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ROME (AP) Alberto Castagnetti, the longtime coach of Italy's swim team, has died. He was 66.

The Italian swimming federation said Monday that Castagnetti died at his home in Verona, where he was recovering from heart surgery. The precise cause of his death was not immediately available.

Castagnetti was also the personal coach for Federica Pellegrini, who won two gold medals at the world championships in Rome this year and an Olympic title in 2008.

He was an outspoken critic of the bodysuits that have altered swimming's record book the past few years, saying they amounted to "technological doping." Castagnetti had been Italy's coach since 1987. As a swimmer he participated in the 1972 Munich Olympics.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) APNP 10-12-09 1532CDT | save this article / add to your favorites list