Thomas Ceccon Has Emerged as Multi-Event Force With Paris Games Beckoning
Italy’s Thomas Ceccon is the world record holder in the men’s 100 meter backstroke…and so much more! His versatility earned him three medals at the World Championships in Fukuoka in three different strokes: gold in butterfly and silver in backstroke and freestyle.
After the Tokyo Olympics, Thomas Ceccon was interviewed for a feature story in Italy’s Icon Magazine. He shared the following with the author, di Andrea Giordano:
“I live for this sport. It’s the reason I wake up in the morning. Since I was little, I felt I could do everything, but because of my physique, short legs, long torso and broad shoulders, I was nervous and in pain before my races. Then, with international experience, I managed to master the adrenaline—so much so that now I approach the competition with the right pressure.”
Meet Thomas Ceccon: world champion…world record holder…European champion…Olympic relay medalist. And he’s only 22 years old, turning 23 later this month.
BEGINNINGS
It was in Thiene in the province of Vicenza, northern Italy, that Ceccon’s odyssey began.
He was born in January 2001 to sporting parents: mother, Gioia, a former skater, and father, Loris, who had been involved in athletics and football (soccer).
The young Thomas followed his brother, Efrem, into the water, coming under the initial guidance of Coach Anna Vallarsa at the Leosport Club in Creazzo. He then joined up with Coach Alberto Burlina with whom he remains today.
Ceccon has gone on to win world and European titles in backstroke and butterfly plus medley and freestyle relays. Versatility is an oft-used word, but it’s the perfect description for Ceccon.
Following his staggering 51.60 WR en route to 100 backstroke gold at the 2022 World Championships in Budapest, Vallarsa told Italian newspaper, Corriere del Veneto:
“I have known Thomas since he was 9 years old. He is so eclectic because he gets bored easily, and we have always challenged him on multiple styles to keep his concentration high.
“His physique is obvious: long arms, narrow waist, 1.90 meters tall; in the water, he has a bone density that makes him light.
“Character? He is someone who, if he sets his mind to something, nothing can stop him.”
INTERNATIONAL DEBUT
Ceccon made his international debut at the 2016 European Junior Championships in Hódmezővásárhely, Hungary.
Photo Courtesy: Andrea Masini / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto
Among some of his teammates were Nicolo Martinenghi and Alessandro Miressi, who, along with Federico Burdisso, would go on to join forces with Ceccon five years later at the Tokyo Olympics to claim bronze in the men’s medley relay.
He and Miressi would also form half of the Italian men’s 4×100 freestyle relay that won silver this past summer in Fukuoka.
Another competitor of note at that 2016 meet was Russia’s Kliment Kolesnikov, who claimed the 50 and 100 backstroke titles and set world junior records in both events.
The pair would renew their acquaintance on many occasions, with both excelling in both backstroke and freestyle.
However, that all came to an end in March 2022 when Russia and Belarus were banned from competing in international waters following the invasion of Ukraine.
NATIONAL & GLOBAL EXPERIENCE
In 2017 at the age of 16, Ceccon moved to Verona, accompanied by his mom. In June, he reached the top step of the international podium for the first time at the European Junior Championships in Netanya, Israel.
He led off the boys’ 4×100 meter medley relay in 54.72, as the Italian quartet of Ceccon, Martinenghi, Burdisso and Davide Nardini set a world junior record of 3:35.24 en route to gold.
Photo Courtesy: Giorgio Scala / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto
He won his first individual title in the 200 IM at the European Youth Olympic Festival before claiming medley relay silver at the World Junior Championships in Indianapolis.
On to December and senior waters, where three top-six finishes—including 200 IM gold—at the Italian Winter Championships (SCM) was followed by selection to the team for the European Short Course Championships in Copenhagen.
Two relay medals at the European Juniors in Helsinki were followed by his Italian senior long-course debut a month later at the 2018 European Championships in Glasgow. There he finished in a tie for fifth in the 100 back with teammate Simone Sabbioni in 53.85.
At the Summer Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires, gold in the 50 free was accompanied by two silvers and two bronzes before he made his global senior bow at the World Short Course Championships in Hangzhou at the end of the year.
The following year marked the end of Ceccon’s junior days: He won the 50 and 100 backstroke double at the Europeans plus the 100 title and one-length bronze at Worlds.
Sandwiched between were the World Championships in Gwangju, where he reached the semis of the 100 backstroke before ending his year with a 4×50 freestyle relay bronze at the short-course Europeans, his first senior medal in international waters.
THE PANDEMIC
A meeting beckoned in Tokyo for Ceccon with the likes of Ryan Murphy and Evgeny Rylov, as well as another reunion with Kolesnikov. However, on Jan. 30, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the coronavirus a global health emergency as it continued to spread outside China.
By early March, Italy was locked down with the Olympics postponed for the first time in history.
In December, he qualified for his first Games at the Italian Winter Championships in Riccione, going 52.84 for a 100 back national mark while also taking home the 50 fly title and 100 free silver.
Photo Courtesy: Andrea Staccioli / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto
Three bronze relay medals at the rearranged 2020 Europeans in Budapest followed before Ceccon traveled to Tokyo in 2021 for a Games held under strict conditions and without one spectator in the standards because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Come July 25, and Ceccon lowered his national 100 back mark to 52.49 in prelims before going on to book Lane 6 in the final after qualifying fourth in the semis in 52.78, behind Murphy, Kolesnikov and Australia’s Mitch Larkin.
It was Evgeny Rylov and Kolesnikov who dominated the spotlight, the pair representing the Russian Olympic Committee as “punishment” for its state-sponsored doping program.
Kolesnikov led by 6-hundredths at the turn before Rylov came past him to stop the clock in a European record of 51.98. Behind him came Kolesnikov (52.00) and Murphy (52.19), with Ceccon missing the podium by 11-hundredths of a second, his time of 52.30 another Italian record.
The 20-year-old split 47.45 as Italy claimed silver in the 4×100 freestyle relay, and he led off the bronze medal-winning medley quartet in 52.52, with national records set in both races.
So, Ceccon left the Japanese capital with two medals and a host of national records, but he would admit later the sting of finishing fourth in the 100 back played a big part in his racing development.
He concluded the year with two golds among eight overall medals across the European and World Short Course Championships.
A NEW YEAR…AND A WORLD RECORD
The bells rang to usher in 2022, a year in which Ceccon would elevate himself into exalted company.
In June, he headed to the Budapest World Championships, where ninth (53.70) in the heats of the 100 back was followed by 52.12 in the semis—another Italian mark.
In the final, 2016 Olympic champion Murphy turned first in 25.02, just ahead of Ceccon in 25.14, and remained ahead at 75 meters. Ceccon then powered to the front and pulled away with a 26.46 split, touching the wall in 51.60 to break Murphy’s world record from the Rio Olympics by 25-hundredths.
Ceccon said afterward, “I didn’t think of any record or time before the start. I just swam my own race. The water and the pool were excellent, and it’s a fantastic thing when you break the world record in any sport. For me, it’s simply unbelievable.”
Murphy was second in 51.97, 1-hundredth of a second ahead of USA teammate Hunter Armstrong, as the first three men all went inside 52. It was a stunning final…and it was swum without Rylov and Kolesnikov.
Murphy quickly swam over to congratulate the mustachioed Ceccon, telling NBC: “Thomas is an incredible talent. Hats off to him. That’s a gnarly swim…and some good motivation for the next couple of years.”
Later Ceccon texted first coach Vallarsa, saying: “But yes, Anna—I just swam.”
Just as at the 2017 European Juniors, Ceccon joined forces with Martinenghi and Burdisso with Miressi on anchor for the men’s medley relay.
He led off in 51.93 as the quartet sped to Italy’s first-ever relay gold in Olympic or world waters in 3:27.51, matching the European record set by Britain in Tokyo, while also winning bronze in the 4×100 free relay.
* * *
On to the European Championships in Rome in August and an exuberant Foro Italico: The 21-year-old had already won two golds and two silver medals at previous European Champs, but he had never paid a trip to the podium for the 100 back.
Spurred on by silver in the 50 back, Ceccon led the 100 back throughout, splitting 25.15/27.06 to touch in 52.21 and become the first Italian man to win the title. Around 75 minutes later, he led off the victorious medley relay quartet and finished his campaign in the Eternal City with four golds among six medals.
Later he reflected on the effect of finishing fourth in Tokyo, telling World Aquatics: “I love what I do, and when the result comes, the sense of improvement gives me motivation to improve on my past performance. But the disappointment in Tokyo was hard to swallow, and that’s when I really grew up as a racer.”
More history was made and hardware collected at the World Short Course Championships in Melbourne in December.
A 45.13 anchor leg guided the Italian men’s 4×100 free quartet to gold in a world record of 3:02.75. He claimed the 100 IM title and men’s 4×50 relay silver while prelim swims brought a further gold and bronze.
UNFAMILIAR TERRITORY IN 2023
Ceccon found himself in unfamiliar territory in 2023, when he headed to the World Championships as defending champion and world record holder.
He started his Fukuoka competition with silver in the 4×100 freestyle relay, then took to the water the next morning to defend his 100 back title.
Given he had the final of the 50 butterfly that evening, it was no surprise he conserved his energy—physical and mental—but his prelim time of 53.85 placed him 14th!
Back for the semis that night, the 22-year-old rebounded to post a time of 52.16 to book Lane 4 in the final, ahead of Xu Jiayu and Murphy. Less than 75 minutes later, he won the 50 fly in an Italian record of 22.68.
Come the 100 backstroke final, it all came down to the touch: Murphy, Ceccon and Armstrong lunged for the wall together with only 6-hundredths of a second separating the trio.
Murphy, in 52.22, claimed the one title that eluded him, with Ceccon second in 52.27, 1-hundredth ahead of Armstrong, who had only just squeaked into the final.
There was no let-up the rest of the year, as he competed at all three legs of the World Cup tour in October, winning the treble in the 100 back and 100 free to finish as the second male overall behind breaststroker Qin Haiyang of China.
* * *
Ceccon turns 23 later this month, and a second Olympics beckon. Whether Kolesnikov or Rylov will compete as neutrals at Paris 2024 is as yet unknown.
Before then, the men’s medley relay must travel to the World Championships in Doha in February after they finished ninth in Fukuoka despite the presence of Ceccon and Martinenghi.
The final word goes to Roberto Cognonatosi, president of Federazione Italiana Nuoto (FIN) Veneto, who pointed to Ceccon’s influence as a role model. Speaking to Corriere del Veneto after Ceccon’s world record last year, he said, “Thomas never spares himself: If you want to grow, you have to have that mentality.
“Seeing him swim is enchanting due to the naturalness with which he is in the water.”