2025 Italian Championships: Day 3 Finals Live Recap

2025 ITALIAN CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Riccione – Swimming Stadium Pool
• April 13–17, 2025
• Prelims at 10am local (4am ET)/Senior Finals at 6pm local (12pm ET)
• World Championships Qualification
• SwimSwam Italia Event Page
• Entries
• Day 1 Prelims Recap | Day 2 Prelims Recap | Day 3 Prelims Recap
• Day 1 Finals Live Recap | Day 2 Finals Live Recap
• Live Results
• Livestream

World Championships Qualifiers Through Day 2:

1. Simona Quadarella – women’s 800m free
2. Anita Bottazzo – women’s 100m breast
3. Lisa Angiolini – women’s 100m breast
4. Leonardo Deplano – men’s 50m free
5. Nicolo Martinenghi – men’s 100m breaststroke

Preview

A quiet day 2 saw only one additional swimmer qualify for Singapore, as Nicolo Martinenghi won the 100 breaststroke in a time of 59.16 to add his name to the list. Although Ludovico Viberti swam the fastest time of the evening with a PB of 59.04, he missed out on making the team as he did so from the ‘B’ final.

We’ll have a shorter programme of only 6 individual events tonight, followed by the 4×100 medley relays.

• Men’s 800m freestyle
• Women’s 200m IM
• Men’s 200 IM
• Women’s 100m freestyle
• Men’s 100m freestyle
• Women’s 1500m freestyle
• Men’s 4x100m medley relay
• Women’s 4x100m medley relay

This five-day competition represents the primary qualification opportunity for swimmers to add their names to the Italian roster for this summer’s World Championships in Singapore, although they will also have a chance at the Sette Colli meet in June. Thomas Ceccon, the Olympic Champion in the 100m Backstroke, will not be in attendance here having been granted special dispensation to qualify instead at the Australian Open National Championships next week.

Men’s

The distance freestyle is defined by the absence of stalwart Gregorio Paltrinieri this year, as he shifts his focus to open water. Luca de Tullio leads the field here by over 10 seconds with his entry of 7:44.07, and will need to match that almost to the hundredth to make the time of 7:44.09 for Singapore.

After missing out in the 400 free on Day 1 despite winning the event, De Tullio will be hoping it won’t be more of the same. There are five further swimmers entered under 8:00 led by Davide Marchello in 7:54.36, but their main aim here will be the podium.

Alberto Razzetti is the main attraction in the 200 IM, as the Italian Record holder captured the second seed this morning with a reserved 2:00.99. After missing out on the time for Singapore by less than a tenth in the 200 fly on Day 1 he’ll be keen to stamp his authority on this event. The time required here for the World Championships is 1:57.69 –  a mark only he has been under in this field.

Taking lane 4 was Massimo Matteazzi, who was only 0.23 off his best time with a 2:00.78 and is coming off a successful NCAA season with Pitt. His brother Pier Andrea Matteazzi will be in lane 2 in the final tonight, as it took 2:02.23 to make it back this evening.

Manuel Frigo led the 100m freestyle ahead of National Record holder Alessandro Miressi this morning in a time of 48.40, only 0.15 off his best time from 2024. Lorenzo Zazzeri and Carlos D’Ambrosio were also under 49 seconds as well, and will be hoping to add their name to the relay pool with a 3:14.00 add-up required.

Paolo Conte Bonin is one to watch out for from lane 2. He was only 49.12 this morning but has a best time of 48.41 from this competition last year, and was part of Italy’s bronze-medal-winning relay in Paris.

Women’s

Sara Curtis is the swimmer on form in the 100m freestyle, having broken 54 seconds twice so far during the championships. Coming in with a PB of 54.22, she blasted to a new best time of 53.57 this morning, and is now less than four-tenths off Federica Pellegrini‘s Italian Record.

That followed on from her 53.72 leadoff in the women’s 4x100m free relay on Sunday, and after winning the 50m backstroke last night in a new PB she is in pole position to make it back-to-back victories tonight. With a time of 53.89 required to make the team for Singapore, Curtis has a great chance to add her name to the list of qualifiers.

Behind her only Emma Menicucci and Chiara Tarantino were under 55 seconds in 54.27 and 54.90 respectively, as the top-four women are right on the time needed to qualify the 4x100m freestyle relay for Singapore – the add-up this morning was just 0.24 seconds over the 3:38.00 required.

The big guns in the 200 IM kept their powder dry in the heats, as Sara Franceschi led the way in a time of 2:14.77, well off her best time and Italian Record of 2:09.30 from 2023. Two swimmers from the podium of last night’s 200m breaststroke, Francesca Fangio and Anna Pirovano, made it through in third and fourth with 2:15s, but will need to drop to make the 2:11.19 required for the World Championship team.

Simona Quadarella leads the way in the 1500m freestyle, entered with the 15:44.05 with which she took fourth at the Paris Olympics. That is 11 seconds under what she needs to go to add this event to her schedule for the World Championships, but the pressure is off after making the team in the 800 on Day 1. She’ll be out on her own for the majority of this race, with second seed Ginevra Taddeucci 24 seconds back with a 16:08 entry time.

Christian Bacico clipped his 100m backstroke PB from yesterday with a 53.42 leading off Centro Sportivo Esercito’s medley relay this evening, just 0.13 off the required time for Singapore. Nicolo Martinenghi (58.70), Federico Burdisso (50.88) and Manuel Frigo (47.29) also had big splits, with a best add-up of  3:30.29 from the event.

MEN’S 800 FREE– FINAL

• World Record – 7:32.00, Zhang Lin (CHN) 2009
• European Record – 7:38.19, Dan Wiffen (IRE) 2024
• ITA Record – 7:39.27, Gregorio Paltrinieri (ITA) 2022
• World Championships Qualifying Time – 7:44.09

GOLD – Davide Marchello, 7:53.32
SILVER – Luca De Tullio, 7:53.39
BRONZE – Gabriele Detti, 7:54.64

Gabriele Detti was out first to 200 but it was a tight race from the beginning. By the 400m mark the leader was Matteo Diodato, as the Livorno Aquatics swimmer held 30-lows to eke out a lead.

After being back in 6th at the 200 mark, top seed Luca de Tullio moved through the field to sneak up on Diodato, overtaking him at the 550m turn. With first to seventh separated by less than two seconds with 200m to go however there was no certainty over who would be in the lead at the end of the race.

This was the point De Tullio began to pull away, putting the hammer down to leave Diodato behind, as he held sub-30 splits for the remainder of the race.

That was not enough to hold off a fast-charging Davide Marchello, who swam a final 100m split of 55.64 to overhaul the leader from over a second and a half back. That included a final 50m of 26.97 as Marchello out-touched De Tullio 7:53.32 to 7:53.39.

De Tullio had a final 50 of 27.91 as he fought to stay in front, but the 2024 Olympic finalist ended up over nine seconds off his entry time and missed out on the time required for Singapore for a second time, after doing so in the 400 on Day 1.

Early leader Gabriele Detti clawed his way back from seventh at the 600m mark to take the bronze medal, finishing in 7:54.64. Detti is a prior Italian Record holder in this event, holding a PB of 7:40.77 from 2017.

Diodato hung on for fourth in 7:55.35, nearly four seconds faster than his entry time, as seven men broke the 8:00 mark.

WOMEN’S 200 IM– FINAL

• World Record – 2:06.12, Katinka Hosszu (HUN) 2015
• European Record – 2:06.12, Katinka Hosszu (HUN) 2015
• ITA Record – 2:09.30, Sara Franceschi (2023)
• World Championships Qualifying Time – 2:11.19

GOLD – Sara Franceschi, 2:10.95
SILVER – Anita Gastaldi, 2:10.97
BRONZE – Anna Pirovano, 2:12.26

The 200 IM ended in a nail-biting finish, as reigning national champion Sara Franceschi held onto her crown by the slimmest of margins over Anita Gastaldi.

100 fly runner-up Gastaldi got out to a fast start, and was over a second ahead of Franceschi at the 100 mark, 1:00.89 to 1:02.42. The IM specialist roared back in the breaststroke with a 36.96 split to narrow the gap to just over a tenth of a second, before a neck-and-neck final 50 ended with Italian Record holder Franceschi just getting the touch.

Behind them 400 IM champion Anna Pirovano dropped her best time by nearly a second to take third, going 2:12.26. After finishing third in the 200m breaststroke last night, she has three podium finished from three events so far.

The fourth-fastest time of the night came from the ‘B’ final, where Chiara Della Corte blew the field away on the second 100 to finish in 2:12.81.

MEN’S 200 IM– FINAL

• World Record – 1:54.00, Ryan Lochte (USA) 2011
• European Record – 1:54.06, Leon Marchand (FRA) 2024
• ITA Record – 1:56.21, Alberto Razzetti (2023)
• World Championships Qualifying Time – 1:57.69

GOLD – Alberto Razzetti, 1:58.05
SILVER – Christian Mantegazza, 1:58.95
BRONZE – Alessandro Tredici, 1:59.17

It was the outside lanes that brought the smoke in the first half of this race, as Simone Spediacci and Lorenzo Glessi were 1-2 at halfway. Alberto Razzetti stormed out in front on the breaststroke leg however, and then split 28.59 as he came home in 1:58.05.

That is a season best time for the Italian Record holder, and follows a heavy period of traininf in Australia along with international teammate Thomas Ceccon. He missed out on the qualification time for Singapore again here however, and a lot now rests on the 400 IM on Day 5.

Christian Mantegazza, buoyed by a big PB and fourth-place finish in the 100m breaststroke yesterday, sliced over a second off his previous best time of 2:00.01 to go 1:58.95 and take second. He had by far the fastest second 100, splitting 32.95-28.78 to fight back from sixth at the 100.

That marked a new Caddetti Record for the Fiamme Gialle swimmer breaking his teammate Alberto Razzetti‘s record by three-tenths of a second. That gives him his second age group record, as he holds the 14-years record with a 2:08.04 from back in 2019.

Alessandro Tredici also set a new best time to take third in 1:59.17, knocking half a second off his entry time of 1:59.73. Massimilliano Matteazzi broke two minutes for the first time in fourth, going 1:59.71, whilst Spediacci and Glessi fell to fifth and sixth respectively, most of the damage for them being done on the breaststroke leg.

WOMEN’S 100 FREE – FINAL

• World Record – 51.71, Sarah Sjostrom (SWE) 2017
• European Record – 51.71, Sarah Sjostrom (SWE) 2017
• ITA Record – 53.18, Federica Pellegrini (2016)
• World Championships Qualifying Time – 53.89

GOLD – Sara Curtis, 53.01 *ITALIAN RECORD*
SILVER – Emma Menicucci, 54.14
BRONZE – Chiara Tarantino, 54.28

After setting a new PB twice already in the 100m freestyle at these Championships, Sara Curtis made sure to save her best for last. She absolutely shattered her hours-old PB of 53.57 with a time of 53.01, and has taken 1.21 seconds off her best time so far this week.

She was out like a bullet, splitting 25.16 on the first 50 and then delivering a sub-28 split coming home. That should set her up well for her best event tomorrow, the 50 free.

Most importantly, she cracked Federica Pellegrini‘s nine-year-old Italian Record by 0.17 seconds, and was milliseconds away from breaking the 53-second barrier.

She adds her name to the team for Singapore with that performance, and would be a decent bet to sneak into the final on current form. She is now the fastest women in the world this year, overtaking Simone Manuel.

Emma Menicucci set a big PB as well to take second, slicing 0.58 seconds off to go 54.14, a quarter of a second outside the time she needed, and is now the sixth-fastest Italian women. Chiara Tarantino the fourth-fastest, was just off her best with a 54.28.

With Federica Toma finishing fourth in 55.10, the 4x100m freestyle relay has made the cut for Singapore. Requiring an add-up of 3:38.00, the top four put together a time of 3:36.53

MEN’S 100 FREE – FINAL

• World Record – 46.40, Pan Zhanle (CHN) 2024
• European Record – 46.86, David Popovici (ROU) 2022
• ITA Record – 47.45, Alessandro Miressi (2022)
• World Championships Qualifying Time – 48.09

GOLD – Manuel Frigo, 48.34
SILVER – Carlos D’Ambrosio, 48.60
BRONZE – Lorenzo Zazzeri, 48.62

A tale of two Italian Record holders. The big shock in the men’s 100m freestyle wasn’t any of the swimmers on the podium, but rather the one who finished just off it.

National Record holder Alessandro Miressi added from his time this morning to finish fourth in 48.74, well off his PB of 47.45 and outside both the 48.09 Italian Federation time and 48.34 WA ‘A’ time in this event.

Miressi had rocketed out, hitting the wall at 50m in 22.91 with only Lorenzo Zazzeri for company under the 23-second mark. He could not hang on coming home however, splitting 25.83, and was overhauled by Zazzeri and the pair of Manuel Frigo and Carlos D’Ambrosio.

That duo absolutely powered home, Frigo in a 24.99 and D’Ambrosio in 25.17, as they took the top two spots. Frigo was only a tenth off his PB from Doha last year, whilst that was a best time for D’Ambrosio. He’d clipped his best time with a 48.96 this morning, and has taken 0.39 off over the course of today.

Paolo Conte Bonin stayed in sixth, adding time to go 49.50.

Whilst Frigo matched the WA ‘A’ cut exactly, no one made the time required for Singapore here. More worryingly, the add-up of the top four was 3:14.30, over the mandated 3:14.00.

Whilst adding Thomas Ceccon to the mix does get them under that mark, they may struggle to make it a sixth world-level competition in a row where they take home a medal in this event after doing so consistently since Tokyo.

WOMEN’S 1500 FREE– FINAL

• World Record – 15:20.48, Katie Ledecky (USA) 2018
• European Record – 15:38.88, Lotte Friis (DEN) 2013
• ITA Record – 15:40.89, Simona Quadarella (2019)
• World Championships Qualifying Time – 15:55.09

GOLD – Simona Quadarella, 16:03.77
SILVER – Ginevra Taddeucci, 16:09.81
BRONZE – Noemi Cesarano, 16:22.96

Simona Quadarella eased her way to the victory in the women’s 1500, never quite seeming to get out of third gear. With her place on the Singapore team already guaranteed after winning the 800 on Day 1, she stayed within sight of the field from the start.

From the 400m mark onwards she split between 32 and 33 seconds, before coming home in 31.47 on the final 50.

Ginevra Taddeucci held onto second, hanging with Quadarella for the first 300m before slowly falling back. The two of them got out in front of the rest of the field and gradually pulled away, with third-placed Noemi Cesarano over ten seconds behind in 16:22.96.

Alisia Tettamanzi’s 16:35.76 from the early heats was good enough for fifth as well as being a three second personal best.

World Championships Qualifiers Through Day 3:

1. Simona Quadarella – women’s 800m free
2. Anita Bottazzo – women’s 100m breast
3. Lisa Angiolini – women’s 100m breast
4. Leonardo Deplano – men’s 50m free
5. Nicolo Martinenghi – men’s 100m breaststroke
6. Sara Franceschi – women’s 200m IM
7. Anita Gastaldi – women’s 200m IM
8. Sara Curtis – women’s 100m free