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Sette Colli. Looks like an European! Goodbye to Rome 2022

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If Federica Pellegrini have to retire after the Tokyo Olympics, the 50 freestyle would be the last race swum by the Italian queen in Rome, in the Stadio del Nuoto where she won the world gold medals in the 200 and 400 freestyle the year after Beijing 2008. In that world championships, Sweden's Sara Sjoestroem won the first gold in the 100 butterfly and the Dutch Ranomi Kromowidjojo won the first relay title. All three would go on to become extraordinary stars of international swimming in the years to come, and this afternoon they were together in the pool for a race that feels more like an amarcord than a challenge. The Danish Pernille Blume (27 years old), current Olympic champion, won the first series in 24"17; she was followed by Sjoestroem (27 years old) in 24"25, Kromowidjojo (30 years old) in 24"36 and Pellegrini (32 years old) in fifth place in 24"98, 14 hundredths behind Silvia Di Pietro's Italian record, which was touched by 19-year-old Costanza Cocconcelli, who came fourth with a personal best of 24"90. The Swedish Michelle Coleman (27 years old) in 24"58 and the Dutch Femke Heemskerk (33 years old), world and then Olympic champion in relay with Kromowidjojo and a great friend of Pellegrini's, slipped into the overall classification from the previous series.
Simona Quadarella - gold in the 400, 800 and 1500 at the 2018 and 2021 European Championships, as well as world champion in the 1500 and runner-up in the 800 - continued her Olympic run by winning the 400 freestyle in 4'06"88 ahead of Liechtenstein's Julia Hassler (4'08"07) and Brazil's Gabrielle Roncatto (4'10"90). Dutchman Arno Kamminga also did very well, setting the Sette Colli record in the 200 breaststroke in 2'07"63, followed shortly after by Hungarian champion Kristof Milak in the 200 freestyle in 1'46"39.
In the other races there were the comfortable performance of the Ukrainian Andrii Govorov who won in 23"19 the 50 butterfly in which he holds the world record in 22"27 and the Turkish Viktoria Zeynep Gunes who won in the 200 mixed in 2'13"57 beating the Israeli Lea Polonski (2'14"38) and the Brazilian Nathalia Almeida (2'14"99). Surprising Italians Alessia Polieri and Sara Franceschi beat Hungarian champion Katinka Hosszu in the 200 butterfly in 2'08"80 against 2'09"19 and in the 200 mixed in 2'10"26 against 2'11"61.
In the 200 breaststroke the Italian Francesca Fangio sets the Italian record in 2'23"06 ahead of the Belgian Fanny Lecluyse (2'23"30) and the Swiss Lisa Mamie (2'23"30). Second places also for the Spanish Nicolas Garcia Saiz in 1'57"83 and the Israelian Aviv Barzelay in 2'10"76 in the 200 backstroke behind the Italians Matteo Restivo in 1'56"59 and Margherita Panziera, European champion from 2018, in 2'08"08, and the other Israelian Gal Cohen Groumi (1'59"56) behind the Olympic outsider Alberto Razzetti who won the 200 mixed in 1'58"34.

Live results on Microplustiming

Photo credits DBM.