Pilate and Panziera fly to Fukuoka
Swimming, results
Grand final. Italy wins 15 individual passes and qualifies 12 athletes for the World Championships in Fukuoka 2023. Four Italian records were added to these results: the individual record of Sara Franceschi in the 200 medley and the club records of the Carabinieri girls in the 4×100 freestyle and the Yellow Flames in the 4×100 mixed and the Gold Flames in the men’s 4×100 freestyle.
It starts off strong right away. Benedetta Pilato opens the last session of the UnipolSai Absolute by winning the 50 breaststroke with 30″08. She immediately finds the stroke and swims to Japan. The grandstand seats at Riccione’s Swimming Stadium are sold out, the audience stands up to applaud Benny, who already in battery with 29″84 had swum under the time valid to qualify for the world championships (30″20). “A pass I wanted at any cost – says the world and European 100 breaststroke champion, rainbow silver medalist in Budapest and European champion in Rome 2022 in the 50 breaststroke, trained by Vito D’Onghia for Fiamme Oro and Aniene – I shot the big time in the morning. In the afternoon I know I always go a little less fast. I’m happy, though. A month ago I didn’t even know if I would participate in the overall. These two races give me confidence and satisfaction. I experienced difficult weeks, but now I am fine and I hope to get better and better.” Her world record remains there waiting for her with the 29″30 she set on May 22, 2021 at the Europeans in Budapest.
Simona Quadarella sets another record, and this time it has nothing to do with the stopwatch but with the history of Italian swimming. No one had done the poker in the freestyle from 200 and up. She is the first to have won the 200, 400, 800 and 1500 freestyle at the overall championships. On the final day she also took the 400 freestyle and, with 4’05″83, achieved her third individual qualification at the world championships after hitting them in the 800 and 1500. “If I had swum the 400 at the beginning of the absolute championships the time probably would have been better,” says the multiple world and European middle distance champion coached by Christian Minotti for Circolo Canottieri Aniene, “For being April it’s fine like this; I think I’ve never been so fast in this period. The required time in Table A was 4’06” flat.
