2024 ITALIAN OLYMPIC TRIALS
- Tuesday, March 5th – Saturday, March 9th
- Riccione, Italy
- LCM (50m)
- ITA Olympic Qualification Criteria
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- Day 1 Prelims Recap | Day 1 Finals Recap
- Day 2 Prelims Recap | Day 2 Finals Recap
- Day 3 Prelims Recap | Day 3 Finals Recap
Through last night’s finals, just two names have been added to the Italian Olympic roster for Paris 2024. Several are in the hunt as we entered day 4 prelims so we’re watching in earnest to see how things unfold in Riccione.
First off in the men’s 100m fly, Alberto Razzetti set himself up for success by landing the top seed in a morning swim of 52.34. That’s just over a second outside of the Italian Swimming Federation-mandated qualification time of 51.29, a mark Razzetti has achieved on 2 separate occasions.
Behind Razzetti this morning was Giacomo Carini, the man who already took 200m fly gold earlier in the competition. Carini snagged the 2nd seed in 52.77, tied with Edoardo Valsecchi who hit the same mark.
Of note, Federico Burdisso, who has recently stated he was aiming for the 100m fly both individually as well as for the medley relay, was absent from the heats. He’ll still potentially have the Sette Colli Trophy to earn his Olympic berth, depending on what happens in tonight’s final.
Also, Thomas Ceccon, who raced in the 100m free last night, was absent from his heat.
MEN’S 100 FLY TOP 8
- Alberto Razzetti 52.34
- Giacomo Carini 52.77
- Edoardo Valsecchi 52.77
- Lorenzo Gargani 52.80
- Michele Lamberti 52.99
- Giovanni Izzo 53.00
- Michele So 53.05
- Daniel Mormont 53.39
The women’s 100m back was on the subdued side as just one swimmer dipped under the 1:01 threshold.
Margherita Panziera, the Italian national record holder in this event, stopped the clock at 1:00.79 to earn the pole position. That puts her about a second outside the QT of 59.59 needed for Paris.
Erika Gaetani was next to the wall in 1:01.24 and will flank Panziera along with Francesca Pasquino who touched in 1:01.77.
WOMEN’S 100 BACK TOP 8
- Margherita Panziera 1:00.79
- Erika Francesca Gaetani 1:01.24
- Francesca Pasquino 1:01.77
- Federica Toma 1:01.83
- Carlotta Zofkova 1:02.01
- Silvia Scalia 1:02.09
- Francesca Furfaro 1:02.16
- Giada Gorlier 1:02.50
The aforementioned Ceccon did race in the heats of the men’s 200m back where he finished 3rd in his heat with a morning swim of 2:02.08. That rendered him outside the top 8, however.
Matteo Restivo took the top spot in a time of 1:58.79 but only after his initial disqualification was overturned. 29-year-old Restivo was DQ’d for exceeding the 15m mark; however, an appeal by his club resulted in his being reinstated as the top seed heading into this evening’s main event.
MEN’S 200 BACK TOP 8
- Matteo Restivo 1:58.79
- Matteo Venini 2:00.07
- Mattia Morello 2:00.79
- Christian Bacico 2:01.15
- Lorenzo Mora 2:01.30
- Luca Carminati 2:01.44
- Dylan Bonaguro 2:01.76
- Daniele Rosa 2:01.91
The women’s 200m fly saw Paola Borrelli produce the quickest outing of the field, registering 2:10.46. She has some work to do in order to achieve the Olympic QT of 2:07.59; however, her time this morning checked in as a new personal best by about half a second to steer her in the right direction.
WOMEN’S 200 FLY TOP 8
- Paola Borrelli 2:10.46
- Antonella Crispino 2:11.81
- Roberta Piano Del Balzo 2:12.18
- Anna Porcari 2:14.19
- Cristina Caruso 2:14.26
- Beatrice Demasi 2:14.51
- Alessia Polieri 2:14.79
- Alice Dimaggio 2:14.83
Having opted out of the men’s 100m breast here due to his pre-qualification, Olympic medalist Nicolo Martinenghi was in the water to contest the men’s 200m breast heats.
The 24-year-old notched a time of 2:13.43 in a casual swim to beat the pack en route to landing lane 4.
He’ll be chasing a QT of 2:08.99, a time which would represent a big-time personal best for the World Championships medalist. Martinenghi’s lifetime best rests at the 2:10.19 logged at the 2020 Italian Championships, so he’ll need to fire off something special to add this event to his Paris lineup.
MEN’S 200 BREAST TOP 8
- Nicolò Martinenghi 2:13.43
- Christian Mantegazza 2:13.99
- Cosimo Bugli 2:14.05
- Alessandro Fusco 2:14.34
- Andrea Castello 2:14.46
- Luca Pizzini 2:15.19
- Edoardo Giorgetti 2:15.21
- Stefano Saladini 2:15.30
Fireworks went off in the women’s 50m free, as 17-year-old Sara Curtis put up a new Italian national record and European Junior Record as she claimed the top seed.
Curtis registered a swift 24.56 to stake her claim on this splash n’ dash, a time that hacked her previous PB of 24.91 to bits. She temporarily qualifies for Paris, having dipped under the 24.69 QT set by the Italian Swimming Federation,
We’ll have to see how the final unfolds, with Costanza Cocconcelli, the only other sub-25-second swimmer career-wise, chasing her as the 2nd seed.
You can read more about Curtis’ record here.
WOMEN’S 50 FREE TOP 8
- Sara Curtis 24.56 EJ-RI qualified for the Olympics
- Costanza Cocconcelli 25.33
- Chiara Tarantino 25.54
- Cristiana Stevanato 25.55
- Maria Agata Ambler 25.67
- Emma Virginia Menicucci 25.79
- Matilde Biagiotti 25.87
- Sonia Laquintana 25.88
The men’s 200m free is one of the most competitive of these championships, with no swimmer having already qualified via the Italian Championships and World Championships.
Filippo Megli led the way with a feisty morning swim of 1:46.72, the sole outing of the field under 1:47.
Alessandro Ragaini, just 17 years of age, produced a new Italian Junior Record as he captured the 2nd seed. His time of 1:47.12 overtook the previous junior mark of 1:47.24 he owned himself. That former PB was clocked as lead-off on the Italian boys’ 4x200m free relay at last year’s World Junior Championships.
Also in the mix for tonight’s final are Stefano Di Cola (1:48.10) and Marco De Tullio (1:48.84), the latter of whom took silver in the 400m free here.
MEN’S 200 FREE TOP 8
- Filippo Megli 1:46.72
- Alessandro Ragaini 1:47.12 0.40 RIJ
- Giovanni Caserta 1:47.75
- Stefano Di Cola 1:48.10
- Alessio Proietti Colonna 1:48.60
- Carlos D’Ambrosio 1:48.80
- Marco De Tullio 1:48.84
- Davide Dalla Costa 1:48.92
How do the discretionary rules, for Italy, work? They’re going to be leaving people, with OLY final potential, at home… for what? Is it a pride thing? Same can be said for Germany, France, etc…
I’ve not heard of Hungary, Russia, or even Canada, making their swimmers have such a faster qualifying time to make… it’s silly.
Nobody with Olympic final potential will be left at home. The individual slots still free may be filled at Settecolli (21-23 June) where every time faster than OQT will be considered for discretionary choices
My question is for indiviudal slots that not filled, if some swimmers swam faster here or at November’s championships than at Sette Colli, will their times be considered for discretionary choices? Or will the time at Sette Colli takes priority?
Completamento a livello individuale della squadra olimpica (Completion of Olympic Team)
Le prestazioni migliori o uguali all’Olympic Qualifying Time di World Aquatics, ottenute durante il Trofeo Settecolli 2024 nelle distanze di gara con posti ancora liberi, potranno essere utilizzate per il completamento della squadra olimpica, a seguito di valutazione discrezionale della Direzione Tecnica sottoposta all’approvazione del Consiglio Federale.
Times equal or faster than OQTs of WA swum during Settecolli 2024 in races with free slots may be used to complete Olympic squad after discretionary choices of Technical Office.
So, there will be a reset of previous times (also for the relays) and only times swum at Settecolli will be considered for discretionary choices to complete the Olympic squad.
That’s why I think a lot of swimmers are betting that no one will break the extremely harsh Italian QT here, like Burdisso, Ceccon, and Cusinato, and will be focusing their efforts in Sette Colli.
Thank you for the quality response