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
• Recaps
  • Prelims: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 4 | Day 5
  • Finals: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4

Welcome to the final session of the 2026 Italian Swimming Championships!

Tonight, the meet will kick off with the 50 breaststroke events where Anita Bottazzo and Benedetta Pilato lead the field. In prelims, Bottazzo swam 30.41 to earn he top qualifying spot by a little more than two tenths over Italian record holder Pilato’s 30.68.

Simone Cerasuolo is the top seed in the men’s event at 27.00, 0.14 seconds ahead of Flavio Mangiamele‘s 27.14 in 2nd.

The women’s 400 freestyle will see Simona Quadarella as the top seed in 4:11.39, seven tenths over rising star Bianca Nannucci‘s 4:12.01.

The men’s 400 IM and the women’s 200 backstroke will both see swimmers trying to come in under the European Championships qualifying time. Emanuele Potenza leads the men’s 400 IM field in 4:19.24, two seconds ahead of Jacopo Barbotti‘s 4:21.02 in 2nd. Alessia Bianchi is the women’s 200 backstroke top seed 2:12.47, a little more than half-a-second ahead of Federica Toma‘s 2:13.21.

The 1500 freestyle will be the final men’s event of the meet, and Ivan Giovannoni will be in lane four in the final heat, just ahead of Italian record holder Gregorio Paltrinieri, who will be in lane 5.

The final event of the meet will be the 50 butterfly. Silvia di Pietro edged out Sara Curtis for the top seed this morning 26.33 to 26.52.

Women’s 50 Breaststroke Final

• World Record — 29.16, Ruta Meilutyte (LTU), 2023
• European Record — 29.16, Ruta Meilutyte (LTU), 2023
• Italian Record — 29.30, Benedetta Pilato, 2021
• European Championships Qualifying — 30.40

Top 8 Finishers

1. Benedetta Pilato — 30.13
2. Anita Bottazzo — 30.20
3. Lisa Angiolini — 30.61
4. Irene Mati — 31.00
5. Arianna Castiglioni — 31.19
6. Alice de Simone — 31.25
7. Irene Burato — 31.71
8. Anna Bizzotto — 31.80

The women’s 50 breaststroke was a close race, but ultimately, Italian record holder Benedetta Pilato took the top spot in 30.13. She was about a second off her Italian record time of 29.30 from May of 2021.

Anita Bottazzo swam 30.20, which was 0.18 seconds off her lifetime best 30.02 from July of 2023 and earned her the silver medal and a Euros Qualifying time.

Pilato will move up to be the 3rd fastest swimmer in the world this year and Bottazzo will be 4th.

Lisa Angiolini touched 3rd in 30.61 to be the final swimmer under 31 seconds in the event.

Men’s 50 Breaststroke Final

• World Record — 25.95, Adam Peaty (GBR), 2017
• European Record — 25.95, Adam Peaty (GBR), 2017
• Italian Record — 26.27, Ludovico Viberti, 2025
• European Championships Qualifying — 26.80

Top 8 Finishers

1. Simone Cerasuolo — 26.51
2. Flavio Mangiamele — 27.11
3. Gabriele Mancini — 27.21
4. Federico Poggio — 27.33
5. Francesco Penetta — 27.40
6. Federico Rizzardi — 27.66
7. Stefano Saladini — 27.76
8. Gabriele Brambillaschi — 28.02

Simone Cerasuolo had an excellent meet, and he wrapped it up with a massive 26.51 in the men’s 50 breaststroke. This was only a tenth off his personal best 26.42 from the World Championships last summer and will make him the top swimmer in the world this year.

Flavio Mangiamele finished 2nd in 27.11, leading the next seven swimmers who were all very close in time. Gabriele Mancini was just behind Mangiamele for the bronze, touching in 27.21.

Women’s 400 Freestyle Final

• World Record — 3:54.18, Summer McIntosh (CAN), 2025
• European Record — 3:59.15, Federica Pellegrini (ITA), 2009
• Italian Record — 3:59.15, Federica Pellegrini, 2009
• European Championships Qualifying — 4:07.00

Top 8 Finishers

1. Simona Quadarella — 4:03.59
2. Bianca Nannucci — 4:08.24
3. Emma Vittoria Giannelli — 4:09.42
4. Noemi Cesarano — 4:10.95
5. Antonietta Cesarano — 4:13.77
6. Lucovica Terlizzi — 4:14.56
7. Anna Chiara Mascolo — 4:14.85
8. Noemi Lamberti — 4:15.85

The women’s 400 freestyle final saw Simona Quadarella dominate the event, taking over the lead at the 100 mark and ultimately earning the gold medal by almost five seconds, touching in 4:03.59.

She started the race in 2nd, turning in 28.73 to sit just two hundredths behind Anna Chiara Mascolo, who swam 28.71 on the opening 50.

After that 50, Quadarella moved into the lead, splitting 59.39 to sit a little more than two tenths ahead of Bianca Nannucci, who split 59.61.

Quadarella was just off her lifetime best of 4:03.35 from 2018.

Nannucci finished 2nd in 4:08.24, just off the European Championships qualifying time of  4:07.00. This was a new lifetime best for her by three seconds from the 4:11.55 she swam in March.

Emma Vitoria Gianelli won the bronze medal in 4:09.42 to be the final swimmer under 4:10 in the event.

Men’s 400 IM Final

• World Record — 4:02.50, Leon Marchand (FRA), 2023
• European Record — 4:02.50, Leon Marchand (FRA), 2023
• Italian Record — 4:09.29, Alberto Razzeti, 2023
• European Championships Qualifying — 4:14.80

Top 8 Finishers

1. Jacopo Barbotti — 4:16.01
2. Emanuele Potenza — 4:17.20
3. Simone Spediacci — 4:17.33
4. Tommaso Gerardi — 4:21.50
5. Leonardo Perciballi — 4:24.39
6. Alessandro Acompora — 4:26.58
7. Nicola Ruben Furlani — 4:27.22
   Lorenzo Altini — DQ

None of the men’s swimmers went under the European Championships qualifying time, but Jacopo Barbotti will still earn an automatic qualification for Euros by winning the event. He swam 4:16.01 to touch just over a second ahead of Emanuele Potenza‘s 4:17.20 in 2nd overall.

Barbotti was out in 58.79, turning in 4th overall. He split 1:06.67 on the backstroke to sit in 4th at the 200 mark. After the breaststroke, where he split 1:12.81, he moved into 3rd overall before splitting a massive 57.54 on the freestyle, the fastest split inthe field to earn the gold medal

Potenza was 4:17.20 in 2nd, just edging out Simone Spediacci’s 4:17.33 for 3rd.

Women’s 200 Backstroke Finals

• World Record — 2:03.14, Kaylee McKeown (AUS), 2023
• European Record — 2:04.94, Anastasia Fesikova (RUS), 2009
• Italian Record — 2:05.56, Margherita Panziera, 2021
• European Championships Qualifying — 2:09.00

Top 8 Finishers

1. Alessia Bianchi — 2:11.27
2. Federica Toma — 2:12.07
3. Francesca Romana Furfaro — 2:12.54
4. Aurora Velati — 2:13.26
5. Erika Francesca Gaetani — 2:13.40
6. Elisa Maloni — 2:13.58
7. Gaia Monti — 2:14.95
8. Francesca Fresia — 2:16.06

Alessia Bianchi won the women’s 200 backstroke final in 2:11.27, eight tenths ahead of the rest of the field of 2:12.07.

Bianchi was 30.82/33.07/33.76/33.62 to lead through the whole race. Toma split 31.02/33.41/34.23/33.41 to finish 2nd. Bianchi dropped two tenths from the 2:11.45 she swam in August of 2023 and Toma added a few seconds from her best 2:09.76.

Francesca Romana Furfano was 3rd in 2:12.54 with splits of 31.24/32.92/33.89/34.49.

Men’s 1500 Freestyle Final

• World Record — 14:30.67, Bobby Finke (USA), 2024
• European Record — 14:32.80, Gregorio Paltrinieri (ITA), 2022
• Italian Record — 14:32.80, Gregorio Paltrinieri, 2022
• European Championships Qualifying — 14:58.00

Top 8 Finishers

1. Gregorio Paltrinieri — 14:58.03
2. Marcello Guidi — 14:58.30
3. Ivan Giovanni — 14:59.21
4. Luca De Tullio — 15:03.85
5. Matteo Diodato — 15:04.20
6. Davide Marchello — 15:09.38
7. Fillippo Bertoni — 15:14.88
8. Tommaso Griffante — 15:15.06

The men’s 1500 freestyle was one of the closest races of the session, with the whole racing coming down to the final 50 meters. Gregorio Paltrinieri swam 14:58.03 to earn the win by two tenths over Marcello Guidi’s 14:58.30.

Paltrinieri grabbed the lead early splitting 56.82 on the first 100. At the 500 mark, he sat about three seconds ahead of Marcello Guidi, splitting 4:57.11 to Guidi’s 5:00.50.

He maintained 30-mid splits through most of the race while Guidi dropped to 29-highs at the 1000 mark. By the 1200, Guidi and Paltrinieri turned in an exact tie of 12:00.71.

Guidi moved into the lead after that and build about a tenth on Paltrinieri before the two flipped in a tie again at the 1450 of 14:29.99. On the final 50, Paltrinieri split 28.04 to earn the gold over Guidi’s 28.31.

Ivan Giovannoni was 14:59.21 in 3rd as the final swimmer under 15 minutes.

Women’s 50 Butterfly

• World Record — 24.43, Sarah Sjostrom (SWE), 2014
• European Record — 24.43, Sarah Sjostrom (SWE), 2014
• Italian Record — 25.49, Silvia di Pietro, 2025
• European Championships Qualifying — 24.70

Top 8 Finishers

1. Sara Curtis — 25.89
2. Silvia Di Pietro — 26.09
3. Elena Capretta — 26.35
4. Viola Scotto di Carlo — 26.38
5. Agata Maria Ambler –2 6.50
6. Lucia Tassinario — 26.97
7. Caterina Santambrogio — 27.04
8. Rita Maria Pignatiello — 27.23

The women’s 50 fly went to Sara Curtis in 25.89, a full second drop from her previous best 26.96 that she swam in March of 2024.

Silvia di Pietro took 2nd in 26.09, about half-a-second off her Italian record time of 25.49 from the 2025 World Championships in Singapore.

Elena Capretta finished 3rd in 26.35, a tenth drop from the 26.43 she swam in March.