International swimming stars kicked off the opening day of the 62nd Settecolli IP trophy with impressive times. Comments from the event's top international stars soon followed, as they shared their impressions.
Sara Curtis: I am truly so happy. For me, swimming outdoors feels like hitting a wall, so swimming a personal best is fantastic. I’ve come to believe that it’s important to hit your personal bests even during a heavy training phase. I’m always happy to swim in front of the home crowd. This morning's mistake just made me smile; it happens every now and then. Training in America was a fundamental turning point for my growth. I hope this record lasts a long time and that I’ll be the one to break it next time. I think I handle pressure well; in fact, I believe it helps me give that little bit extra.
Daniel Wiffen: This afternoon I improved my time, setting a new seasonal best. I feel like I'm on the right track. This morning it was amazing to compete with my twin brother; we get ready, train, and compete together every day, so running this race was special, especially since it took place in my favorite event and city. It's so hot, which completely changes the way you prepare for races, both physically and mentally. We'll see how it goes further, but I love Rome, it's my favorite city.
Siobhan Haughey: I was feeling pretty good this morning. It’s hot, but that’s part of the challenge. My goal was to make it to the finals, so I’ve been focusing on the small details, especially my turns. Now we’ll see what I can do tonight.
Gretchen Walsh: I think this race was really well executed, I was pretty excited about that one. I couldn't have asked for a better way to start my meet with the best time, so close to the world record and it just makes me even more excited to hopefully work towards breaking that. My big meet at the end of the summer is the Pan Pacific Championships, and same time as Europeans. So I'm really just probably in the same boat as everyone else (di chi sta gareggiando in vista degli europei, ndr), and I train for the 50fly at least twice a week, so it's definitely one of my priorities in my main event. So I work towards it a lot. To keep my motivation and excitement high, I think I just try to celebrate the little wins and the best times and also just continuing to set the bar really high for myself and goals that maybe other people don't think I can achieve but if I work really hard, I can get them. So I love setting those really big, goals. My goal is to arrive at the Olympics in peak condition. Here everything is amazing, the city and the pool. I’m having a great time. We arrived a bit early, so we had the chance to do a lot of sightseeing. We visited some famous places, such as the Pantheon, Vatican City, and Piazza Navona, and also enjoyed walking through the downtown. Of course, I’ve also eaten a lot of pasta! I decided to come here to compete mainly because of the international athletes I compete with. Many of them encouraged me to take part in this event and inspired me to add it to my competition schedule. I’m really glad I followed them and decided to come.
Marrit Steenbergen: I think it was a good race, way better than this morning and I think I can be really happy with this time and I think it's my fastest time this season. Actually I'm focusing most on 100 free and I'm trying to do a little 200 with that because I think it's good for my 100. But the 100 free is my most important race, so I think I just do it every once in a while just to keep training. I hope I can swim fast racing here.It's a bit of a busy day, but I always enjoy being here in Rome. It's such a nice pool and the weather is really nice, so I always enjoy coming back to Rome. Unfortunately my family and friends are not here. We have trials next week, so they're coming there. They couldn't arrange it to come here, so that's quite sad, but I get it. It's always fun, it's always a fun competition, a high level competition. So I think it's going to get some of these races in and that's why I decided to come back. Also the memories are good, so I want to keep on adding the memories.
Nicolò Martinenghi: I’m doing well, I’ve shaken off the rust after six months out. Physically I don’t feel at my best yet, but I’m satisfied. At the moment I don’t expect anything different, as I want to take it race by race to see how I am and how I respond both physically and mentally. It’s not easy being out for so long, but I will definitely enjoy it.
Thomas Ceccon: I’m fine, but the performance in the water wasn’t what I was looking for. I didn’t have any specific expectations. I swam the 100m butterfly, I think that’s enough for this morning; I don’t think I’ll be competing this afternoon. Tomorrow, I’ll swim the 100m freestyle. Mentally I was in a good place before coming here. I don’t want to make excuses for my performance, but we certainly didn’t prepare well for this race.
Kliment Kolesnikov: I’m satisfied. I rested after this morning’s heat, though I felt slightly slower. The 50m freestyle isn’t my main event, but I enjoyed swimming it. I'm not used to it, it's very hot. It's very interesting how many athletes there are. Every year it's hot and there's always a lot of people there, but I like it a lot. The results aren't so great; I'm more focused on the European Championship. I didn't bring any of my family, I just came with the team. I like Rome, definitely more than Naples. Now let's see how the 100m and 200m backstroke go.
Apostolos Christou: It was truly a great race for me. I managed to achieve my season’s best, very close to my personal record, which gives me a lot of confidence for the rest of the season. The work we are doing is paying off, and this result motivates me even more. Now I’m looking forward with great excitement to the European Championships in two months: it will be a very important event, and I want to arrive there in the best possible shape. Thank you very much from the bottom of my heart.
Sarah Sjöström: I’m so happy to be back. I’ve been racing in Canada, and considering that I gave birth just ten months ago, it is a big surprise for me to already be back at this level. I’m also happy to feel excited before a race again. Every time I compete, I feel that I can find new ways to become faster, so it is a really fun process to be part of. Motherhood is wonderful. It is the best life one could wish for.
Noè Ponti: I’m doing well and working hard. I pushed myself this morning, and in fact, I really felt the fatigue this afternoon. I'm very happy to have gone under 51 seconds again. I always try to give my best in sports, but when I'm out of the water and not training, I try to do as many activities as possible because you only live once.
Simone Cerasuolo:I always try to work hard and give my all; whether I win or not depends on me. We are doing a lot during this period, but for Paris, I need to keep following the path I'm on. I’ve also taken a step forward competing back-to-back like this isn't easy, but I'm very happy.
Marco De Tullio: I came really close to the time in Riccione, and now I’ve done it. I haven't been at my best these past few months due to injuries, but race after race, I’m feeling better and better. I'm happy. Today, the important thing was to win and qualify. At this European Championship, for the first time, my brother Luca De Tullio and I will compete against each other; it’s going to be fun.
Benedetta Pilato: I'm satisfied with today's result in the 100 breaststroke for where I am right now, but I feel very tired. I thought it would be much easier given how I swam three weeks ago at Aniene. I definitely struggled more today, but I'm okay with it, also because swimming here is always beautiful, so for now, I'm satisfied.
Photo by Andrea Staccioli / DBM
The use of photographs is permitted solely and exclusively for registered publications for editorial purposes. Crediting the source is mandatory.
