European Aquatics: Ceccon and Pilato win bronze medals for Italy

Italy's Thomas Ceccon and Benedetta Pilato captured bronze medals at the European Aquatics Championships in Paris, adding to the nation's success in the pool. Ceccon's performance in the men's 200m backstroke was particularly noteworthy as he also set a new Italian record.

Ceccon touched the wall in 1 minute, 53.96 seconds, securing the third-place finish behind Hungary's Hubert Kos (gold) and Greece's Apostolos Siskos (silver). The Italian swimmer expressed satisfaction with his performance, stating his goal was to swim under 1:54 and acknowledging the aggressive race strategy he employed from an outer lane.

"The podium was achievable because I knew it was possible. Obviously, my previous time didn't belong to me; this time starts to mean something," Ceccon told Rai microphones. "I had planned for a low 1:54, and today it went well. I tried an aggressive race from the start, being in the outer lane, I struggled a lot in the last lap and a lot to do this damned 200, and I am very happy after so many training sessions I didn't feel like doing."

In the women's 100m breaststroke, Benedetta Pilato also claimed a bronze medal, finishing with a time of 1:05.89. The race was won by England's Kara Hanlon, with Ireland's Mona McSharry taking silver. Another Italian swimmer, Lisa Angiolini, finished eighth in the same event.

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The podium was achievable because I knew it was possible. Obviously, my previous time didn't belong to me; this time starts to mean something. I had planned for a low 1:54, and today it went well. I tried an aggressive race from the start, being in the outer lane, I struggled a lot in the last lap and a lot to do this damned 200, and I am very happy after so many training sessions I didn't feel like doing.