By Terin Frodyma on SwimSwam
67th SETTE COLLI TROPHY
Friday, June 26th – Sunday, June 28th Prelims at 9am local (3am ET)/A-Finals at 7pm local (1pm ET) Foro Italico, Rome, Italy Meet Central Entry List Live Results Prelims LivestreamThe 67th Sette Colli Trophy gets underway tomorrow in Rome, and with it, a loaded field full of major names within the sport. AS the racing gets going, here are a few storylines to keep in the back of your mind.
Even without Sjostrom, the Women’s Sprint Field Appears Elite
Among the biggest names leading up to this meet, Sarah Sjostrom, one of the fastest women in the water in history, does not appear on the entry lists, which is a major bummer. But that is not to say that the events she would likely have swum in are not still loaded to the brim with competitiveness and talent.
Leading the way is American sprint phenom Gretchen Walsh, who is about as close to an immovable force in the women’s 100 fly as anybody in any event currently is, recently rebreaking her own world record in the event by two tenths of a second in Ft Lauderdale in 54.33, she is among the biggest names at this meet, and without Sjostrom, could be considered the biggest on the women’s side. Walsh is also entered in the 50 free, 100 fly, and 50 fly, none of which come as any surprise. Following the Indianapolis Pro Swim Series, the 50 free may be a key event to focus on; what many will remember about that race is Kate Douglass shockingly breaking the world record in 23.59, but under the radar went Walsh, swimming 23.78, a lifetime best, and ranking her tied for 5th all-time in the event.
Also in the fields is red-hot Marrit Steenbergen, who made massive headlines in the 100 free earlier this season on the Mare Nostrum Tour in Canet, where she clocked 51.86 in the 100 free to surpass American Anna Moesch as the 2nd fastest performer ever in the event, only trailing the aforementioned Sjostrom in 51.71. Steenbergen has always been a name to keep an eye on, but within the last month, she has elevated her status from ‘major-player’ status to now being a ‘can’t-miss-superstar’.
We will also be treated to several other stellar names set to race, including the elite Hong Kong freestyle talents of Siobhan Haughey, the rising Italian ace Sara Curtis, the versatile Roos Vanotterdijk, and German standout Angelina Koehler, which is just scratching the surface of strong names in these races.
Who will be the Next Men’s Freestylers to Make their Mark this Season?
This season has already been a wild one in the men’s freestyle events, especially the sprint disciplines. Headlining the craziness has been Cam McEvoy‘s 20.88 50 free world record, while Russian standout Egor Kornev threw down several wild times at the Russian Swimming Nationals earlier this month, including a 21.06 50 free, and a world-leading 46.96 100 free.
With still several big meets yet to take place, the question remains: who will be the next to take over this season?
Based on the talent at this meet, the finger can easily be pointed at Olympic Champion David Popovici. The Romanian superstar has only entered three events: the 50, 100, and 200 freestyles, but his impact will be felt most on the 100 and 200 free, where he currently ranks 6th and 17th in the world, though both rankings do not do his ability justice. We have just not had the Popovici headline swim yet this season, and that wait could be coming to an end.
Another name more commonly associated with backstroke is Kliment Kolesnikov, who is coming off a strong showing at the Russian National Championships. He is entered in all three sprint free disciplines. Kolesnikov is among the planet’s most elite talents in between the lanelines, and there is no question that when he is racing, he is among the biggest threats to make some noise. With deep racing fields around him, this could be a great opportunity to get himself into the mix on the freestyle side.
Also in attendance are a few veteran talents looking to keep the younger swimmers at bay: Italian Leonardo Deplano (top seed in the 50 free at 21.52) and Israeli Meiron Cheruti. In addition to the experience, there are a few of the fastest freestylers the NCAA has ever seen in Gui Caribe and Jere Hribar.
World Record Holders Thomas Ceccon and Kristof Milak are looking to run the Table in Rome.
Two of the competition’s biggest stars, Olympic Champions and World Record holders Thomas Ceccon (Italy) and Kristof Milak (Hungary), will be looking to continue their dominance atop their respective events throughout their time in Rome.
Ceccon is set to race four events: the 100 free, 50 back, 100 back, and 100 fly. The clear main event for Ceccon is the 100 back, the event in which he holds the all-time fastest time in 51.60. That is not to say that this race will be a clear win for the Italian, as this season Ceccon ranks only 9th in the world with a 53.16, a second and a half slower than his world record. The current top time is held by Chinese backstroker Xu Jiayu in 52.39. Ceccon is currently the fastest performer in the world not to have broken 53 this season. He will have the event field to help push him; most notably, Apostolos Christou of Greece is the 5th-fastest swimmer in this event in the world this season, with a time of 52.53. Also in the event is Ireland’s John Shortt, who sits just behind Ceccon in the world rankings this season in 53.17.
Milak comes into this meet as the top performer in the world this season in the 100 fly, with a 50.22 he swam at the Hungarian National Championships in April, marking the 7th-fastest time of his career. Milak is also set to swim the 50 free, where he sits 5th at 21.76, a best time he also swam at the Hungarian National Championships, in addition to the 100 free and 50 fly. There will be no 200 fly at this meet for Milak, but his presence could be the sign of some fast swimming to come.
One event in which both Milak and Ceccon share is the 100 fly, though neither of them holds the top entered time; that honor goes to the Swiss speedster Noe Ponti. Ponti’s entered time is the only one under 50 seconds in 49.83. Milak sits 2nd on the entry list with a 50.22, and Ceccon is 3rd with a 50.42. This race, with this trio of talent, may be among the biggest races of the meet.
Breaststroke Stars in Alignment
The breaststroke events in Rome are set to be some of the biggest of the season up to this point. On the men’s side, Olympic Champions Adam Peaty and Nicolo Martinenghi head the men’s side, while Ireland’s Mona McSharry and Italy’s Benedetta Pilato lead the way for the women.
Peaty and Martinenghi make up a bulk of the superstar-level talent on the men’s side, especially when looking at the Olympic hardware between them. Unsurprisingly, Peaty is the top seed in both the 50 and 100 breast races, while Martinenghi sits just behind Peaty in the 100 at 58.58. In that 100 breast, the top 15 swimmers are all entered under 1:00, making this one of the fastest 100 breast events of the season up to this point.
Dutch star Caspar Corbeau leads the 200 breast in 2:07.73, the only swimmer in the field with an entry time under 2:09.3. That space is not reflected nearly as much on the women’s side, as the top seven in the event are separated by about a second and a half, the same as Corbeau from the rest of the men’s field. Taking the top time in the women’s entry list is McSharry, followed by Italy’s Lisa Angiolini and American Alex Walsh, as well as Lithuanian Kotryna Teterekova, the four women under 2:23 in the event.
The women’s sprint breaststroke events are set to be very tight and heavily contested, with Pilato, Florine Gaspard, McSharry, Walsh, Yulia Efimova, and Angiolini all vying to make their mark in stacked events that could see any of those names come out on top of the final results.
Read the full story on SwimSwam: Four Storylines to Follow at the 2026 Sette Colli Trophy
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