Olympic swimmer from Canada gives his father the FINGER before every race in a bizarre good-luck ritual

Santo Condorelli started swearing before races at the age of eight
His father taught him the ritual to boost his confidence
Joseph Conderelli returns the rude gesture to his son before races
The 21-year-old is competing at the Olympics for the first time
He will race the men's 100m freestyle in Rio on Tuesday

Published: 12:34 GMT, 8 August 2016 | Updated: 13:09 GMT, 8 August 2016

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Spectators at the Rio Olympics should not be surprised if they see Canadian swimmer Santo Condorelli flipping the bird before his Olympic races.

The 21-year-old has been performing the bizarre ritual for good luck since he was eight years old.

Santo's father Joseph reportedly came up with the tradition to help spur him on.

'You've got to build your confidence yourself and say eff everybody else that you're racing,' Santo told The Canadian Press his father said to him.

'He said "Every time you're behind the blocks, give me the finger and I'll give it back to you".'

Santo Condorelli performs his customary salute to his father before the start of the 50m men's freestyle during the finals of the Canadian Olympic swimming trials in Toronto in April

This is the first time Santos has swum at Olympic level after being picked for the Canadian team earlier this year.

After coming seventh in the Men's 4 x 100m freestyle relay final on Sunday with his team: Yuri Kisil, Markus Thormeyer and Evan Van Moerkerke, Santo will also take part in the 100-metre freestyle on Tuesday and the 50-metre free on Thursday.

But he's aware that his ritual might cause upset at Rio and has modified it to make it slightly more discrete.

'Seeing everybody's reaction to it has been interesting. I'm not trying to piss people off. I just put it in the middle of my forehead now.

Canadian swimmer Santo Condorelli flips the bird at his father before the Men's 100m Freestyle A Final at the 2012 Speedo Junior National Championship

Right to left: Caeleb Dressell of the United States, Andrey Grechin of Russia, James Roberts of Australia, Santo Condorelli of Canada and Glenn Surgeloose of Belgium compete in the Final of the Men's 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay on Day 2 of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games

'My dad is definitely giving it to me and I can see him from a mile away,' he said.

His father explained: 'It's a communication between him and I to calm down and get ready.

'It became a good ritual for both of us. He got a lot of his aggravation out with just a really simple "Give it to the world" rather than keep it internalized. It calms him down on the blocks for sure.'

The Japanese-born, Portland-raised swimmer got serious about competing in the Olympics after putting his partying days at the University of Southern California behind him and hiring coach Coley Stickels.

There are hopes he'll bring home a medal from Rio after he beat swimming legend Michael Phelps for silver last November in the 100 butterfly at a US event.