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The Week That Was sponsored by Suitmate.
Italian reigning Olympic champion Gregorio Paltrinieri put up the second fastest performance in the 1500 freestyle all-time as he was under Sun Yang’s world record pace through 1450 meters before being out-sprint by the Chinese world record holder. Paltrinieri swam on the last day of the Sette Colli in Rome as many of Italy’s best returned to racing this week.
Speaking of returning to racing, Japan’s Rikako Ikee, recently recovered from a year-long battle with leukemia, announced her intent to return to racing at the end of August.
Read below the five biggest stories in The Week That Was sponsored by Suitmate.
The Week That Was #5: Lillie Nordmann Deferring Enrollment to Stanford
Photo Courtesy: FINA / Budapest 2019
Lillie Nordmann has announced she will defer her enrollment to Stanford for a year.
Nordmann confirmed her decision with Swimming World. She is the second Stanford incoming freshman to make that decision, following world champion Regan Smith.
“After much thought and consideration I decided to defer enrollment for the 2020-2021 academic year,” Nordmann told Swimming World. “Given the coronavirus pandemic and the uncertainty of the upcoming season, I felt like this was the best decision. Hopefully this will allow me a full four years of training and competing for Stanford.”
#4: Stanford University Not Bringing Back Students For Fall Quarter
Photo Courtesy: McKenna Ehrmantraut
Stanford University President Marc Tessier-Lavigne announced on Thursday that the school has made the decision to not invite undergrad students to campus for the fall quarter, with “almost all undergraduate instruction to be delivered remotely.”
Stanford, which has over 7,000 undergrad students and over 9,000 postgraduate students, is one of the top academic schools in the United States. Harvard University, another one of the most prestigious schools in the US, made a similar decision regarding students on campus for this fall, bringing up to 40% of undergrads back to campus.
The state of California has had nearly 600,000 COVID cases and 10,000 deaths as the Bay Area, where Stanford is located, has been placed on a “watch list” due to worsening trends in public health indicators, according to a letter sent out by Stanford University President.
The Week That Was #3: Rikako Ikee Set to Make Return to Racing at University Duel on August 29
Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick
By Liz Byrnes, Europe Correspondent
Rikako Ikee is set to make her race comeback on 29 August at the Tokyo Tatsumi International Swimming Center.
Kyodo News report that sources are claiming that Ikee will compete in the 50m freestyle in what will be her first race since January 2019, a month before the sprint specialist announced she had been diagnosed with leukemia.
Ikee, who won six gold medals at the 2018 Asian Games, will represent Nihon University – where she is a second-year student – in a duel later this month with Chuo University.
The 20-year-old had initially pencilled in the Japan intercollegiate championships in October for a possible return to competition.
However, as reported by Swimming World last week, the Japanese Swimming Federation announced they were restricting the number of swimmers allowed at any meet to between 32 and 40 competitors which meant Ikee’s comeback could well be brought forward.
#2: Big Ten, Pac-12 Conferences Not Participating in Fall Sports
Photo Courtesy: McKenna Ehrmantraut
By Dan D’Addona & Matthew De George
The Big Ten Conference officially announced the postponement of the 2020-21 fall sports season, including all regular-season contests and Big Ten Championships and Tournaments, due to ongoing health and safety concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The decision is not a surprise, especially since sources confirmed it was going to happen.
Now it is official.
The fall sports included in this announcement are men’s and women’s cross country, field hockey, football, men’s and women’s soccer, and women’s volleyball. The Big Ten Conference will continue to evaluate a number of options regarding these sports, including the possibility of competition in the spring. Decisions regarding winter — including swimming — and spring sports will also continue to be evaluated.
The conference stated it relied on the medical advice and counsel of the Big Ten Task Force for Emerging Infectious Diseases and the Big Ten Sports Medicine Committee.
The Pac-12 Conference will cancel sports for the fall semester, through Jan. 1, 2021, due to the coronavirus pandemic. The decision would sideline many of the nation’s top NCAA swimming programs and hamper the Olympic training efforts of numerous hopefuls from a variety of countries. The conference is hoping to play the fall sports again in the spring.
The decision follows a similar decision made by the Big Ten Conference earlier today, which cancelled its football season with the potential of playing in the spring. The SEC, ACC and Big XII have not postponed fall sports as of yet.
The Week That Was #1: Gregorio Paltrinieri Swims Second Fastest 1500 Free Performance
Photo Courtesy: Becca Wyant
By Liz Byrnes, Europe Correspondent
Gregorio Paltrinieri swam the second-fastest 1500 freestyle in history as he set a new European record of 14:33.10 to bring the Sette Colli Trophy to a spectacular close at the Foro Italico in Rome.
Paltrinieri took 0.94 off his previous record of 14:34.04 which he had set en-route to the European title in London in May 2016.
It also demolished his own meet record of 14:49.06 set in 2017.
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Yeah….
Lost it on the last 50 because hes a clean athlete, why the hell does this guy still own the world record.
Absolutley shameful