By Taylor Covington, Swimming World College Intern.
The 2019 Italian Swimming Championships kicked off on Tuesday with an interesting slate of events, including the men’s 50 backstroke, the women’s 800 freestyle, the men’s 400 freestyle, the women’s 100 breaststroke, the men’s 200 butterfly, the women’s 400 IM, and the men’s 50 free.
Simona Quadarella dusted the 800 free, surging ahead to the finish with eight seconds to spare before the next wave of swimmers crashed the pads. Gabriele Deta saw a similar result in the 400, where he pulled ahead of the competition to put two seconds between himself and his next toughest opponent. The rest of the races were decided by narrower margins, yielding a morning of intense competition across the board. With a diverse medley of sprint, distance, and mid-distance events, Italy started Day One of its national championship by showcasing depth and a broad array of talent.
Men’s 50 Backstroke
The morning began with a quick backstroke lap, as Matteo Milli surged to a 25.27 finish with unrelenting speed. Niccolo Bonacchi and Thomas Ceccon swam identical races to cinch second, both ending with times of 25.54 to bump Davide Nardini to fourth (25.65). Michel Lamberti broke into the top five with a time of 25.71, just before the second wave of swimmers touched in. Leading that pack was Mirco Di Tora (25.97) who edged out rival Christopher Ciccarese (25.98) by 0.01. Lorenzo Mora rounded out the elite eight with a time of 26.06, just eclipsing the sub-25 mark.
Women’s 800 Freestyle
Distance stalwart Simona Quadarella gained well over a body’s length lead in the initial stages of the race, bringing it home with an 8:25.55 to seize the morning win and post a time exactly eight seconds faster than her closest competitor. The battle for second turned into a final lap sprint race between Alisia Tettamanzi and Giulia Salin, as the two left the field to post times of 8:33.55 and 8:33.64, respectively. Despite nearly identical splits throughout, Tettamanzi found the strength in the race’s final meter to edge out Salin and seize the morning win, making for an exciting start to the women’s schedule.
The third leading edge followed, headed by Giulia Gabbrielleschi who also broke away from the pack in the final two laps, posting a time of 8:37.57 to gain a healthy advantage over Martina Rita Caramignoli (8:40.63). Gabbrielleschi was the least of Caramignoli’s worries, as Carli Diletta seemed poised to overtake her at the finish, but conceded a place in the top five with a time of 8:40.77. Aurora Ponsele and Geneva Taddeucci rounded out the top-eight with times of 8:47.96 and 8:48.89, respectively.
Men’s 400 Freestyle
Gabriele Deta manhandled the morning’s mid-distance event, posting a 3:48.20 to seize the win by a decent margin. Domenico Acerenza (3:50.20) stayed within striking distance throughout the race, turning in an impressive time of his own to cinch second. Mattia Zuin (3:51.16) averted his attention to fend off Marco De Tullio (3:51.83) for third, edging him out by a little over half a second at the finish, while Matteo Ciampi remained an outside threat with a time of 3:52.49. Davide Casarin led the final wave, out-touching Alessio Proietti Colonna (3:53.44) and Alex Di Giorgio (3:53.82) with a time of 3:53.30.
Women’s 100 Breaststroke
Arianna Castiglioni left it all in the water, as she went sub-1:07 to highlight the morning’s events on the women’s side. With her impressive 1:06.92, Castiglioni out-swam stand-out breaststroker Martina Carraro, whose stellar 1:07.68 had to settle for second. Natalia Foffi had to fight her way to the finish, as she picked up tempo to out-touch Anna Pirovano (1:08.97) with a time of 1:08.93. Francesca Fangio took things from there, landing herself in the top five with a time of 1:09.40 ahead of Ilaria Scarcella (1:09.58), Lisa Angiolini (1:10.14) and Benedetta Pilate (1:10.15).
Men’s 200 Butterfly
Frederico Burdisso met a tough opponent in Giacomo Carini, as the two exchanged leads throughout the race before Burdisso landed his hand on the wall first. Turning in times of 1:57.35 and 1:57.56, respectively, the two left a healthy gap between themselves and the remaining field of competition. Matteo Pelizzari slid his way into third with a time of 1:58.69, while Filippo Berlincioni (1:58.82) and Riccardo Crescenzo (1:59.52) battled it out for a shot at the top four. Alberto Races narrowly missed that mark with a time of 1:59.54, beating Christian Ferraro (1:59.75) and Giuseppe Perfetto (2:00.23).
Women’s 400 IM
Ilaria Cusinato exhibited versatility, as she clocked in at 4:44.12 in a field she made all her own by the freestyle leg of the race. Luisa Trombetti faced a different challenge, as she battled Carlotta Toni (4:48.60) for the second place spot, edging her out with a stellar race strategy that yielded a time of 4:47.86. Alessia Capitanio was not to be forgotten, as she turned in a competitive 4:52.31 of her own to beat Alessia Polieri (4:53.50). Chiara Fontana brought in the final wave with a time of 4:54.32, as Giulia Carofalo and Ludovica Patetta fought to bust into the final eight with times of 4:55.65 and 4:56.12, respectively.
Men’s 50 Free
Andrea Vergani (21.92) redefined the sprint game, finishing out the morning with a sub-22 lap. He was not alone, however, as Lorenzo Zazzeri followed close behind, battling to the second place finish with a time of 22.20, just 0.03 faster than his third-place opponent, Luza Dotto (22.23). Federico Bocchia let them get away at the end, but turned an impressive time nevertheless, swimming to a 22.31 finish to barely edge out Santo Yuko Condorelli (22.36). Leonardo Deplano stayed with the pack in a loaded field, turning in a 22.47 ahead of Alessandro Miressi (22.47) and Piero Codia (22.60).
