Greogiro Paltrinieri of Italy took some time off the 800m freestyle European record as he touched in for second in the final after being locked in a battle with defending world champion Sun Yang.
Paltrinieri touched in at 7:40.81 in order to take about two seconds off the record and establish himself as one of the best distance swimmers in the world at the current time.
Leading after the 450-meter mark, Paltrinieri held off Sun, taking charge in the race up until 700-meters. There, Sun made his move and pushed past Paltrinieri in order to win the race in 7:39.96. Had Paltrinieri won, he would have been the first male Italian swimmer to win a world championship gold medal in a distance over 200-meters.
That’s Paltrinieri’s best result at a major long course international competition (world championships and Olympic Games) ever, following up a bronze medal performance in the 1500 free at the 2013 World Championships.
Paltrinieri has had an incredible 2014-2015 season thus far winning a total of two world championship medals spanning both the 2014 short course worlds in Doha and these long course worlds in Kazan. In Doha, Paltrinieri won the 1500m freestyle final.
Paltrinieri is currently the European record holder in both the 800 and 1500m freestyles.
800m Free Final (italian tv)
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x30hsy4_men-s-800m-freestyle-final-full-race-world-championships-kazan-2015_sport