Italy’s Nicolo Martinenghi Takes WJR Under 27 With 26.97 in 50 Breast

2017 Italian Championships

• Tuesday, April 4 – Friday, April 8, 2017
• Riccione, Italy
• Live Results

Italy’s rising breaststroker Nicolo Martinenghi kicked off the 2017 Italian Championships in style, busting his own junior world record in the 50 breaststroke with a 26.97.

Martinenghi popped that swim in prelims of the 50 breast, qualifying first by half a second and breaking all the records. That included the Italian record, his own Italian junior record, European junior record and even world junior record. Martinenghi will have another shot to lower all those records tonight in the final.

Born in 1999, Martinenghi is still eligible to break junior world records through the end of this calendar year. (FINA’s system is based off of the calendar year rather than specific birthdays, meaning any swimmer who turns 19 at any point his year would be ineligible to break junior world records all year. But Martinenghi won’t turn 19 until 2018, giving him this year to continue lowering the record.)

Martinenghi last broke the junior world record at this very meet last year. His 27.32 at the time held up as the under-18 world record, and now he’s taken three more tenths off it. He also broke his own Italian junior record and took over the overall Italian record for swimmers of any age. That erased a 27.06 set by Andrea Toniato at the World University Games in the summer of 2015. Toniato was second in prelims this morning at 27.55.

His time also ranks #2 worldwide for the season. Only Martinenghi and world record-holder Adam Peaty have broken 27 this season.