Settecolli Day 1: Watch Pellegrini, Milak, Fratus, Ceccon, Quadarella Win Gold

58TH SETTECOLLI TROPHY

• Friday, June 25th – Sunday, June 27th
• Swimming Stadium of the Foro Italico, Rome, Italy
• LCM (50m)
• Olympic Qualifying Competition
• Start Lists
• Results
• Day 1 Recap

Day 1 of the 58th Settecolli Trophy got underway in Rome, Italy with a busy night of racing. Among those collecting hardware on the first day of the three-day affair was 2008 Olympic Champion Federica Pellegrini in her signature 200 freestyle. Pellegrini threw down a 1:56.23 to win the 200 free which was just under her recent 1:56.29 at the 2021 European Championships.

Kristof Milak also swam to victory in the men’s 100 butterfly and produced a world-class swim of 50.89 to trail his season-best of 50.18. That 50.18 from the 2021 European Championships currently sits at #2 in the world behind Caeleb Dressel’s 49.76.

Adding to the action, Bruno Fratus clinched gold in the 50 freestyle with a 21.71, Thomas Ceccon won the 100 back in a 53.79, and Simona Quadarella put together a 15:48.81 Settecolli record to take 1st place in the 1500 freestyle.

Check out those 5 races by Pellegrini, Milak, Fratus, Ceccon, and Quadarella, courtesy of Swim Swimming on YouTube, and make sure to check back in tomorrow for more updates on all the action at the 2021 Settecolli Trophy.

Women’s 200 Freestyle – Final

Reported by Retta Race

• GOLD – Federica Pellegrini (ITA), 1:56.23
• SILVER – Anna Chiara Mascolo (ITA), 1:58.82
• BRONZE – Gabrielle Roncatto (BRA) & Giulia Vetrano (ITA), 1:59.33

Italian Olympic icon Federica Pellegrini popped off a super solid time tonight in the 200m free, stopping the clock in a swift 1:56.23.

Splitting 56.59/59.64, Pellegrini checked in with a mark quicker than that she produced for silver at this year’s European Championships. There in Budapest, Pellegrini registered a time of 1:56.29 to fall just .02 outside of gold, won by Czech swimmer Barbora Seemanova.

Pellegrini was in a race of her own tonight, as the next closest swimmer, Anna Chiara Mascolo came into the wall well over a second later in 1:58.82.

Men’s 100 Butterfly – Final

Reported by Retta Race

• GOLD – Kristof Milak (HUN), 50.89
• SILVER – Noe Ponti (SUI), 51.59
• BRONZE – Santo Condorelli (ITA), 51.62

Hungarian world record holder in the men’s 200m fly, Kristof Milak, made some major noise in this 100m  fly sprint. The 21-year-old busted out a time of 50.89 to lead a stacked field, owning the only sub-51 second outing of the pack.

Milak is coming off of a European Championships victory which saw the man post 50.18 in Budapest for a new meet record. That ranks him #2 behind American Caeleb Dressel who tops the entire world in 49.76 from the U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials.

NC State-commit Noe Ponti of Switzerland was within striking distance of his own national record en route to silver tonight. Ponti produced a time of 51.59, whereas his lifetime best and Swiss standard rests at 51.15.

Coming in 3rd place this evening was Santo Condorelli, who was gunning for Olympic qualification in this event. Condorelli touched in 51.62, a big-time personal best for the one-time Canadian athlete. Condorelli needed 51.0 according to the Italian Swimming Federation in order to qualify for Tokyo.

Other high-profile stars in the mix included Federico Burdisso claiming 4th in 51.78, Piero Codia hitting 51.79 for 5th and South African Chad Le Clos posting 51.87 for 6th in his first sub-52 second outing of the season.

Men’s 50 Freestyle – Final

Reported by Retta Race

• GOLD – Bruno Fratus (BRA), 21.71
• SILVER – Alessandro Miressi (ITA), 21.97
• BRONZE – Santo Condorelli (ITA), 22.00

Brazilian Olympian Bruno Fratus got the job done in this men’s 50m freestyle, registering a swim of 21.71, his fastest of the season. His time here edges out his 21.73 posted at the Pro Swim Series in April.

Italy’s national record holder Alessandro Miressi also limboed under the 22-second threshold, posting 21.97 as runner-up, while Condorelli, fresh off his 100m fly PB, clocked 22.00.

Men’s 100 Backstroke – Final

Reported by Retta Race

• GOLD – Thomas Ceccon (ITA), 53.79
• SILVER – Simone Sabbioni (ITA), 53.96
• BRONZE – Michele Lamberti (ITA), 54.14

Tokyo-bound Thomas Ceccon got his hand on the wall first in the fastest timed final of the men’s 100m backstroke.

The 20-year-old multi-European Championships relay medalist punched a time of 53.79 as one of two swimmers to get under 54 seconds in the race. Behind him was the former national record holder in the event, Simone Sabbioni, who touched in 53.96, just off his 53.91 from April’s Italian Absolute Championships. Michele Lamberti rounded out the top 3 tonight in 54.14.

Ceccon owns the Italian national record in this event with the 52.84 he posted at the Italian Championships last December. He remains the sole Olympic qualifier for Italy in this event, as Sabbioni (or anyone else) needed a time of 52.8.

Women’s 1500 Freestyle – Final

Reported by Retta Race

• GOLD – Simona Quadarella (ITA), 15:48.81
• SILVER – Martina Caramignoli (ITA), 16:12.30
• BRONZE – Julia Hasler (LIE), 16:34.45

Reigning European champion Simona Quadarella beat her time from Budapest en route to topping the omen’s 1500m free podium tonight.

Touching in 15:48.81, Quadarella posted a new championships record here in Rome, knocking .03 off of what she produced at this meet in 2019.

Quadarella earned a time of 15:53.59 at this year’s European Championships, so she managed to drop over 4 seconds from that result while also moving up the world rankings to slot #4 on the season.