Simona Quadarella stamps the third gold seal in her European swimming championships in Paris and completes a legendary hat-trick on the last day of the continental event, which also sees four silvers - many by hundredths - in the Italian haul. The third success comes in the 400 freestyle, after the domination in the 1500 and 800. For her, never tired of grinding out record numbers, it is the eleventh European victory at an individual level and it is the third consecutive trio after the 2018 and 2021 championships.
Yet, despite the data portraying a perfect expedition, the Roman admits that she "thought she wouldn't win". "I tried to wait as long as possible, but it seemed like my opponents weren't giving anything up. I didn't even expect to pull off this performance - admits Quadarella -, but I did it". His secret? "Consistency. I've always managed to stay there, even with some difficulties like what happened in the 1500, when I wasn't satisfied with my time." If before the 400 freestyle was a worry on her golden CV, today she admits that she "found the right key to express myself" in those final 50 metres, where she points at her German opponent Isabel Gose and puts the turbo on, to finish in 4'01"34, a time with which she beat the time stamp set by Queen Federica Pellegrini in Eindhoven in 2008. "That's enough, I'm going on holiday", says the Roman smiling, thank you to which Italy took second place in the European medal table with 13 gold, 15 silver and 15 bronze, in a tight head-to-head with Great Britain, which won by one more gold.
For everyone else it's a matter of cents. The distance that separates Benedetta Pilato and Thomas Ceccon from a gold medal, respectively in the 50m breaststroke and 100m backstroke, runs on the edge of the moment. "This cent haunts me, I won't go back to this place anymore", confesses with a bittersweet smile the swimmer from Taranto, who wears the silver metal with a time of 29"94 behind the Lithuanian Ruta Meilutyte, on the top step of the podium in 29"93. Despite the mockery, Benedetta looks into perspective, without giving in to that clump of time that in the five-circle pool of the French capital had already separated her from the Olympic podium in 2024. "I would have liked gold, but if at the beginning of the season they had told me that I would have won two medals at the European Championships, I wouldn't have believed it. It was perhaps the most complicated year of my life, but I'm proud of myself", admits Pilate betraying sincere emotion. Thomas Ceccon also feels bitter, tied by a red thread to his teammate and in turn mocked by the cursed measure.
In the 100 backstroke, the home specialty, he finished in 52"28, with only the Greek Apostolos Christou ahead of him in 52"27. Thomas cuts it short: "That penny burns. Regardless of this, it was a fairly slow time, but I don't want to abandon myself to considerations that would take me an hour." "Today the cents were not on our side", also admits Nicolò Martinenghi, protagonist of the silver mortgaged by the men's 4x100 relay, completed by Ceccon, Razzetti and D'Ambrosio, who repeats the second place obtained by his teammates Curtis, Pilato, Gastaldi and Menicucci in the same competition. In front of them, Russia and Great Britain respectively.
"No one would have bet on us", recalls Sara Curtis with satisfaction, sure that "she has sent a great signal". Then, with eyes of fire, she promises that together with her teammates "we will take everything, this relay will grow little by little. This silver is like a victory for us". The director of the Italian team's feats in Parisian waters, the technical director of the national team Cesare Butini, is also satisfied with his girls and boys. "It was a more complicated championship than usual, with the return of the Russians to the competition", admits the director, "but we too raised the level of performance in view of the Olympic path, consolidating our position as leaders". A triumph resulting from the combination of the experience of the veterans and the unscrupulousness of the young people, already masters of the present. "The more experienced ones like Martinenghi, Ceccon, Quadarella and Pilato responded admirably, but we also benefited from a very important path on the part of the young people, especially the girls". Above all, Sara Curtis, who "today is in the Olympus of the world podium".
