SwimSwam Pulse is a recurring feature tracking and analyzing the results of our periodic A3 Performance Polls. You can cast your vote in our newest poll on the SwimSwam homepage, about halfway down the page on the right side, or you can find the poll embedded at the bottom of this post.
Our most recent poll asked SwimSwam readers which nation was most impressive at the 2018 European Championships:
RESULTS
Question: What nation impressed you most at Euros?
- Italy – 47.1%
- Great Britain – 29.9%
- Russia – 19.3%
- Other – 3.8%
Nearly half of voters said Italy was the most impressive nation at the 2018 European Championships.
Italy won 6 swimming golds, which bettered their 5 apiece from the 2016 and 2014 editions, but their total pool swimming medal count jumped from 15 in 2014 to 17 in 2016 to a whopping 22 in 2018. That accounted for more medals than any nation other than Russia and the host Great Britain.
It also included an incredibly high number of breakout performances. Even without a gold medal from their dynamic distance pair Gregorio Paltrinieri and Gabrielle Detti (who have won a combined 14 long course European Champs medals), Italy still won a half-dozen events, most of them by fast-rising breakout performers. Their gold medalists:
- Simona Quadarella, 400 free, 800 free, 1500 free
- Margherita Panziera, 200 back
- Piero Codia, 100 fly
- Alessandro Miressi, 100 free
Italy should get back Detti and fast-rising breaststroker Nicolo Martinenghi from injury next year, and if exciting young talents like Miressi (age 19), Federico Burdisso (age 16), Quadarella (age 19), Arianna Castiglioni (age 20), Ilaria Cusinato (age 18) keep rising, the Italian delegation for the 2019 Worlds and 2020 Olympics could be one of the best swim teams on the planet.
Great Britain got almost 30% of the votes after leading all nations with 4 relay golds. Their 24 total and 9 gold medals were second overall to Russia, which got nearly 20% of the votes after bagging 10 gold and 26 overall medals. Great Britain (Adam Peaty, 100 breast) and Russia (Kliment Kolesnikov, 50 back) had the only two world records of the meet, as well.
Below, vote in our new A3 Performance Poll, which asks voters to pick the most impressive relay split over the past week:
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Really impressive improvements by many Italian swimmers in the last season. I’ll consider some cases writing first of all their PB before this season and then their PB now
Andrea Vergani 50free: 22.12-21.37
Alessandro Miressi 100 free: 48.71-47.92
Federico Burdisso 100 fly: 53.58-51-73; 200 fly 1.57.83-1.55.97; 200 free 1.52.99-1.48.95; 200 im 2.08.47-2.02.38
Thomas Ceccon 100 free 50.42-48.87; 100 back 54.72-53.85; 200 im 2.02.16-2.00.43
Piero Codia 100 fly 51.09-50.64
Simona Quadarella 400 free 4.08.16-4.03.35; 800 free 8.20.54-8.16.45; 1500 free 15.53.86-15.51.61
Carlotta Zofkova 100 back 1.01.03-59.61
Margherita Panziera 200 back 2.09.43-2.06.18
Ilaria Cusinato 200 im 2.12.73-2.10.25; 400 im 4.40.70-4.34.65
Arianna Castiglioni 50 breast 30.33-30.30; 100 breast 1.06.95-1.06.54
Elena Di Liddo 100 fly 57.94-57.38
You should watch out for Thomas Ceccon too. 17 yo, talented in all strokes except breast.
There’s Martinenghi.
Martinenghi is already mentioned in the article
Freestyle is the stroke where Italy gotten a lot of their medals.
Why are they so good in the freestyle.
Great tradition. Italian first ever swimming medal was in free, the first italian wr was in free and a lot of italians great were freestyler (lamberti, rosolino, brembilla, magnini – calligari, pellegrini). Great tradition in breast too.
On the other side both fly and back are extremely weak, but maybe the youngster (ceccon, burdjsso, panziera) will change that too.
The youngster Codia?
Do you read Codia in my sentence?
Codia is a great guy but he always underperform in the big stage. He probably has that 50.6 in him since 2016, last week was probably in the mental condition to perform at his best (8 line, great performance in prelim awful in semi, no-pressure, no big shot at his side) but I doubt he will repeat next year.