Thomas Ceccon becomes a legend with Olympic victory

24 hours after Nicolò Martinenghi, Italy's swimmers are celebrating their next Olympic victory: Thomas Ceccon won his favorite event and became a legend at just 23 years of age.

July 29, 2024

From: leo

He had already held the world championship title since 2022. He also holds the world record for 100 meters backstroke. The only thing missing was the Olympic victory. The man from Veneto has now ticked that off his list. Ceccon won with a time of 52,00 seconds ahead of the Chinese Jiayu Xu (52,32) and the American Ryan Murphy (52,39).

As in the semi-final, Xu showed that he had the best start of all his competitors. The Chinese rider explosively took the lead - after a length, Ceccon was still a good three tenths of a second behind Xu. However, 25 meters before the finish, the Italian stepped it up a notch, started his inimitable final sprint and ultimately won by a clear margin. Ceccon, who is very popular in Italy not least because of his charisma, then showed his emotional side. No wonder, since he had just fulfilled his childhood dream.

Pilato in bad luck

The Italian swimming evening was almost made even sweeter by a medal from Benedetta Pilato. The 19-year-old missed bronze in the 100-meter breaststroke by a measly 0,01 seconds. Gold went to Tatjana Smith from South Africa, ahead of Tang Qianting (China) and Mona McSharry (Ireland).

Won silver: Filippo Macchi © ANSA / CIRO FUSCO

The second medal of the day went to foil fencer Filippo Macchi - and it was a surprise. The 22-year-old from Tuscany won the European championship title last year, but was only seeded 11th in Paris. Macchi, however, literally stormed through the field, knocking out the second-seeded American Nick Itkin in the semifinals and only having to admit defeat to Ka Long Cheung from Hong Kong in the final. The reigning Olympic champion was already 2:12 behind, but ultimately won 14:15. After that, fierce controversy broke out because Macchi felt betrayed. But the result did not change.

Schlagwörter: Watersports Swimming Thomas Cecon