European Swimming Championships: Quadarella Dominates, Italy Finishes Strong

Simona Quadarella cemented her legendary status at the European Aquatics Championships in Birmingham, claiming her third gold medal of the event in the 400m freestyle. This remarkable achievement completes a historic treble, adding to her previous victories in the 1500m and 800m freestyle races.

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I tried to wait as long as possible, but it seemed like my rivals weren't giving up anything. I didn't expect to pull out this performance myself, but I did it.

Quadarella's winning time of 4'01"34 in the 400m freestyle not only secured her the gold but also broke the championship record previously held by Italian swimming icon Federica Pellegrini since 2008. Despite her dominance, Quadarella admitted to moments of doubt during the race, stating she "thought about not winning" as her competitors pushed hard. She attributed her success to "consistency" and finding the right strategy for the final 50 meters.

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Consistency. I always managed to stay there, even with some difficulties like in the 1500m, when I wasn't satisfied with my time.

Her exceptional performance contributed significantly to Italy's strong showing at the championships. The Italian team secured second place in the overall medal standings, accumulating 13 gold, 15 silver, and 15 bronze medals. They finished in a tight race with Great Britain, who ultimately edged them out for first place by a single gold medal.

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Now that's enough, I'm going on vacation.

Other Italian swimmers narrowly missed out on gold medals by fractions of a second. Benedetta Pilato earned a silver in the 50m breaststroke, finishing just 0.01 seconds behind the winner. Thomas Ceccon also took silver in the 100m backstroke, similarly missing gold by a hundredth of a second. Both swimmers expressed frustration over the close finishes but acknowledged their overall success at the championships.

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This hundredth of a second haunts me, I'm not coming back to this place anymore.