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Michaël BODEGAS
Sport Water Polo
NOC Italy   
GenderMen
Born03 May 1987 in La Seyne-sur-Mer, FRA
Height1.92 m
 Human Interest 
Sport Specific Information
Club / Team
CN Marseille: France
General Interest
Hero / Idol
Italian water polo player Amaurys Perez. (wpdworld.com, 30 Dec 2015)
Sport Specific Information
Name of coach
Milos Scepanovic [club], MNE; Alessandro Campagna [national], ITA
Preferred position / style / stance / technique
Centre forward
When and where did you begin this sport?
He took up water polo at age 10.
Further Personal Information
Occupation
Athlete
Languages
English, French, Italian
General Interest
Nicknames
Mike (Facebook profile, 05 May 2016)
Other information
FROM FRANCE TO ITALY
He previously represented France at international level, including as captain at the 2014 European Championships in Budapest, Hungary. In 2015 he switched to compete for Italy, the birthplace of his grandmother. "I had an opportunity I could not miss. It was first of all a sporting choice for me, being part of the world elite. I made a lot of sacrifices for water polo, and at age 28 I was given the opportunity to play in a top team and aim for medals. Then, in France, water polo was a little-recognised sport. I decided to take a risk which paid off immediately with a bronze medal at the Olympics in Rio." (mfsport.net, 12 Jul 2020; lemonde.fr, 09 Aug 2016; france-waterpolo.fr, 03 Jan 2016; wpdworld.com, 30 Dec 2015)

OTHER ACTIVITIES
From 2011 to 2013, he co-owned an art bar in Marseille, France, named 'Belle Aire', where local artists could show and sell their paintings. The bar also hosted live jazz music, fashion shows and yoga lessons. (Facebook profile, 27 May 2019; prorecco.it, 01 Aug 2016; Gazzetta dello Sport, 20 Oct 2015; Belle Aire Facebook page, 27 Jul 2015; 20minutes.fr, 14 Nov 2012)
Further Personal Information
Family
Partner Clio, son Mathis [2018]
Higher education
Sport Psychology - University of Barcelona: Spain
General Interest
Most influential person in career
Coach Nikolas Kamenic. (mfsport.net, 12 Jul 2020)
Sport Specific Information
Training Regime
He incorporates meditation into his training to help him manage stress and pressure.
General Interest
Sporting philosophy / motto
"No one cares what you did last year, or even last game. You must re-earn respect every single day." (Instagram profile, 07 May 2021)

 Competition Highlights
Olympic Games
Rank Year Venue Event Result
7 2021 Tokyo, JPN Team  
3 2016 Rio de Janeiro, BRA Team  
World Championship
Rank Year Venue Event Result
4 2024 Doha, QAT Team  
1 2019 Gwangju, KOR Team  
6 2017 Budapest, HUN Team  
European Championship
Rank Year Venue Event Result
9 2024   Team  
6 2020 Budapest, HUN Team  
4 2018 Barcelona, ESP Team  
6 2016 Belgrade, SRB Team  
10 2014 Budapest, HUN Team