2026 ITALIAN SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Tuesday, April 14th – Saturday, April 18th
• Prelims at 10am local (4am ET)/Finals at 6pm local (Noon ET) *Friday finals start at 5:15pm local (11:15am ET)
• Riccione, Italy
• LCM (50m)
• 2026 European Championship Selection Criteria
• Entry List
• SwimSwam Italia Preview
• Live Results
• Livestream
• Recaps
  • Prelims: Day 1 | Day 2
  • Finals: Day 1 | Day 3

There are wins that confirm expectations, and others that shift the landscape. At the Italian Championships in Riccione, Jacopo Barbotti delivered the latter, clocking 1:57.75 in the 200 individual medley to win the title, secure European qualification, and set a new Italian Age Group record (18-19).

The real story, however, lies in the progression. Coming into the meet with a personal best of 2:00.21, Barbotti dropped over two and a half seconds in less than two months, first breaking 2:00 in prelims (1:59.50) before taking another decisive step in the final. In a race like the 200 IM, that kind of improvement is not just rare—it is transformative.

With the 1:57.75, Barbotti becomes the first Italian after Alberto Razzetti to break the 1:58 barrier, moving into a performance range that had remained largely untouched in recent years. The swim also places him 2nd all-time in Italian history, behind only Razzetti’s national record of 1:56.21, and currently 12th in the world rankings this season.

Italian All-Time Ranking – Men’s 200 IM (Long Course)

1. Alberto Razzetti – 1:56.21 (2023)
2. Jacopo Barbotti – 1:57.75 (2026)
3. Alessio Boggiatto – 1:58.33 (2009)
4. Massimiliano Matteazzi – 1:58.77 (2025)
5. Federico Turrini – 1:58.86 (2013)
6. Christian Mantegazza – 1:58.95 (2025)
7. Massimiliano Rosolino – 1:58.98 (2000)

The race itself was decided in the final meters, with Barbotti out-touching Alberto Razzetti (1:57.76) by one hundredth thanks to a late surge. For Razzetti, the time still secured a second European qualifying standard after his 200 butterfly win, but on this occasion it was not enough to hold off the younger swimmer.

Barbotti’s emergence adds depth to a discipline that in Italy has long revolved around Razzetti. Breaking 1:58 at just 20 years old, and doing so with such a sharp progression, suggests more than a one-off result—it points to a swimmer entering a new competitive tier.

“I’ve worked so hard to get to this point. I didn’t expect to win, let alone qualify for the European Championships. I still need to realize what just happened.” (courtesy of FIN)

For years, sub-1:58 performances in Italy were rare. Now, they are starting to reappear—and when that happens in the 200 IM, it usually means something is changing.