Disclaimer: BlueSeventy Swim of the Week is not meant to be a conclusive selection of the best overall swim of the week, but rather one Featured Swim to be explored in deeper detail. The BlueSeventy Swim is an opportunity to take a closer look at the context of one of the many fast swims this week, perhaps a swim that slipped through the cracks as others grabbed the headlines, or a race we didn’t get to examine as closely in the flood of weekly meets.
Not all of the world record-setters from the super-suit era have lasted long in the world swimming rankings after full-body suits were banned. Federica Pellegrini is proving she can.
Even at age 27, Pellegrini is still etching her name among the world’s best, and she did it again last week with a pair of dominating freestyle swims at Italian Nationals.
Pellegrini was 53.78 in the 100 free and 1:55.30 in the 200 – both ranked within the world’s top 12, and both right at her best times since the suit ban took effect in 2010.
That 53.78 was actually Pellegrini’s best time since 2009, a career resurgence coming at exactly the right time. She sits #12 worldwide, and could project to finish even higher in Rio, as 4 of the top 11 are from Australia, and only two of those Aussies can enter the event at the Olympics.
2015-2016 LCM Women 100 Free
CAMPBELL
52.06*WR
| 2 | Bronte CAMPBELL | AUS | 52.58 | 04/11 |
| 3 | Penny OLEKSIAK | CAN | 52.70*OR*WJR | 08/11 |
| 4 | Simone MANUEL | USA | 52.70*OR | 08/11 |
| 5 | Sarah SJOSTROM | SWE | 52.78 | 04/01 |
In the 200, Pellegrini is #4 in the world, and was just three tenths off her best swim of the textile era (she went 1:55.00 last summer).
2015-2016 LCM Women 200 Free
LEDECKY
1.53.73
| 2 | sarah SJOSTROM | SWE | 1.54.08 | 08/09 |
| 3 | Federica PELLEGRINI | ITA | 1.54.55 | 06/26 |
| 4 | Emma McKEON | AUS | 1.54.83 | 04/10 |
| 5 | Katinka HOSSZU | HUN | 1.55.41 | 11/06 |
Though the 200 free is stacked up with some elite talents, Pellegrini looks in great form to defend her silver medal from last year’s World Championships.
With that silver medal guaranteeing her a spot on Italy’s Olympic team, Pellegrini didn’t have to swim fast at Italian Trials. She did anyways. And that’s the best sign Italian swimming fans could hope for.
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Last week she swam the Italian textile record in the 100 free long course and the Italian record in short course. She has basically improved her sprint speed, which is not uncommon in older athletes. Whether she will be able to use that in order to swim a 1:54 200 remains to be seen. She tried in Riccione but in the last 50 had no legs left.
She’s great. People forget that she also broke both the 200 free and the 400 free World Record in textile suits as well.
200 Free WR 03/27/2007 (1:56.47)
400 Free WR 03/24/2008 (4:01.56)
Didn’t she dip under 4:00 in the 400? Im pretty sure
Ah misread.
Ok for March 2007 in Melbourne about Pellegrini in textile. Laure Manaudou swam 1.55 later in final.
She was also in textile suit in March 2008? The year the madness has begun in terms of records because of fast suits?
I’m not a suit specialist but we can see she wears an Arena in the video. I know that Speedo had the LZR with 50% of polyurethane since the start of 2008. The Arena was still 100% textile at that time? If yes, that was a very impressive swim by Pellegrini. The fastest textile time ever. Before Katie Ledecky explodes all numbers since 2013.
In 2008 it was better to wear a Speedo LZR. In 2009 it… Read more »
Yes, Bobo. At European Champs in Eindhoven ( when a 14 year-old Sarah Sjostrom won her first title in the 100 fly northeless an horrible finish), Pellegrini swam with an Arena R-evolution 100% textile, the same suit which was used by Slovenian Sara Isakovic for her great silver in the 200 free at Beijing2008, and by Laszlo Cseh, too.
It’s important to note that the Arena R-evolution was really an excellent suit, and the great swimmers above chose to wear it. instead the Speedo Lzr, also at Olympics2008 because they felt swimming better with Arena R-evolution than with Speedo Lzr.
Not the same happened to Federica Pellegrini who at Beijing 2008 swam with the first version of Jaked,… Read more »
Her 200 free
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mF02avjiVco
Her 100 free
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WT69IobYVRk