Giusy Cisale contributed to this report.
Italy has announced its roster for the 2018 European Junior Championships, headed by senior European Championships team members Thomas Ceccon and Federico Burdisso, along with 13-year-old standout Erika Gaetani.
The European Junior Championships will take place in Helsinki, Finland from July 4-8. Italy will send a strong delegation, including junior stars Ceccon and Burdisso, who will pull double-duty with the senior European Championships less than a month later.
Ceccon has been lighting it up in Italy this season, and currently holds Italian junior national records in the 100 back (53.94) and 200 IM (2:00.43). He was the overall Italian champion in both of those events and at 17 years old is making a name for himself as one of the top junior swimmers in the world.
Burdisso, too, was a national champion earlier this year, winning the 200 fly in 1:57.23 and setting a new Italian junior record. Burdisso was also third in the nation in the 100 fly.
The 13-year-old Gaetani is the youngest member of the Italian Euro Juniors team. She already has Italian age records in all three backstrokes, and is within striking distance of national or junior national records in two of them. Her 28.83 in the 50 back is within a second of the national record already and just four tenths off the Italian junior mark. Her 1:02.35 in the 100 back is only about a second off a junior national mark as well.
Here are all 31 athletes attending European Juniors for Italy:
- Costanza Cocconcelli (2002 / NC Azzurra 91)
- Emma Virginia Menicucci (2002 / Sisport),
- Anna Chiara Mascolo (2001 / H. Sport FI)
- Giulia Salin (2002 / Team Veneto)
- Giulia D’Innocenzo (2002 / CS Carabinieri)
- Erika Francesca Gaetani (2004 / Nuotatori Pugliesi)
- Beatrice Cavero (2000 / Primavera Campus),
- Letizia Memo (2001 / Piave Nuoto)
- Karen Asprissi (2002 / Team Insubrika)
- Helena Biasibetti (2002 / Dynamic Sport)
- Roberta Circi (2002 / Sergio De Gregorio)
- Cecilia Chini Balla (2001 / CN Torino)
- Carola Valle (2003 / Dynamic Sport)
- Giulia Borra (2001 / Team Insubrika)
- Gaia Guerrato (2001 / Vittoria Alata)
- Maria Ginevra Masciopinto (2002 / Fimco Sport)
- Bruna Pesole (2001 / Nuotatori Trentini)
- Thomas Ceccon (2001 / Leosport)
- Pierpaolo Veller (2000 / Team Veneto)
- Francesco Peron (2000 / SC Noale)
- Pietro Paolo Sarpe (2000 / CC Napoli)
- Johannes Calloni (2000 / Assonuoto Caserta)
- Marco De Tullio (2000 / Sport Project)
- Giulio Iaccarino (2000 / CC Napoli)
- Michele Lamberti (2000 / Gam Team)
- Alessandro Fusco (2000 / SC Alessandria)
- Devid Zorzetto (2000 / Tiro a Volo)
- Federico Burdisso (2001 / Tiro a Volo)
- Geremia Freri (2000 / Vittoria Alata)
- Giovanni Gregori (2000 / Tiro a Volo)
- Marco Guantini (2000 / FFGG).
