Ballo's fabulous appearance: only the crowning glory is missing

On Wednesday there was another disappointment for the Bolzano swimmer in the 400 m freestyle: Despite the extremely strong 6th place (he beat his old mark by 2 seconds), he had to watch the final because only 2 swimmers per nation are allowed to take part in the medal decision and with Gabriele Detti and Matteo Ciampi 2 Azzurri were faster than Ballo. On Thursday, the 26-year-old showed off again.

In the preliminary heat of the 200 m freestyle he shone with a time of 1.42,92:1.42,33 minutes (he had never been so fast over this distance) and thus fulfilled his dream of reaching the final. There Ballo once again outgrew himself and beat his personal best time again: he clocked in after 5:1 minutes. This meant that the Bolzano team finished in 1,21th place – an outstanding result. Ballo was 8 seconds behind Lithuanian Danas Rapsys' first place, and only 2 tenths of a second behind Russia's Mikhail Vekovishchev's bronze medal. Second place went to the Brit Duncan Scott.

The fight for the Olympics awaits With 5th place, Ballo was the best Azzurro of the final – a big surprise. This also makes the man from Bolzano confident about the Italian Championships next week. The first individual Olympic tickets will be awarded there. The South Tyrolean has already qualified for the Olympic Games with the 4x200 m freestyle relay - but without having the certainty of being there himself. Short course European Championships, final 200 m freestyle Pos Name Country Time 1. Dana's Rapsys LTU 1.41,12 min 2. Duncan Scott GBR +0,30 sec 3. Mikhail Vekovishchev RUS +0,40 4. James Guy GBR +0,99 5. Stefano Ballo ITA/Bozen +1,21 6. Filippo Megli ITA +1,65 7. Jack McMillan IRL +2,57 8. Jordan Sloan IRL +3,44

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Ballo's fabulous appearance: only the crowning glory is missing

Stefano Ballo surprised everyone at the European Short Course Championships in Glasgow - including himself. Only the coronation, i.e. a medal, was denied him.

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