Dennis Baretta
Dennis Baretta (born 12 September 2004) is an Italian taekwondo practitioner. Competing in the men's 63 kg and 68 kg divisions, he won the gold medal in the men's 63 kg event at the 2023 European Games in Krynica-Zdrój, Poland. He later became European U21 champion in 2024 and won the bronze medal in the men's 68 kg event at the 2026 European Taekwondo Championships in Munich, Germany.
Career
Baretta is from Aprilia, Italy. He began taekwondo at the age of six and represented Italy from the youth categories onward. In 2018, he won the bronze medal in the 49 kg event at the European Cadet Championships, and in 2021 he won the gold medal in the 63 kg event at the European Junior Championships in Sarajevo.
In 2023, Baretta won the gold medal in the men's 63 kg event at the European Games in Krynica-Zdrój. He defeated Albania's Juirdo Cani in the opening round, Poland's Sebastian Uścimiuk in the quarter-finals and Spain's Joan Jorquera Cala in the semi-finals. In the final, he defeated Croatia's Lovre Brečić 2–0 to win Italy's first taekwondo gold medal of the Games.
In 2024, Baretta became European U21 champion in the men's 63 kg event at the European U21 Taekwondo Championships in Sarajevo. During the tournament, he defeated Karan Landa, Joep van Limpt, Apostolos Panagopoulos and Simur Mirzoiev before beating fellow Italian Ludovico Iurlaro in the semi-finals. In the final, he defeated Poland's Mateusz Chrzanowski 2–0.
In 2025, Baretta competed at the 2025 World Taekwondo Championships in Wuxi, China. He defeated Israel's Eitan Genzel in his opening match before losing to Brazil's Guilherme dos Santos Morais in the round of 32.
At the 2026 European Taekwondo Championships in Munich, Baretta won the bronze medal in the men's 68 kg event. He defeated Sekou Coulibaly, Germany's Emre Çavuşman and Hungary's Levente Márk Józsa to reach the semi-finals, where he lost 2–0 to Turkey's Berkay Erer.
Personal life
Baretta was born on 12 September 2004 in Aprilia, in the Lazio region of Italy. He began taekwondo at the age of six.