Men
    • LEN Champions League
      • Men 24/25
      • Men 23/24
    • World Cup 2025
      • Men
    • AWL
      • Alpe Waterpolo League 2024/25
      • Alpe Waterpolo League 2023/24
      • Alpe Waterpolo League 2022/23
    • Nordic League
      • Nordic League Men 2024/25
      • Nordic Trophy Men 2024/25
      • Nordic League Women 2024/25
      • Nordic League 2023/24
      • Nordic Trophy 2023/24
    • NCAA
      • Men’s Finals 2024
      • Men’s Finals 2023
    • Oympic Games
      • Tokyo 2020
        • Women
        • Men
      • Paris 2024
        • Olympic Tournament – Men
        • Olympic Tournament – Women
    • World Championships
      • Doha 2024
        • Women
        • Men
      • Fukuoka 2023
        • Women
        • Men
      • Budapest 2022
        • Women
        • Men
    • European Championships
      • Eindhoven 2024 – Women
      • Zagreb / Dubrovnik 2024 – Men
      • Split 2022
        • Women
        • Men
      • Budapest 2020

    Amateur & Junior Divisions

    • VAL League 2024/25
    • Nordic League U16 2024/25
    • HaBaWaBa Spain 2025 – U10
    • HaBaWaBa Spain 2025 – U12
    • Masters Cup 2025

    Total Waterpolo Arena livescoring app: Stay in the game with real-time updates and stats for your next tournament.

    Contact Us
    • Champions League
      • Season 24/25
      • Season 23/24
      • Season 22/23
    • International
      • World Cup 2025 Men
      • European Championships
        • Eindhoven 2024 – Women
        • Croatia 2024 – Men
        • Split 2022
          • Women
          • Men
        • Budapest 2020
        • Barcelona 2018
      • World Championships
        • Doha 2024
          • Women
          • Men
        • Fukuoka 2023
          • Women
          • Men
        • Budapest 2022
          • Women
          • Men
      • Olympics
        • Tokyo 2020
          • Women
          • Men
        • Paris 2024
          • Women
          • Men
      • NCAA
        • NCAA Men’s Finals 2024
        • NCAA Men’s Finals 2023
      • Pacific Cup 2024
    • National
      • Montenegro
        • Montenegrin League 2024/25
        • Montenegrin Cup 2024/25
      • Austria
        • Austrian League 2025 – Men
        • Austrian League 2024 – Women
        • Austrian League 2024 – Men
      • Nordic League
        • Nordic League Men 2024/25
        • Nordic League Women 2024/25
        • Nordic League U16 2024/25
        • Nordic Trophy Men 2024/25
        • Nordic League 2023/24
        • Nordic Trophy 2023/24
      • Hong Kong
        • Hong Kong Women’s League 24/25
        • Hong Kong Men’s League 24/25
      • AWL
        • Alpe Waterpolo League 2024/25
        • Alpe Waterpolo League 2023/24
        • Alpe Waterpolo League 2022/23
      • Slovenia
      • Lithuania
      • Latvia
      • Hungarian League 2023 – Men
      • French League 2023 – Men
      • Spanish League 2023 – Men
      • Italian League 2023 – Men
    • Masters
      • Masters Cup 2025
      • VAL League 2024/25
      • Sabac Masters 2024
      • Masters Cup 2024
      • Budva Masters 2024
    • Junior
      • HaBaWaBa Spain 2025 – U12
      • HaBaWaBa Spain 2025 – U10
      • HaBaWaBa Spain Plus 2025
      • Next Generation 2024 – Men
      • Next Generation 2024 -Women
      • HaBaWaBa Easter 2024 (U10)
      • HaBaWaBa Easter 2024 (U12)
      • HabaWaba Spain Plus 2024
      • Plejade
      • Dobri Dupin
  • Transfers
  • Shop

    WearWaterpolo™ Webshop

    • Webshop
    • Men’s Briefs
    • Women’s Suits
    • Apparel
    • Game Balls
    • About

    Partner up with Total Waterpolo, the leading international water polo network worldwide and take your team gear to the next level. Our products are made to endure the harshest conditions from pro leagues around the world to your local squad rivalries. We can't wait to join your team!

    Get Total Waterpolo for your Team
  • Total Player
    • Total Player 2024
    • Total Player 2023
    • Total Player 2022
    • Total Player 2021
    • Total Player 2020
    • Total Player 2019
    • Total Player 2018
    • Total Player 2017
CHL 24/25
Support Us

Edoardo di Somma’s journey from coma to world title

August 2, 2019

Italy has 13 new heroes – 13 water polo players who won the gold medal at the 18th FINA World Championships in Gwangju. But, one of them deserves special honors. Edoardo Di Somma suffered multiple fractures in a traffic accident in 2014. He was in a coma. Doctors told him that he couldn’t play water polo anymore. But, five years later he reached the world title. Italian website “Waterpolo development world” published an interview with Di Somma about his comeback and transformation. We bring you a translated and adapted version:


It was September 2014. An 18-year-old boy cries on the edge of the “Vassallo” pool in Bogliasco. He is Rari Nantes Bogliasco’s water polo player. A few months ago, in June, he risked losing his life with a teammate in a scooter accident. After the collision, they were taken to the hospital. The boy’s friend – Giacomo Cocchiere – got out with a broken leg, while the driver of the other vehicle died from the wounds.

The boy was kept in a medically induced coma in the “San Martino Hospital”. He suffered multiple fractures. After waking up from the coma, he received the shocking news from the doctors: “There is nothing to do, no more sports at a competitive level for you”.

Flash forward to 2019, July 27, Gwangju, Nambu University Arena pool: The boy grew up. He is 23 years old. He can’t stop smiling because he has just become the world champion with the Italian national team. That boy is Edoardo Di Somma.

“We must never stop dreaming – he says – I was told that I had finished with sport, but 5 years and 55 days after the waking up from a coma I won the World Championships.”

Edoardo counts each day. He passed through moments of pain, fear, disillusionment, hope, commitment from the moment of the impact on the scooter to the one in which he has put the medal around his neck. And above all, he spent a lot of efforts.

The emotional heritage that Di Somma brought into the pool he transferred in every stroke. And that was probably decisive for winning the gold.

“When I looked at the medal I experienced a series of flashbacks. I saw myself the first time I jumped into the water after the accident: I couldn’t even swim backstroke. I felt a tremendous pain in my pelvis. I drowned. I cried on the edge of the pool.”

But, Di Somma didn’t give up.

“I slowly returned to swimming with the help of the osteopath Simone Rigalza and physiotherapists like Enzo Giovinazzo is. Late in October, I started to play again. I must also thank the orthopedist Federico Santolini. I will give him a cap that I wore in Gwangju. When I think about it I get excited. It is almost unbelievable what happened to me. But the real winner is the one who never gives up”.

At the age of 18, he chose to swim against the tide, guided by his passion for water polo. He has already infected his brothers Roman and Alessandro by this passion. He managed to become firstly a player, then a member of the national team and finally, the world champion.

“Gold was a triple satisfaction”, says Di Somma.

He says that a lot of people believed that he could return to water polo, but:

“I also met many who didn’t think I would be back in top form. I lived with the pain. I still have to be careful with my body. But I did it, even changing as a player “.

Di Somma moved to Pro Recco from Bogliasco in 2015. Then, he went on loan to Sport Management (season 2015/16). He played for Pro Recco for a season (2016/17). In summer 2017, he joined Sport Management again.

Photos: wpdworld.com

Already as a child, Di Somma was a pure striker, many shots and lots of goals. But, his rivals for that position in big Italian clubs and the national team were unsurpassed.

So, when he returned to Sport Management in summer 2017, on loan from Pro Recco, a new challenge began: after spending months to become a player again, Di Somma started another transformation.

“I did it to reach a higher level. There were many strikers stronger than me and I realized that I have to do something different. Two years ago, Gu Baldineti (Sport Management head coach) proposed the change, considering my strength and resistance”.

After Baldineti’s suggestion, Di Somma changed the role in the team, he became the defensive player.

“I won the gold thanks to Baldineti’s intuition. The new role came well. Later, in the national team, Alessandro Campagna saw that I could play like that and he started to consider me as a defender. I am very happy with the role that I found. I didn’t score a goal at the World Championships, but I don’t care. If I had finished all the games with 3 fouls, I would have been happy. The listening to the national anthem on the podium with the medal around my neck and then diving back into the water with my teammates to celebrate were the best moments of my World Championships. “

Di Somma naturally hopes that he can repeat the moments of joy, which he experienced in Gwangju. Perhaps it will happen on a podium with five circles behind it.

“I’m young. In front of me is a long career. My aim is to be among the 11 at the next Olympics. One thing is certain: if I play well, Campagna will call me “.

After a big success in South Korea and a celebration in Italy, Di Somma returned to Asia, to spend a vacation in Thailand. Next season, he will play for Pro Recco, as he returned to Genoa from Sport Management.

Ivan Curcic
Ivan Curcic

Related posts

Yusuke Inaba Photo by Marcel ter Bals/MTB-Photo

June 19, 2025

[CONFIRMED] Yusuke Inaba to Primorac; Kechagias arrives as head coach


Read more

Dusan Vasic Photo by KVK Radnicki

June 18, 2025

[CONFIRMED] Vasic, Milojevic, Pjesivac and many others to Crvena Zvezda


Read more

Max Irving Photo by Slobodan Sandic

June 17, 2025

[CONFIRMED] Max Irving to Pro Recco


Read more

SUPPORT US ON PATREON

If you share our passion for water polo worldwide, consider becoming a cherished contributor to our cause, with as little as 5$/month.

SUPPORT US


Custom Team Gear

LEARN MORE

Shop Now

Looking for something?

✕
  • Hungary, Spain, Croatia and USA continue battling for medals at U20 Worlds
    June 19, 2025
  • 0
    [CONFIRMED] Yusuke Inaba to Primorac; Kechagias arrives as head coach
    June 19, 2025
  • Australia arrives in Singapore with five debutants
    June 19, 2025
  • Home
  • Water Polo News
  • WearWaterpolo Shop
  • Contact Us
  • Project Superstar – TW Camp
  • BIWPA
  • Custom Team Equipment
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
© 2021 Total Waterpolo. All Rights Reserved.
✕
CroMasters '24
Support Us
  • News
  • SINGAPORE 2025
    • Men’s tournament
    • Women’s tournament
  • Results
    • Champions League
      • Season 24/25
      • Season 23/24
      • Season 22/23
    • International
      • World Cup 2025 Men
      • European Championships
        • Eindhoven 2024 – Women
        • Croatia 2024 – Men
        • Split 2022
          • Women
          • Men
        • Budapest 2020
        • Barcelona 2018
      • World Championships
        • Doha 2024
          • Women
          • Men
        • Fukuoka 2023
          • Women
          • Men
        • Budapest 2022
          • Women
          • Men
      • Olympics
        • Tokyo 2020
          • Women
          • Men
        • Paris 2024
          • Women
          • Men
      • NCAA
        • NCAA Men’s Finals 2024
        • NCAA Men’s Finals 2023
      • Pacific Cup 2024
    • National
      • Montenegro
        • Montenegrin League 2024/25
        • Montenegrin Cup 2024/25
      • Austria
        • Austrian League 2025 – Men
        • Austrian League 2024 – Women
        • Austrian League 2024 – Men
      • Nordic League
        • Nordic League Men 2024/25
        • Nordic League Women 2024/25
        • Nordic League U16 2024/25
        • Nordic Trophy Men 2024/25
        • Nordic League 2023/24
        • Nordic Trophy 2023/24
      • Hong Kong
        • Hong Kong Women’s League 24/25
        • Hong Kong Men’s League 24/25
      • AWL
        • Alpe Waterpolo League 2024/25
        • Alpe Waterpolo League 2023/24
        • Alpe Waterpolo League 2022/23
      • Slovenia
      • Lithuania
      • Latvia
      • Hungarian League 2023 – Men
      • French League 2023 – Men
      • Spanish League 2023 – Men
      • Italian League 2023 – Men
    • Masters
      • Masters Cup 2025
      • VAL League 2024/25
      • Sabac Masters 2024
      • Masters Cup 2024
      • Budva Masters 2024
    • Junior
      • HaBaWaBa Spain 2025 – U12
      • HaBaWaBa Spain 2025 – U10
      • HaBaWaBa Spain Plus 2025
      • Next Generation 2024 – Men
      • Next Generation 2024 -Women
      • HaBaWaBa Easter 2024 (U10)
      • HaBaWaBa Easter 2024 (U12)
      • HabaWaba Spain Plus 2024
      • Plejade
      • Dobri Dupin
  • Transfers
  • Shop
  • Total Player
    • Total Player 2024
    • Total Player 2023
    • Total Player 2022
    • Total Player 2021
    • Total Player 2020
    • Total Player 2019
    • Total Player 2018
    • Total Player 2017

We use cookies to enhance your browsing experience and provide personalized content. By clicking "Accept All Cookies" or continuing to browse this website, you consent to the use of cookies in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT