Paris 2024 Olympics: mixed 4×100 disappoints, Nicolo Martinenghi explains what went wrong

In the same competition, in Tokyo, Italy had won bronze

The Azzurri of the men's 4×100 mixed relay swimming team will not be able to replicate in Paris 2024 the podium presence they won with third place in Tokyo in the summer of 2021. In fact, Thomas Ceccon, Nicolò Martinenghi, Giacomo Carini and Alessandro Miressi failed to make it into the lot of finalists: their time of 3:32.71 è was two tenths slower than that of the German relay team, the last to qualify.

At the microphones of 'Rai Sport', Nicolò Martinenghi tried to explain a disappointing result for Italian swimming: "I am very sorry – he said -. I gave everything I could, as I always did, but it did not è go well. It's a shame because we were aiming to replicate the bronze three years ago, the potential was there".

"I have no big comments to make,” added the individual Olympic champion in the 100 breaststroke. “Apart from Carini, who did an excellent split, Ceccon, Miressi and I did not live up to expectations. Fatigue took over, both physical and psychological" he said, trying to explain what went wrong.

At the finela of the mixed 4×100 qualified France, Great Britain, China, the United States, Australia, Holland, Canada and Japan. Italy, in swimming, thus remains at four medals, two gold (Martinenghi in the 100 breaststroke, Ceccon in the 100 backstroke) and two bronze (Gregorio Paltrinieri in the 800 and the men’s 4×100 freestyle with Miressi, Ceccon, Conte Bonin, Frigo, with Zazzeri and Delplano awarded the medal for participating in the batteries).