2019 World Para Swimming World Series – Italy
- Lignano Sabbiadoro, Italy
- May 30 – June 2, 2019
- Full Results
Italian world champion Antonio Fantin headlined the 2019 World Para Swimming World Series stop in Italy last weekend with a world record in the S5 50 free on night two, taking exactly a second off his own previous record.
Fantin, just 18, went 30.16 in prelims of the multi-class event; his previous record was 31.16, set in Dublin in August 2018. He gained a few tenths in finals but still won, and Simone Barlaam (S9) took second place in 24.39 and fellow S9 Yahor Schalkanau was third in 26.29.
Fantin also won the 100 and 200 free on the first night of competition, going 1:07.33 in the 100 and 2:25.5 in the 200. Barlaam also took second in the 100, going 54.29. British S8 swimmer Alice Tai also posted a solid swim in women’s 100 free, winning in 1:04.15.
Tai came within a second of her S8 100 back world record on night two. She won the event in 1:08.99, while her record sits at 1:08.09. Also posting a notable swim was second-place finisher Nuria Soto Marques, an S9 swimmer from Spain, who went 1:09.42.
On night three, Tai won the 50 free in a time 29.43, matching her world record from April. Veteran S13 Ihar Boki took the men’s 400 free title in 03:59.54; this meet is his first international competition since August’s European Championships. Spain’s Antoni Bertran Ponce, an SM5, swam a 2:54.99 to win the men’s 200 IM, while hometown favorite Carlotta Gilli (SM13) won the women’s race in 2:25.61.
Iceland’s Isak Johnsson dominated the 100 back on night four. The S14 swimmer won in 1:00.10, over three seconds ahead of fellow S14 Nicholas Bennett, who was 1:03.46. Gilli picked up a win on the women’s side, going 1:03.69.
In the men’s 100 fly, S10 Stefano Raimondi posted a quick 55.52 for the win over Ihar Boki (S13), who was just two points behind with a 53.93. Alice Tai edged Gilli by eight points on the women’s side, winning in 1:09.35 while Gilli was 1:03.69.
