2025 Italian Championships: Day 1 Finals Live Recap

By Retta Race on SwimSwam

2025 ITALIAN CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Riccione – Swimming Stadium Pool
• April 13–17, 2025
• Prelims at 10am local (4am ET)/Senior Finals at 6pm local (12pm ET)
• World Championships Qualification
• SwimSwam Italia Event Page
• Entries
• Day 1 Prelims Recap
• Live Results
• Livesteam

Day one finals of the 2025 Italian Championships are upon us, with a stacked lineup of racing about to unfold from Riccione.

This five-day competition represents the primary qualification opportunity for swimmers to add their names to the nation’s roster for this summer’s World Championships in Singapore.

The Italian Swimming Federation-mandated selection standard is listed underneath each of the individual events below as the benchmark under which swimmers need to delve to make the grade.

Follow along and refresh often to get the blow-by-blow as today’s action gets underway.

MEN’S 50 BACK – FINAL

• World Record – 23.55, Kliment Kolesnikov (RUS), 2021
• European Record – 23.55, Kliment Kolesnikov (RUS) 2021
• ITA Record – 24.40, Thomas Ceccon (2022) & Michele Lamberti (2024)
• World Championships Qualifying Time – 24.59

GOLD – Christian Bacico, 24.83
SILVER – Daniele Del Signore, 25.21
BRONZE – Lorenzo Glessi, 25.39

While this morning’s heats saw the top 10 performers all clear the 26-second barrier in the men’s 50m backstroke, tonight just one swimmer dipped under the 25-second threshold.

19-year-old Christian Bacico fired off a new lifetime best en route to grabbing the gold, hitting a time of 24.83. That improved upon his AM swim of 25.24, a time which lowered his previous PB of 25.33 entering this meet.

That’s a tremendous time drop for the teen, although a minimum of 24.59 was needed to make the World Championships cut.

Daniele Del Signore maintained his runner-up slot from the heats, dropping his morning swim of 25.30 down to 25.21.

Bronze was taken by Lorenzo Glessi, courtesy of his mark of 25.39, rocketing up from his 8th-place position out of this morning’s prelims.

Bacico’s time situates him just outside the list of top 5 performers worldwide on the season and he is now Italy’s 6th-swiftest man in history.

As a reminder, Olympic champion Thomas Ceccon is not competing at these championships. Instead, he’s been granted permission to achieve qualification at the Australian Open National Championships taking place in just over a week.

WOMEN’S 800 FREE – FASTEST HEAT

• World Record – 8:04.79, Katie Ledecky (USA), 2016
• European Record – 8:14.10, Rebecca Adlington (GBR), 2008
• ITA Record – 8:14.55, Simona Quadarella, 2024
• World Championships Qualifying Time – 8:25.0

GOLD – Simona Quadarella, 8:24.85 *World Championships Qualifying
SILVER – Emma Giannelli, 8:33.53
BRONZE – Noemi Cesarano, 8:33.72

26-year-old Olympian Simona Quadarella accomplished her World Championships-qualifying mission, winning the women’s 800m freestyle by nearly 19 seconds.

Quadarella punched a result of 8:24.85 as the far-and-away victor.

The next-closest swimmer was Emma Giannelli who touched in 8:33.53 followed closely by Nomi Cesarano who notched 8:33.72 for bronze.

Quadarella is the national record in this event, owning a lifetime best of 8:14.55 from last year when she settled for 4th place at the Olympic Games. She took 800m free bronze at the 2020 Olympic Games and followed that up with the same result plus 1500m gold at the 2024 World Championships in Doha.

Quadarella said post-race, “I’m happy to have gotten the qualification time, it wasn’t a given that I would do the time, I tried to give it my all in the last 100 meters. Several things have changed, I feel very good with my new coach and I feel very calm. Here the goal was to try to do the time, I’m trying to expect a little less from myself, differently from how I have done in recent years. This year I’m trying to find a little calm.”

MEN’S 400 FREE – FINAL

• World Record – 3:39.96, Lukas Märtens (GER), 2025
• European Record – 3:39.96, Lukas Märtens (GER), 2025
• ITA Record – 3:43.23, Gabriele Detti, 2019
• World Championships Qualifying Time – 3:44.6

GOLD – Marco De Tullio, 3:46.90
SILVER – Davide Marchello, 3:49.91
BRONZE – Matteo Lamberti, 3:50.56

The world shook with excitement yesterday as Germany’s Lukas Märtens unexpectedly downed the supersuited World Record in the men’s 400m free at the Swim Open Stockholm.

The Italian men’s 4free field took to the water tonight on the heels of that performance, with Marco De Tullio clocking a time of 3:46.90 to top the podium.

Although De Tullio has been as quick as 3:44.14 in his career as Italy’s 3rd-swiftest performer in history, his time this evening missed the 3:44.6 QT needed for Singapore.

Davide Marchello bumped up from 4th out of the heats to snag silver tonight in 3:49.91 and Matteo Lamberti bagged bronze in 3:50.56.

Gabriele Detti, Matteo Ciampi and Luca De Tullio were among the men entered but who wound up not diving in for this morning’s prelims.

Detti, Massimiliano Rosolino and Marco De Tullio remain the only Italian swimmers to have ever delved under the 3:44.6 qualification time in the history of Italian swimming.

WOMEN’S 100 BREAST – FINAL

• World Record – 1:04.13, Lilly King (USA), 2017
• European Record – 1:04.35, Ruta Meilutyte (LTU), 2013
• ITA Record – 1:05.44, Benedetta Pilato 2024
• World Championships Qualifying Time – 1:06.09

GOLD – Anita Bottazzo, 1:05.82 *World Championships Qualifying
SILVER – Lisa Angiolini, 1:06.01 *World Championships Qualifying
BRONZE – Arianna Castiglioni, 1:06.22

21-year-old Anita Bottazzo just cranked out the swim of her life en route to winning the women’s 100m breaststroke.

Bottazzo roared to the wall in a blistering 1:05.82, the fastest of her career and a near-Italian national record.

The University of Florida Gator tore off the block with a sizzling 30.61 opener before hanging on to bring it home in 35.21.

This morning’s leader, Lisa Angiolini also made the grade for Singapore, albeit by the skin of her teeth, turning in a time of 1:06.01 as the silver medalist. Arianna Castiglioni rounded out the top trio in 1:06.22.

Bottazzo’s lifetime best entering this competition rested at the 1:07.17, which garnered her the silver medal at the inaugural U23 Championships. That means tonight’s incredible performance hacked over a second off that outing, skipping the 1:06-zone entirely, to check in as Italy’s #3 female in history.

Top 5 Italian Women’s LCM 100 Breaststroke Performers All-Time

1. Benedetta Pilato – 1:05.44, 2024
2. Arianna Castiglioni – 1:05.67, 2021
3. Anita Bottazzo – 1:05.82, 2025
4. Martina Carraro – 1:05.85, 2021
5. Lisa Angiolini – 1:06.00, 2022

Bottazzo now ranks #1 in the world this season, dethroning Great Britain’s Angharad Evans.

Of note, national record holder Pilato logged a time of 1:07.74 to place 5th out of the heats but opted out of tonight’s final.

After her impressive feat, Bottazzo stated poolside, “The American environment in Florida gives you a great boost. All my teammates wrote to me ahead of this race. I knew I could go fast and I felt good. I have never done 1:06, but I expected it. My coach told me: now let’s go and do 1:05.”

MEN’S 200 FLY – FINAL

• World Record – 1:50.34, Kristof Milak (HUN), 2022
• European Record – 1:50.34, Kristof Milak (HUN), 2022
• ITA Record – 1:54.28, Federico Burdisso, 2021
• World Championships Qualifying Time – 1:54.9

GOLD – Alberto Razzetti, 1:55.06
SILVER – Claudio Faraci, 1:56.27
BRONZE – Alessandro Ragaini, 1:56.53

The men’s 200m fly final was a little on the subdued side with just one swimmer delving under the 1:56 barrier.

25-year-old Alberto Razzetti got it done for gold, claiming the title in a time of 1:55.06. That was another close call with the Italian Swimming Federation-mandated qualification standard of 1:54.99 needed for Singapore.

Razzetti needed to be closer to his best-ever time of 1:54.51 from the semi-finals at last year’s Olympic Games, a result which rendered him Italy’s #2 performer of all time.

24-year-old Claudio Faraci was next to the wall in 1:56.27, a new personal best by well over half a second.

Alessandro Ragaini bagged the bronze medal in 1:56.53.

Surprisingly, Olympic medlaist Federico Burdisso fell from top-seeded to 4th place overall, ultimately touching in 1:57.26, slower than his AM swim of 1:57.00.

Razzetti, who has been training in Australia the past several months, said after his Worlds-miss,” I am angry that the time has not come. I have worked well in the last months in Australia and I am sorry for a few tenths.”

WOMEN’S 400 IM – FINAL

• World Record – 4:24.28, Summer McIntosh (CAN), 2024
• European Record – 4:26.36, Katinka Hosszu (HUN), 2016
• ITA Record – 4:34.34, Alessia Filippi, 2008
• World Championships Qualifying Time – 4:38.1

GOLD – Anna Pirovano, 4:40.77
SILVER – Claudia Di Passio, 4:43.30
BRONZE – Giada Alzetta, 4:43.90

The women’s 400m IM final was void of any World Championships qualifiers as no one was able to meet the 4:38.1 time standard.

Anna Pirovano punched a result of 4:40.77 to beat the pack, with Claudia Di Passio well back in 4:43.30. Giada Alzetta earned 3rd place in 4:43.90.

24-year-old Pirovano dropped significant time from her top-seeded performance of 4:49.14 out of the heats. In fact, her swim here represents a new lifetime best, erasing her former benchmark of 4:42.06 from way back in 2016.

MEN’S 50 FREE – FINAL

• World Record – 20.91, Cesar Cielo (BRA), 2009
• European Record – 20.94, Fred Bousquet (FRA), 2009
• ITA Record – 21.37, Andrea Vergani, 2018
• World Championships Qualifying Time – 21.7

GOLD – Leonardo Deplano, 21.62 *World Championships Qualifying
SILVER – Lorenzo Zazzeri, 22.10
BRONZE – Andrea Candela, 22.25

25-year-old Leonardo Deplano ripped a big-time outing of 21.62 to reap gold and qualify for this summer’s World Championships in the men’s 50m freestyle.

Deplano continued momentum from his morning outing of 21.93, the sole heats swim under the 22-second barrier. His time tonight cleared the World Championships QT of 21.7.

His result was also just off his lifetime best of 21.50 from last year’s Olympics, a time which made him the #2 Italian performer in history.

Loreenzo Zazzeri hit a time of 22.10 for silver and Andrea Candela also landed on the podium in 22.25.

Alessandro Miressi remained in 4th place, posting 22.27.

Deplano takes over the #1 slot in the season’s world rankings.

Deplano said after the race,” This morning I wasn’t in great shape, but today I felt good. I didn’t imagine 21.6, I’m really happy and I’m continuing this championship more serenely. It’s very important to do it now, so you can work and prepare yourself as best as possible.”

World Championships Qualifiers Through Day 1:

1. Simona Quadarella – women’s 800m free
2. Anita Bottazzo – women’s 100m breast
3. Lisa Angiolini – women’s 100m breast
4. Leonardo Deplano – men’s 50m free

Read the full story on SwimSwam: 2025 Italian Championships: Day 1 Finals Live Recap