2025 MARE NOSTRUM – MONACO
- Saturday, May 17th & Sunday, May 18th
- Prelims at 9am local (3am ET)/Finals at 5pm local (11am ET)
- Prince Albert II Nautical Center
- SwimSwam Preview
- Meet Central
- Psych Sheets (PDF)
- Day 1 Prelims Recap | Day 1 Finals Recap
- Results
- Live Stream (Pay-To-Watch)
The first leg of the 2025 Mare Nostrum series is underway in Monaco, with action at the Prince Albert II Nautical Center from Saturday, May 17th, through Sunday, May 18th.
While Saturday morning’s prelims were relatively subdued, Italy’s Benedetta Pilato made waves by quietly posting a world-leading 29.87 in the 50 breaststroke, topping the field heading into the quarterfinals. With that swim, she takes the global lead from Estonia’s Eneli Jefimova, beating her 29.89 from April 21st by two hundredths of a second.
The two remain the only women to crack the 30-second barrier so far this season.
Current World Rankings:
- Benedetta Pilato (ITA) – 29.87 – May 17th*
- Eneli Jefimova (EST) – 29.89 – April 21st
- Ruta Meilutytė (LTU) – 30.18 – April 13st
- Satomi Suzuki (JPN) – 30.36 – March 23rd
- Anita Bottazzo (ITA) – 30.39 – April 17th
At just 20 years old, former world record holder Pilato has already built an impressive résumé in sprint breaststroke. While she’s had moments of success in the 100, it’s the 50 where she’s consistently posted world-class results.
Pilato first burst onto the scene by winning silver in the 50 breast at the 2019 World Championships at just 14 years old. She went on to break the world record in the event in 2021, clocking 29.30 at the European Championships in Budapest—a mark that stood until Ruta Meilutyte surpassed it with a 29.16 in 2023. Pilato remains the second-fastest performer in history.
Although her Olympic debut in Tokyo was marred by a disqualification in the 100 breast, she rebounded strongly, claiming the world title in the event the following year in 1:05.93, albeit in a relatively slow final. She improved her personal best to 1:05.70 earlier in 2022 and went 1:05.75 in 2023, finishing the year ranked 9th globally. However, she narrowly missed qualifying for the Italian team in the 100 breast that year, missing out on the opportunity to defend her world title. She did return to the podium with a bronze in the 50 breast though, her third straight medal in the event after silvers in 2019 and 2022.
In 2024, she repeated as bronze medalist at the Doha Worlds with a time of 30.01, but placed 9th in the 100 breast with a disappointing 1:06.70. Later in the year, though, Pilato clocked a lifetime best and national record of 1:05.44 in the 100 breast at Sette Colli—a time that would have secured silver at the Paris Olympics. However, she just missed the podium at the Games, tying for 4th with a 1:05.60, falling short by only a hundredth of a second.
With the 50 breast now an Olympic event, her chances of landing on the podium in at least one event at the 2028 Games—when she’ll still be just 23—have skyrocketed.
When is the Italian Worlds roster finalized?
After the Settecolli Trophy in June.