Italians Rattle World Rankings Through Day 1 Of National Championships

2023 ITALIAN CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Thursday, April 13th – Monday, April 17th
• Riccione, Italy
• LCM (50m)
• World Championships Qualifier
• Fukuoka World Selection Criteria
• Start Lists
• Live Results

The 2023 Italian Championships kicked off today from Riccione, with the meet representing one of two qualifying opportunities for this summer’s World Championships. Italian swimmers also have a chance to etch their names onto the roster during the Sette Colli Trophy on the calendar in June.

On day one, six swimmers notched their names onto the Italian lineup for Fukuoka as follows:

Women

1. Simona Quadarella  800m free 8:21.14
2. Lisa Angiolini 100m breast 1:06.18
3. Sara Franceschi 400m IM 4:35.98

Men

1. Marco De Tullio 400m free 3:44.69
2. Alberto Razzetti 200m fly 1:54.98
3. Leonardo Deplano 50m free 21.89

Olympic medalist Simona Quadarella topped the women’s 800m free podium, posting a time of 8:21.14. That easily dipped under the time requirement of 8:26.71 needed to qualify for this summer’s World Championships. She was the only woman in the race to do so and now ranks 4th in the world this season.

The men’s 400m free saw Gabriele Detti score the top seed out of the morning heats, with the Olympian notching a time of 3:49.12. Right behind him was fellow Olympian Gregorio Paltrinieri who touched in 3:49.29 as the 2nd-seeded swimmer.

However, Paltrinieri withdrew from the final, leaving Marco de Tullio an open door through which he could reap gold. The 22-year-old clocked a time of 3:44.69, the 3rd fastest result of his young career, to end up atop the podium. That was enough to qualify the ace for Fukuoka and now ranks him 3rd in the world at the moment.

Detti finished 5th in 3:47.76 in tonight’s final.

Lisa Angiolini roared to the wall first in the women’s 100m breaststroke event, clocking a time of 1:06.18 to qualify for Worlds. That got the edge over Martina Carraro and Arianna Castiglioni who both fell painstakingly shy of qualification.

Carraro took silver in 1:06.37 while Castiglioni rounded out the top 3 in 1:06.38.

Angiolini was the silver medalist at last year’s European Championships and owns a lifetime best of 1:06.00 in this 1breast event. She’s now the 5th fastest female in the world on the season.

The men’s 200m fly saw Alberto Razzetti get to the wall first in the sole World Championships-worthy result of the field.

Razzetti stopped the clock in a time of 1:54.98 to get the job done, beating his outing of 1:55.01 produced for bronze at last year’s European Championships.

Olympic medalist Federico Burdisso settled for silver tonight in 1:55.61, while Giacomo Carini was only a hair behind to bag bronze in 1;55.67.

For his effort, Razzetti checks in as the 6th swiftest male in the world this season.

Sara Franceschi, European Championships bronze medalist in the 200m IM, topped the 4IM podium tonight in a swift 4:35.98. Her result scorched the 24-year-old’s previous personal best of 4:37.06 produced 2 years ago.

Franceschi’s new PB represented the sole outing of the field to qualify for Worlds and also ranks the Italian 3rd in the world this season in the race.

Additional Notes

• Reigning World Record holder in the 100m back Thomas Ceccon fell short of the World Championships selection standard in the 50m back tonight. The 22-year-old notched a time of 24.93 to grab the gold but needed to snag a result of 24.70 to make the grade.
• Leonardo Deplano got the job done in the men’s 50m free, registering a winning mark of 21.89. That represented the only result under the 22-second threshold, as well as under the 21.96 QT needed for Fukuoka. Alessandro Miressi was next in 22.12 while Lorenzo Zazzeri also landed on the podium in 22.24 for bronze.