2026 Italian Swimming Championships
- Tuesday, April 14th – Saturday, April 18th
- Prelims at 10am local (4am ET)/Finals at 6pm local (Noon ET) *Friday finals start at 5:15pm local (11:15am ET)
- Riccione, Italy
- LCM (50m)
- 2026 European Championship Selection Criteria
- Entry List
- SwimSwam Italia Preview
- Live Results
- Livestream
Day 1 of the Italian Championships kicked off today, with this meet marking the first of two opportunities for swimmers to qualify for the European Championships in Paris this summer. A summary of the qualification procedure can be found here.
Swimmers must hit the following qualifying times in the ‘A’ final either here or at the Sette Colli to be considered for selection. The ‘A’ final requirement is a pertinent one, as last year we saw Ludovico Viberti swim 59.04 in the ‘B’ final of the 100 breast, the fastest swim of anyone the championships, but did not qualify for the Italian World Championships team in the event.
| Event | Women | Men |
|---|---|---|
| 50m Freestyle | 24.80 | 21.90 |
| 100m Freestyle | 54.00 | 48.40 |
| 200m Freestyle | 1:58.10 | 1:46.80 |
| 400m Freestyle | 4:07.00 | 3:47.50 |
| 800m Freestyle | 8:30.00 | 7:50.00 |
| 1500m Freestyle | 16:10.00 | 14:58.00 |
| 50m Backstroke | 27.90 | 24.70 |
| 100m Backstroke | 1:00.20 | 53.50 |
| 200m Backstroke | 2:10.00 | 1:56.80 |
| 50m Breaststroke | 30.40 | 26.80 |
| 100m Breaststroke | 1:06.20 | 59.60 |
| 200m Breaststroke | 2:25.00 | 2:10.00 |
| 50m Butterfly | 25.90 | 23.10 |
| 100m Butterfly | 57.80 | 51.40 |
| 200m Butterfly | 2:09.00 | 1:56.00 |
| 200m IM | 2:11.90 | 1:58.90 |
| 400m IM | 4:39.50 | 4:14.80 |
Day 1 Prelims Recap
Michele Lamberti took top spot in the men’s 50 back in the absence of Thomas Ceccon, blasting to a time PB of 24.73 to touch just 0.33 off his national record of 24.40 from 2024. European short course bronze medalist Francesco Lazzari placed 2nd this morning with a time of 25.06, with Daniele Del Signore just behind in 25.11. Both of those two swimmers were faster than they were last year in prelims, when they swam 25.61 and 25.30 respectively, while Lamberti did not compete in 2025.
Mahila Spennato was the fastest out of the early heats in the women’s 800 free, clocking a new best of 8:44.48 out of lane 7 as she moved up from 7th in the heat at 300 meters to take the win. She was about a second ahead of Elisa Pignotti (8:45.40) and Alisia Tettamanzi (8:45.73), while national record holder Simona Quadarella will race in the final heat this evening.
Alessandro Ragaini, who won 400 free world junior silver in 2023, took top spot in the men’s 400 free in a time of 3:50.17, as only two swimmers crack 3:51 this morning. Marco De Tullio, the 2021 European short course bronze medalist in the event, was 3:50.65, while 2017 and 2019 world bronze medalist Gabriele Detti was 4th in 3:51.84. It did require a time of 3:53.10 to make the final however, nearly a second faster than the 3:54.05 it took in 2025.
Two women crack 1:07 in the 100 breast this morning, led by Italian record holder Benedetta Pilato in 1:06.77. That is just over a second off the 1:05.44 she swam at the 2024 Sette Colli, but marks a new season best as she undercut the 1:07.11 she swam last month. Pilato finished 5th at this meet last year in 1:07.74, before scratching her remaining events.
Lisa Angiolini was the other woman in the 1:06s, clocking 1:06.99 to claim lane 5 for tonight, ahead of Anita Bottazzo‘s 1:07.82. The Florida swimmer was two seconds off the 1:05.82 she swam to win this event here last year.
There was a shock on the cards in the men’s 50 fly, as the #2 and #3 seeds, Michele Busa and Francesco Lazzari, failed to make it through to the final. Lazzari, backing up his #2 seed in the 50 back earlier in the session, was 24.11 for 10th, just off the 23.94 required to make the top eight, while Busa was 24.33 to place 14th.
Lorenzo Gargani, the winner of the event last year in 23.32, claimed the top seed in 23.48, ahead of Alberto Razzetti (23.73) and Federico Burdisso (23.74). Razzetti’s swim marked a new best, slicing 0.15 seconds off the 23.88 he swam in 2024.
There was to be another shock in the women’s 400 IM, as national record holder Sara Franceschi was ten seconds off her entry time to place 10th in 4:50.75. Top spot was taken by Giada Alzetta in 4:46.03, with 2025 Italian champion Anna Pirovano 3rd in 4:48.47.
Thomas Ceccon was a no-show in the men’s 50 free as Leonardo Deplano claimed lane 4 for the final tonight, clocking 21.99 to dip under the 22 second barrier. He was the only swimmer to do so, leading Lorenzo Ballarati (22.26) and Giacomo Guatti (22.29) by more than a quarter of a second. Manuel Frigo (22.37), Lorenzo Zazzeri (22.49), and Alessandro Miressi (22.52) also moved safely through.
Three different 50’s during same day!