It is the final day of the 62nd edition of the Settecolli IP Trophy. Following yesterday’s action, highlighted by a world record from the Netherlands' Marrit Steenbergen, the event concludes with a grand finale featuring a world record from Gretchen Walsh and an Italian record from Sara Curtis in the 50m freestyle. International swimming stars share their final thoughts as the Rome-based event draws to a close.
Gretchen Walsh: World record 50 freestyle 23"55. I definitely felt like it was a very well executed race. When I saw the time I wasn't exactly sure if I broke it because I hadn't fully like memorized the world record. But once I realized it was, yeah, I think it made sense and I was just happy that I got my hand on the wall in time. I am going to celebrate with spritzes! When people ask me how far Curtis can go, I answer: as far as she wants to go.
Sara Curtis: I am truly very happy and satisfied. The hug with Gretchen was wonderful; she said such beautiful things about me, and I am overjoyed about her record. Despite the pressure, I felt very calm. America has given me new friendships, something I had been missing the most. It was a huge leap, but it was worth it. As for the records, I am very happy and confident, and above all, I am proud to have competed in two such important finals that saw two world records set.
Sarah Sjöström: Everyone in swimming is continuing to take a step forward, and it is great to still be part of that journey. I feel that, perhaps ten years ago, I was among the swimmers helping to push the sport to another level, and now I am still here, fighting and competing with the new generation. It was really special to be part of this race. For me personally, being here and performing at this level is more than I could ever have dreamed of. I am absolutely happy with the two times I managed to clock today, both of them my best since giving birth to my son ten months ago.
Kliment Kolesnikov: The 200m freestyle went better than I expected; I really enjoyed it. I thought I’d clock a slower time. I decided to stay close to the others during the first 100 meters, then keep up my stroke rate and give it my all right to the finish. Tomorrow I head home, ready to prepare for the European Championships. I really like Rome, I first visited back in 2010, and a dish I always enjoy here, the way they make it, is panna cotta or cheesecake. I don't digest pasta very well, especially when it's piping hot.
Marrit Steenbergen: It still feels pretty weird. Yesterday was just crazy and then I had to come back this morning and to try and race fast again. So it's always a bit weird after such an achievement to switch back to the racing mode, but I feel really happy. Nothing can really go wrong anymore after yesterday. We had dinner yesterday, so we went out for dinner, not being in the hotel. But I have trials next weekend, so I think I just have to be in racing mode a little longer, and then after I will go celebrate, I think with friends, have some dinner and drinks and just let it go. If I had to choose a swimmer, past or present, to swim with, it would be a difficult choice. I would say the ones I'm racing now actually. Or maybe someone like Ranomi, but I raced with her in the past. I mean I trained with her, so I don't feel like that's really a good answer. But maybe like Inge de Bruijn. She's a Dutch swimmer. She competed in the 100m freestyle and 100m butterfly, so I think it would have been great to race against her.
Daniel Wiffen: Very happy with how it went, but very tired from the race and the races of these last few days. However, we had a great time in Rome despite the heat and we will publish a video of our experience of the Settecolli on our YouTube channel.
Carlos D'ambrosio: The standard is high, especially in recent years, even at the European level. I can’t say I’ll break the record—partly because I’m very superstitious, but I do want to get close to my personal best. The 4x100m freestyle relay is certainly performing very well; we won silver at the World Championships in Singapore, which was my first long-course world medal. We’ll see how the individual events go, too. There’s a slight difference between the two: in a relay, you have team morale to lean on, whereas when you’re on your own, you have to manage anxiety and tension. I have to say, I’m pretty good at handling that.
Simona Quadarella: I’m happy; I swam the 400m freestyle faster than I did at the Mare Nostrum. The 1500m freestyle was definitely the race I was most pleased with, though it was also the first event and I was more rested, so that’s to be expected. Overall, however, I’m satisfied. It was important to me to swim the 400m freestyle; I wanted to race as part of my training, and it went really well. Repeating that level of performance gives me a great sense of satisfaction.
Matteo Diodato: I’m absolutely thrilled. I wanted to put in a strong performance because I knew I was capable of doing well. I’ve improved a lot and hit the qualifying time for the European Championships. I worked hard for this. I knew I could do it. I prefer swimming in the pool, that’s my element, though I am giving open-water swimming a try.
Gregorio Paltrinieri: I came here to compete in the Settecolli meet. It’s a very tough competition, and my form wasn't great, so I treated it as a training session.I competed in the Italian Championships a while back, but this meet was really grueling. We’re going to see a very strong team at the European Championships. I remembered this pool being fast, but everyone has been posting really quick times over the last few days. I think we have a lot of men and women capable of winning gold this year, so it promises to be a great championship. I’m really motivated by this environment; I’ve been on the national team for years, through both highs and lows, but I always bring consistency and discipline to my work.
Photo by Andrea Staccioli / DBM
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