Italian swimmer Elena Di Liddo completed her post-graduate studies on April 23th. After obtaining her first degree in 2017, Elena has now completed a course of study in physical sciences at University of Foggia with a successful thesis defense. In Italy, university study is structured as a 3-year initial degree plus a 2-year specialization degree for those who desire it.
As all Italian universities are closed due to coronavirus, Elena has discussed her thesis via computer.
She was in her living room, with the dog Mya on her feet. Elena, wearing a long white jacket, has described her research and defended her thesis to the commission of teachers.
Elena Di Liddo ITA after Graduation
Thanks to Facebook Live, her friends and family were allowed to follow the whole debate and not miss this important moment in her student career.
The commission decided to assign her the maximum mark: 110/110 with honors. They also appreciated her dual career skill. Elena is the Italian record holder in the 100 meter butterfly both in long and short course, and she won the bronze medal in that event at the European Championship in 2018.
The thesis, which Di Liddo explains as s final exam, was about the fight against doping.
She talked about what doping is, the agencies that control athletes’ behavior and also about the cases in which the government is involved. In particular she talked about Russian Doping scandal.
In those instances studied concerning swimming, Elena analyzed 4 well-known doping cases:
- Oussama Mellouli (2006)
- Yuliya Efimova (2013 and 2015)
- Ruta Meilutyte (2019)
- Sun Yang (2014 and 2018)
At the end of her speech she said:
The biggest desire for athletes is to win this war.
INTERNATIONAL MEDALS
|
PLACE
|
EVENT
|
YEAR
|
MEET
|
|---|---|---|---|
| SILVER | 50 FLY | 2010 | YOUTH OLYMPIC GAMES |
| BRONZE | 100 FLY | 2018 | EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS |
| BRONZE | 400 MEDLEY RELAY | 2018 | SHORT COURSE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS |
| SILVER | 100 FLY | 2019 | SHORT COURSE EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS |
| SILVER | 200 MEDLEY RELAY | 2019 | SHORT COURSE EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS |
BEST TIMES
|
COURSE
|
EVENT
|
TIME
|
DATE
|
MEET
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LCM | 100 FLY | 00.57.04 | 07/21/19 | 2019 FINA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP GWANGJU |
| LCM | 50 FLY | 00.26.03 | 07/27/19 | SETTE COLLI TROPHY GWANGJU |
| SCM | 100 FLY | 00:56.06 | 12/15/19 | WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP HANGZHOU |
| SCM | 50 FLY | 00:25.37 | 12/05/19 | EUROPEAN SHORT COURSE CHAMPIONSHIP GLASGOW |
Nice hat