Quadarella wins third gold at European swimming championships as Pilato and Ceccon lose by centiseconds in Paris

Quadarella's third gold

Simona Quadarella completed a hat-trick of gold medals at the European Swimming Championships in Paris, winning the 400m freestyle final on 16 August with a time of 4:01.34. The Roman swimmer, who had already won gold in the 800m and 1500m freestyle at these championships, overtook Germans Isabel Gose (silver) and Maya Werner (bronze) in the final two laps to secure her third title. She had qualified for the final with the fifth-fastest time in the morning heats, clocking 4:08.07. All four Italian men entered in the 400m freestyle, Luca and Marco De Tullio, Davide Marchello, and Alessandro Ragaini, failed to advance past the heats.

Silver by a centisecond

Two Italian swimmers narrowly missed gold, each losing by a single centisecond. In the 50m breaststroke, Benedetta Pilato finished in 29.94, one hundredth behind Lithuania's Rūta Meilutytė, the world record holder, who touched in 29.93. Ireland's Mona McSharry took bronze in 29.95, making the gap between silver and bronze also a single centisecond. Pilato had entered the final with the fastest qualifying time of 29.84 but could not match it, starting moderately and trying to recover in the second half of the race.

In the 100m backstroke, Thomas Ceccon clocked 52.28, again one centisecond behind Greece's Apostolos Christou, who won gold in 52.27. Russia's Pavel Samusenko took bronze in 52.57, three tenths behind the winner. Christou overtook Ceccon in the final stretch. Pilato, who also won bronze in the 100m breaststroke earlier in the championships, spoke to Rai Sport after the race.

This centisecond haunts me. I'm happy anyway, three times under 30 seconds, even if by a little, it's important. It's definitely the beginning of a journey, obviously, I would have liked to win but it's fine like this. I think it's a starting point, I changed everything this year and it's fine like this.

At the 2024 Olympics, also held in Paris, Pilato had similarly missed a medal by a centisecond.

Other evening finals

Giovanni Guatti finished eighth and last in the 50m freestyle final with 21.83. Ukraine's Nikita Šeremet won gold in 21.13, with Kornev and Barna tied for silver, two tenths behind. Alberto Razzetti, already a silver medalist in the 400m individual medley, placed fifth in the 200m IM with 1:56.60, just off his personal best. Hungary's Hubert Kós won gold in 1:54.24, Spain's Hugo González de Oliveira took silver, and Russia's Mikhail Shcherbakov earned bronze. Paola Borrelli started strongly in the 200m butterfly, holding the pace of Britain's Macinnes through the first half, but faded in the final lap and finished sixth.

Relays and Curtis record

In the morning heats, both Italian 4x100 medley relay teams qualified for the evening finals. The women's team of Sara Curtis, Lisa Angiolini, Anita Gastaldi, and Emma Virginia Menicucci dominated their heat in 3:57.11. Curtis set an Italian record in the opening 100m backstroke leg with 58.72, improving Margherita Panziera's previous mark of 58.92. The men's team of Michele Lamberti, Nicolò Martinenghi, Michele Busa, and Carlos D'Ambrosio qualified with the third-fastest time.

Italy's medal haul

As of the morning of 16 August, Italy led the medal table at the European Championships in Paris with 38 total medals: 12 gold, 11 silver, and 15 bronze. The tally spanned swimming, diving, open water, and artistic swimming, with Chiara Pellacani contributing four golds across diving events and Nicolò Martinenghi winning two breaststroke titles.