There is an update in the case of shoplifting involving Italian swimmers Benedetta Pilato and Chiara Tarantino as the pair has reportedly been suspended by the Italian Swimming Federation for 90 days.
As a refresher, 20-year-old world champion Pilato and 22-year-old teammate Tarantino were caught stealing from a duty free shop in the days immediately following this year’s World Championships.
According to reports, security cameras appeared to show the athletes placing items into a bag and leaving without paying for them. The duo was held for several hours before being released. This happened on the return home from a vacation in Bali following the Singapore-hosted World Championships.
Singapore authorities doled out a 12-month conditional warning with the swimmers also having been banned from entering Singapore, a significant punishment given the country’s penchant for hosting elite international swimming events, including previous stops of the World Aquatics Swimming World Cup.
The Italian Swimming Federation (FIN) said the punishment was ‘meted out taking into account the two athletes’ admission of responsibility and their cooperative stance.’ (Reuters) Pilato previously released a statement addressing the matter, but not admitting fault, on her Instagram account; Tarantino appeared to have deleted her accounts.
This latest 90-day competition suspension has implications of its own, as the ban would overlap with the 2025 Short Course European Championships scheduled for December 2-7 in Lublin, Poland.
Pilato, a two-time Italian Olympian, in particular has found success in previous SC European Championships competitions. She collected 50m breast gold both at the 2019 and 2023 editions and earned 50m breast silver in 2021. The 2023 version in Otopeni, Romania saw the ace capture 100m breast silver.
