Federica Pellegrini Picks Up First Event Win On Day 1 of Naples Grand Prix

2019 GRAND PRIX CITY OF NAPLES

• 25/26 May 2019
• Caserta (CE) – Stadio Del Nuoto
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The first day of the fourth-ever Naples Grand Prix features the top Italian age group talent clashing with many Olympic and World Championship veterans. Only two events, the 100 free and 100 back, were swam as prelims-finals events, whereas the remainder of the contested events were timed finals.

Women’s 50m Breaststroke – Timed Final

Natalia Foffi was the lone competitor in the field to crack 33 seconds, touching the wall in a time of 32.89. Running second was Jessica Iacoponi, who finished half a second behind in 33.29. 15-year-old Maria Piscopiello notched a top three finish in the event with a 34.24

Also earning top eight finishes was Lara Buondonno (34.26), Chiara Pellegrino (34.29), Beatrice Poverini (34.79), Alessia Mileto (34.99), and Giorgia De Rinaldis (35.17).

Men’s 50m Breaststroke – Timed Final

Top seed Alessandro Pinzuti handily won the men’s 50 breaststroke, clearing the rest of the field by over half a second with his final time of 28.45. Vincenso Cesario was the next closest competitor, earning the runner-up spot with a 29.15. Flavio Bizzarri picked up third in 29.51.

Composing the remainder of the top eight was Romeo Morelli (29.60), Christian Ponga (29.61), Nunzio Chiariello (29.72), Vincenzo De Palo (29.85) and Salvatore Amideo (30.66).

Women’s 100m Backstroke – Final

15-year-old Erika Gaetani showcased a commanding victory in the women’s 100 back final after qualifying first in the preliminary heats. Gaetani touched a full second ahead of the closest pursuer, stopping the clock at 1:03.18. Cecilia Canuto occupied the runner-up spot, hitting the pad at 1:04.18. Manuela Correale, a 16-year-old, earned third with her 1:06.17.

The rest of the top eight finishers included Benedetta Pagliara (1:06.70), Ludovica Ponticelli (1:07.20), Giulia Trabanelli (1:07.31), Angelica Ragazzoni (1:07.81) and Lorenza Piano (1:07.94).

Men’s 100m Backstroke – Final

The veteran Christopher Ciccarese topped the rest of the field in the men’s 100 back final, throwing down a solid 55.46. Lorenzo Mora wasn’t far behind, clocking a 56.00 for second; and 30-year-old Matteo Milli was the last competitor under 57, taking third with a 56.36.

Also competing in the final was Angelo Cioffi (57.25), Emanuel Turchi (57.49), Mirco Di Tora (57.81), Giovanni Sorriso (57.98) and Luca Bertoli (58.25).

Women’s 200m Butterfly – Timed Final

Roberta Piano cleanly won the women’s 200 butterfly – the 21-year-old recorded a final time of 2:13.34, making her the only competitor to break 2:15. Piano, along with 16-year-old Antonella Crispino, were body lengths ahead of the field. Crispino was the runner-up with a 2:15.05, while 15-year-old Martina Lonati claimed third in 2:19.99.

Also claiming a stake in the top eight was Roberta Volpini (2:23.27), Claudia Barbar (2:24.98), Giusy Castaldi (2:25.99), Marta De Paola (2:29.08) and Ludovica Granato (2:29.31).

Men’s 200m Butterfly – Timed Final

Matteo Pelizzari, Giuseppe Perfetto and Riccardo Crescenzo played a game of cat and mouse throughout the entirety of the race,  separating themselves from the rest of the heat. In the end, however, it was the 29-year-old Pelizzari who reigned victorious – touching at 2:01.70 – but not by much. Perfect was just a hair behind in 2:01.76 for second, while Crescenzo settled for third with a 2:01.99.

Additionally finishing inside the top eight was Filippo Berlincioni (2:04.12), Giuseppe Cerbone (2:05.81), Alessandro Civitelli (2:08.89), Andrea D’Agostino (2:09.23) and Raffaele Gualtieri (2:10.28).

Women’s 50m Butterfly – Timed Final

Teammates Silvia Di Pietro and Elena Di Liddo went 1-2 in the women’s 50 fly, on top of being the only two swimmers in the event to break 27 seconds. Di Petro got the win with a 26.78, while Di Liddo immediately followed in 26.88. Giada Galizi rounded off the top three, posting a final time of 27.36.

Earning top eight marks also included Ilaria Bianchi (27.40), Angela D’Afiero (27.64), Erika Gaetani (27.96), Aglaia Pezzato (28.26), and Antonella Crispino (28.45).

Men’s 50m Butterfly – Timed Final

After winning the 50 breaststroke, Alessandro Pinzuti came back in the 50 fly to face a tight race with Italy’s premier sprinter Luca Dotto. Though the two touched virtually simultaneously, it was Pinzutti who ended up claiming the top spot, winning in a time of 25.51 to edge out Dotto’s 25.59. Running third was 17-year-old Christian Paciello, who finished close behind in 25.74.

Filippo Berlincioni (25.95), Giuseppe Perfetto (26.02), Antonio Mazza (26.03), Alessandro Baffi (26.12) and Michele Lallopizzi (26.23) comprised the rest of the top eight finishers.

Women’s 100m Freestyle – Final

200 free world record holder Federica Pellegrini and her teammate Erika Ferraioli – both of whom are in their 30s – went 1-2 in the women’s 100 free final. The two posted final times of 55.25 and 55.64, edging out third place finisher Silvia Di Pietro‘s final time of 55.82; the last competitor in the field to break 56 seconds.

Additionally swimming in the final was Giada Galizi (56.18), Aglaia Pezzato (56.43), Chiara Tarantino (56.61), Alice Mizzau (57.13) and Ilaria Bianchi (57.85).

Men’s 100m Freestyle – Final

Stefano Ballo reigned supreme in the loaded men’s 100 freestyle final, getting under the notorious 50 second barrier to clock a 49.86 for the win. Thanks to a stellar back-half, Ballo overtook the Italian record holder in this event Luca Dotto in the final few meters, as Dotto settled for second with a 49.99. Santo Condorelli blasted well ahead of both of them in the first lap, but ended up fading to third in a time of 50.29.

Andrea Vellutes (52.07), Simone Maffei (52.42), Giuseppe Trapanese (52.49), Simone Luccarelli (52.98), and Fabio Casella (53.25) all swam in the final heat.

Women’s 200m Breaststroke – Timed Final

Lara Buondonno edged out Maria Sorrentino and Jessica Iacoponi in the top heat of the women’s 200 breaststroke, pulling away on the final lap to take first in a time of 2:34.05. Sorrentino and Iacoponi were neck and neck heading into the wall, but Sorrentino touched ahead with a 2:35.43, while Iacoponi settled for third in 2:35.57.

Beatrice Poverini (2:37.30), Maria Piscopiello (2:37.40), Giulia Airoldi (2:42.50), Elena Landolfo (2:43.64), and Sabia Maione (2:45.94) earned points as part of the top eight finishers.

Men’s 200m Breaststroke – Timed Final

Edoardo Giorgetti annihilated the competition in the men’s 200 breaststroke – he touched the pad at 2:14.89 for the win, marking himself as the only swimmer in the field under 2:20. His closest competition came from Flavio Bizzarri and Christian Ponga, who lunged to the wall at nearly the same time. Bizzarri ended up taking second with a 2:20.36, while Ponga took third in 2:20.62.

Completing the rest of the top eight was Luca Di Benedetto (2:22.60), Vincenzo Di Palo (2:26.04), Salvatore Amideo (2:26.18), Giovanni Collazzo (2:26.29), and Antonio De Lucia (2:28.47).

Women’s 200m IM – Timed Final

Luisa Trombetti was the only swimmer in the event to break 2:20, as the veteran recorded a final time of 2:18.32 to handily secure the win. Two youngsters followed behind in Antonella Crispino and Maria Piscopiello, aged 16 and 15, clocking final times of 2:20.54 and 2:21.66, respectively.

Finishing inside the top eight additionally included Maria Sorrentino (2:24.16), Roberta Piano (2:24.76), Aurora Ceccarelli (2:26.45), Teresa Persiano (2:26.99), and Ada Rosa (2:28.37).

Men’s 200m IM – Timed Final

Giovanni Sorriso picked up a solid victory in the men’s 200 IM – sporting a uniquely strong middle 100 – registering a final time of 2:03.57 to boot. Touching behind was Nicolangelo Di Fabio with his second place earning time of 2:04.77, while Matteo Pelizzari easily finished third with a 2:06.60.

Giuseppe Cerbone (2:09.39), Gabriele Pannozzo (2:10.93), Giovanni Collazzo (2:15.46), Gaetano Parigiano (2:17.66) and Mattia Vaiola (2:17.80) complete the top eight.

Women’s 400m Freestyle – Timed Final

Sweeping the top three were teammates Martina Caramignoli, Diletta Carli, and Luisa Trombetti. Although Carli was ahead going into the final 100, Caramignoli pulled away with a monster finish, taking the win with a final time of 4:14.23. Carli held on for the runner-up spot with her 4:15.68, and Trombetti was the final competitor under 4:20, clocking a 4:17.67.

Rounding out the top eight was Angela D’Afiero (4:26.75), Teresa Persiano (4:26.79), Antonia Panico (4:26.87), Lucia Marsicano (4:29.83), and Chiara Prencipe (4:30.20).

Men’s 400m Freestyle – Timed Final

Alessio Proietti Colonna dominated the final event of the day, reaching the wall in a solid 3:54.75 – making him one of two competitors to get under 4:00 minutes. The other swimmer was Nicolangelo Di Fabio, who threw down a 3:58.36 for second. Finishing third was 18-year-old Natonio Riemma, touching the wall at 4:01.40.

Top eight finishers included Pietro Paolo Sarpe (4:03.98), Andrea D’Agostino (4:04.91), Andrea Nardo (4:09.42), Alessandro Righini (4:10.12) and Samuel De Rinaldi (4:10.24).