Italian Men Bring The Heat In 400 Medley Relay For Nat’l & C’Ships Record

2021 FINA SHORT COURSE SWIMMING WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

The Italian men have been on fire this FINA Short Course World Championships, capped off by gold in the medley relay on this final day of competition.

The foursome of Lorenzo Mora, Nicolo Martinenghi, Matteo Rivolta, and Alessandro Miressi combined to crush a time of 3:19.76 to top the podium in a new Championships Record and national record. Next in line were the Americans in 3:20.50 while the Russian Swimming Federation rounded out the top 3 in 3:20.65.

For Italy, Mora led off in a speedy 50.34 before Olympic bronze medalist Martinenghi produced a split of 55.94 for breaststroke.

Veteran 30-year-old Rivolta kept the speed going with a fly leg of 48.43 before the 100m freestyle champion from earlier in the session, Miressi, threw down a massive 45.05 to seal the deal.

The previous Championships Record stood at the 3:19.98 the United States put on the books at the last edition of this competition in 2018 in Hangzhou. The old Italian record of 3:23.51 was just set earlier this season during the International Swimming League (ISL) competition by the Aqua Centurions.

Here is a split comparison among the previous Italian Record, Short Course Championships Record and this new record-setting performance.

Back
2018 CR Ryan Murphy 49.63
September 2021 IR Thomas Ceccon 50.73
2021 CR Mora 50.34

Breast

2018 CR Andrew Wilson 56.84
September 2021 IR Martinengh 56.32
2021 CR Martinenghi 55.94

Fly

2018 CR Caeleb Dressel 48.28
September 2021 IR Rivolta 50.24
2021 CR Rivolta 48.43

Free

2018 CR Ryan Held 45.23
September 2021 IR Miressi 46.22
2021 CR Miressi 45.05

The Italian men have never before won the 400m medley relay title at a FINA Short Course Championships. In fact, the nation has never even medaled in the event before tonight’s performance in Abu Dhabi, bringing a fitting end to their overall medal haul of 16 in all.

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About Retta Race

Former Masters swimmer and coach Loretta (Retta) thrives on a non-stop but productive schedule. Nowadays, that includes having earned her MBA while working full-time in IT while owning French 75 Boutique while also providing swimming insight for BBC.

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