The 53rd edition of Trofeo Settecolli/Clear International swimming competition starts this morning. Already two records of the event; the Canadian Kylie Masse with 27”67 in 50m-backstroke and the Lithuanian Giedrius Titenis with 59”72 in 100m-breaststroke. We are waiting several Italian and international champions at the Foro Italico.
The competition starts with 50m-backstroke. Five female and five male heats. Among female swimmers there is the event record; it is fixed by the Canadian Kylie Masse with 27”67 breaking the previous record of Elena Gemo of 28”07, with that the Italian athlete holds the Italian absolute record fixed last year on 12th June. This morning Gemo (Italian champion in Riccione Indoor competition with 28”34) reaches the second time with 28”51. Among the male athletes, the Israeli Guy Barnea is the fastest in the morning with 25”06 and Fabio Laugeni is the first of the Italian swimmers ranking third with 25”64, ahead Niccolò Bonacchi at two hundredths delay.
The Swedish Michelle Colemam obtains the first time in 400m-freestyle with 4’07”61, the French team leader Coralie Balmy reaches the second time of 4’08”87 and the Italian Martina De Memme obtains the third time of 4’09”86. The male 400m are won by “different twins” of swimming; Gabriele Detti is ahead with 3’49”65 and Gregorio Paltrinieri is behind with 18 hundredths delay. The third specialist of National team at Settecolli Nicolangelo Di Fabio is little behind with 3’53”08. Detti is the European champion that at the Italian Spring competition, on 21st April, swam the second best Italian performance at just six tenths under the Italian record fixed by Massimiliano Rosolino (3’43”97 for the athlete form Livorno on 21st April 2016 and 3’43”40 for the swimmer from Naples on 16th September 2000 in Sydney for silver olympic medal). Paltrinieri is the golden boy of Italian swimming, World champion in 1500m-freestyle in Kazan 2015, European record man 800m and 1500m, and he fixed his personal record in 400m with 3’48”41 on 10th April of two years ago in Riccione; today he reaches his fifth performance of all time (3’49”83).
In 100m-breaststroke heats, the Swedish specialist, and reigning World and European champion in 50m and pluri-medalist in 100m, Jennie Johansson is ahead with 1’07”69 and also the Lithuanian Giedrius Titenis is ahead with the event record of 59”72 (he fixed also the previous record of 59”75 established last year); among Italian swimmers, Arianna Castiglioni and Andrea Toniato rank first 1’07”94 and 1’01”03, respectively.
The Italian Stefania Pirozzi will participate in 200m-butterfly final with the first time of 2’11”05, ahead the Canadian Audrey Lecroix and the Hungarian Liliana Szilagyi who swam in 2’11”46 and 2’12”15 respectively; the Englishman Adam Barret, obtains the best time in 100m-butterfly heats with 52”81 and 22 hundredths less than the European champion Laszo Cseh (53”03), Hungarian thirty-years-old athlete, totem in medley specialty. The Italian champion Matteo Rivolta is behind with 53”20 (for him 51”54 on 20th April in Riccione).
50m-freestyle stop the morning session. Eight female and nine male heats. Among females Ranomi Kromowidjojo, the Dutch queen of speed, wins the last heat with 24”53 ahead the Canadian Van Landeghem (25”18) and Williams (25”26), passing also the Dutch Dekker (25”23) and the Swedish Olympic (3), World (25) and European medalist (43) Therese Alshammar wins the sixth heat with 25”14; the champion and National record woman Silvia Di Pietro is the first of Italian atletes reaching the fifth general time of 25”24 (her Italian record is 24”84 fixed in European Championships in Berlin in 2014 and on April she wins with 25”05 in Riccione). In the eighth male heat, a competition among three athletes: the European champion in 100m in London, the Italian champion in 50m and 100m in Riccione, Luca Dotto (the first Italian athlete to break the wall 48”) who ranks first with 22”16, Marco Orsi with 22”38 and the Japanese Shinri Shioura with 22”43, but the surprise is the Englishman Benjamin Proud who swims in 22”08 in the previous heat obtaining the best time of the morning.