“I’m really so happy and very excited. I had prepared this race in every little detail”. These are the first words of Thomas CecconiOlympic gold in the 100m backstroke, speaking to Rai Sport.
The only Italian swimmer who holds a world record, short legs, long torso and broad shoulders as he likes to say about himself, takes the gold he knew he was swimming for. Thomas Ceccon from Vicenza, born in 2001, the handsome and dark Italian swimmer, everyone’s favorite, closes the circle in Paris: Olympic title in the 100 backstroke, the distance that has already brought him to the top of the world with the world record, always looking at the stars, because that is the destiny of backstrokers. And now the laurel of the five circles sought, desired, awaited, but not for this taken for granted. The second for the Italian team after that of Nicolò Martinenghi in the 100 breaststroke, but also the second personal medal for the Venetian after the debut, bronze, in the 4X100 freestyle. The Italian takes the Olympic gold despite turning 50 in third place, but with a progression studied in detail with lucidity and confidence he touched in 52″: beating the Chinese Jiayu Xu (52”32) and the American Ryan Murphy (52″39). “I won thanks to the details studied for a long time”, he explains before giving in to joy: “I’m so happy, and also very excited”. Right, legitimate, like his gold. Obtained as planned: but there were top opponents to exorcise, like Xu who in some parts of the semifinal had swum decidedly fast, even going under the record times of the Italian. But to reach this goal Ceccon, on the Olympic podium at twenty years old, when in Tokyo he celebrated a silver and a bronze with the relays, has always said he shed sweat and tears. However, he was also rewarded by two world titles and four golds at the European Championships and that 51”60 set in 2022 in Budapest that has forever registered him among the world record holders. “My passion will always be stronger than the sacrifices” the most versatile swimmer of the Italian team has repeatedly reiterated (he also boasts a world title in the 50 butterfly, and if the backstroke is his specialty, he also swims at the top in the freestyle.
The only one who won six medals in three different styles at the European Championships in Rome, four gold). Having cut off his vintage moustache, his slightly long hair compressed inside his cap is still there, the national Thomas is also a cover athlete. He trains in Verona, in the champions’ pool, but he loves Rome, he is a fan of Jannik Sinner, his idols are Roger Federer and Michael Phelps, the book on his bedside table is Open, the biography of Andre Agassi. He played tennis as a child, but then someone threw him into the water and he never stopped. ‘He emigrated to nearby Verona and had to separate from his family; a bit of a bad boy and a lot of a phenomenon, even the international experts had placed their bets on Ceccon. In short, another title, three medals in three days of competition for the pool, while waiting for the other big cards to play: first of all that of Gregorio Paltrinieri, who conquered the final of the 800 freestyle with the third time of 7’42”48, among the best eight also enters Luca De Tullio, with the seventh time. And the Italian group is stronger than ever, after these successes. “Martinenghi’s gold is beautiful. It gave energy to the whole group – said Paltrinieri, also awaited by the controversial tests, due to pollution of the Seine, of the long distance swimming -. As for me, I’m happy, I did a good race. I want to compete, and a lot”. In the other awaited race, the 100 breaststroke, Benedetta Pilato was unable to fully redeem the unfortunate Tokyo Olympics, the one of the disqualification. The Taranto native finished at the foot of the podium, a fourth place that certainly leaves a bitter taste in the mouth. But there was a flash from Ceccon to illuminate a day in which there had been several shadows for Italy. Certainly the elimination in the eighth finals of Tommaso Marini, number 1 in men’s foil, which follows the debacle of the women’s. No glory in judo, the archery team also out, the Setterosa water polo team was knocked out by France in their debut. Then came the light, a regal 100-meter backstroke: there’s no one to beat, and record-holder Ceccon also takes Olympus.