2020 SETTE COLLI TROPHY
- Tuesday, August 11th – Thursday, August 13th
- Stadio Olimpico Curva Nord, Rome, Italy
- LCM (50m)
- Day 1 Recap
- Start Lists/Live Results
- Live Stream (Italy Only)
Italian swimming is on fire, and that fire is spreading. The latest explosion of results is coming in the women’s distance freestyle events.
On Wednesday evening in Rome at the 2020 Sette Colli Trophy, which is doubling as the country’s national championship meet, the top two finishers, both Italian, swam lifetime bests of 8:24 and 8:26, respectively. While almost any country would be pleased with these results coming out of quarantine, what makes it even more exciting is that neither of those two swimmers were 21-year old Simona Quadarella, who won silver in the 800 free at last summer’s World Championships.
Veteran Martina Caramignoli, who turns 29 this year, led the race in 8:24.16. The swimmer, who was the World University Games champion in 2015 in the 1500 free, had a previous best time of 8:27.92, but knocked almost 4 seconds off even into her late 20s.
The runner-up was 18-year old Giulia Salin, who touched in 8:26.81. Salin’s previous best time was 8:28.99, which was set at the 2019 World Junior Swimming Championships.
Her new time of 8:26.81 breaks the Italian Record in the “Cadette” classification, for athletes who are in the year of their 17th or 18th birthday. The old record belonged to the aforementioned Quadarella, who swam 8:28.06 when she was 18 back in 2016.
Salin previously swam a best time of 4:07.70 to win the women’s 400 free, while Caramignoli won the 1500 free (ahead of Quadarella) in 15:56.06 – a lifetime best for her by 8-and-a-half seconds.
The Italian men have had one of the best distance groups in the world for the last 5 years, including Olympic medalists Gregorio Paltrinieri and Gabriele Detti, and that success has now begun to spread to the women’s group as well.
