2024 Italian Olympic Trials: Day 2 Prelims Recap

2024 ITALIAN OLYMPIC TRIALS

• Tuesday, March 5th – Saturday, March 9th
• Riccione, Italy
• LCM (50m)
• ITA Olympic Qualification Criteria
• Meet Central
• Entries
• SwimSwam Preview
• Day 1 Finals Recap
• Live Results

We saw two new names added to the Italian Olympic roster through day one of these Trials and several more are vying for their slots here in Riccione.

Leading the women’s 100m butterfly field out of this morning’s heats was 34-year-old Ilaria Bianchi. Bianchi posted a swim of 58.22 to establish a comfortable lead over Costanza Cocconcelli who clocked 58.65 as the 2nd-seeded swimmer and only other competitor under the 59-second threshold thus far.

Paola Borrelli will also flank Bianchi in tonight’s final, putting up 59.67 as the 3rd seed.

The Italian Swimming Federation has set a qualification standard of 57.49 for the Olympic Games. Bianchi has only been under that threshold 3 times over the course of her career, with her lifetime best of 57.22 notched at the 2018 European Championships.

WOMEN’S 100 BUTTERFLY TOP 8

1. Ilaria Bianchi 58.22
   
2. Costanza Cocconcelli 58.65
3. Paola Borrelli 59.67
4. Sonia Laquintana 59.71
5. Elena Di Liddo 59.87
6. Anita Bottazzo 59.98
7. Elena Capretta 1:00.06
8. Giulia Caprai  1:00.34

Michele Lamberti was the top athlete within the men’s 100m backstroke heats, logging an AM time of 54.04. A pair of Matteos trailed him, with Matteo Brunella next in line at 54.66 while Matteo Restivo hit 54.75 as the 3rd seed.

World record holder Thomas Ceccon has already been added to the Olympic roster in this event, courtesy of the 52.82 produced at last November’s Italian Championships. That means just one slot remains, with a swift QT of 53.29 needed to make the grade.

MEN’S 100 BACK TOP 8

1. Michele Lamberti 54.04
2. Matteo Brunella 54.66
3. Matteo Restivo 54.75
4. Christian Bacico  54.99
5. Daniele Del Signore 55.20
6. Lorenzo Mora 55.22
7. Jacopo Nuca   55.37
8. Mattia Morello   55.52

Last night’s 100m breaststroke gold medalist and Paris 2024 qualifier Lisa Angiolini staked her claim on the 200m breast this morning.

28-year-old Angiolini led the field with a solid heats swim of 2:26.71, although she holds just a .07 advantage over Francesca Fangio who is also hunting the 2:23.19 qualification time.

Fangio is the reigning Italian national record holder in this event, owning a career-quickest 2:23.06 from 2021. That means she’ll need to be right at her best in order to be added to the Paris 2024 roster.

WOMEN’S 200 BREAST TOP 8

1. Lisa Angiolini   2:26.71
2. Francesca Fangio 2:26.78
3. Martina Carraro 2:29.24
4. Alessia Ferraguti 2:29.43
5. Anna Pirovano 2:30.45
6. Francesca Zucca 2:30.65
7. Giulia Verona 2:30.97
8. Giorgia Crepaldi  2:31.89

The men’s 100m breast field was on the quiet side this morning, with no racer getting under the minute barrier.

In fact, just three dipped under 1:01, including Ludovico Blu Art Viberti (1:00.51), Simone Cerasuolo (1:00.68) and Gabriele Mancini (1:00.85).

National record holder Nicolo Martinenghi has already qualified in this event, therefore, only one spot will be fought over in tonight’s main event.

Viberti was impressive at November’s Italian Championships, clocking a time there of 59.38 to establish a huge lifetime best. Prior to that competition, he had never been under 1:00, owning a PB of 1:00.42 from June of 2023.

Viberti raced this event along with eventual Doha silver medalist Martinenghi. The 22-year-old turned in a time of 59.86 in the heats and touched in 59.61 to ultimately place 10th.

MEN’S 100 BREAST TOP 8

1. Ludovico Blu Art Viberti  1:00.51
2. Simone Cerasuolo 1:00.68
3. Gabriele Mancini 1:00.85
4. Alessandro Pinzuti 1:01.09
5. Federico Poggio 1:01.10
6. Luca Moni 1:01.20
7. Cosimo Bugli 1:01.38
8. Christian Mantegazza  1:01.41

The women’s 200m free saw Giulia D’Innocenzo produce a time of 1:59.23 as the top-seeded women’s 200m freestyler. That represented the sole sub-2:00 outing of the field.

Sara Gailli hit 2:00.27 and Anna Chiara Mascolo posted 2:00.40 as the next-fastest swimmers. Simona Quadarella appeared in the heats of this ‘off’ event for her, logging 2:00.89 as the 7th seed. This was after she raced in the heats of the 400m IM on day one.

WOMEN’S 200 FREE TOP 8

1. Giulia D’Innocenzo 1:59.23
2. Sara Gailli  2:00.27
3. Anna Chiara Mascolo 2:00.40
4. Sofia Morini 2:00.65
5. Matilde Biagiotti 2:00.66
6. Cesarano Antonietta 2:00.78
7. Simona Quadarella 2:00.89
8. Linda Caponi 2:00.96

Additional Top Seeds

• Sara Curtis nailed a new Italian Cadet level record en route to capturing the top seed in the non-Olympic women’s 50m back. 17-year-old Curtis posted a morning swim of 28.21, a time which sliced .15 off of Costanza Cocconcelli‘s former record of 28.36 that’s been on the books since 2019. Silvia Scalia was the next-closest swimmer out of the heats in 28.36 followed by Erika Francesca Gaetani in 28.53.
• The other non-Olympic event of the morning was the men’s 50m fly which saw Lorenzo Gargani land lane 4 in a time of 23.46. That’s just a hair behind his lifetime best of 23.38 from 2022. It’s also less than a tenth away from the 23.39 he produced for silver at last year’s World University Games. Of note, 100m back world record holder Thomas Ceccon was entered in this event but SwimSwam Italia reported he pulled out due to recovering from a recent finger injury and also the flu.