By Giusy Cisale on SwimSwam
One day after the curtain fell on the 2025 World Championships in Singapore, Italian Olympic champion and world record holder Thomas Ceccon shared a raw and reflective message on Instagram that encapsulates both the physical toll and emotional intensity of elite sport.
A post shared by Ceccon Thomas (@ceccon_thomas)
The Post (Translated from Italian):
And after all this suffering, what remains? A few pictures? A medal, if you’re lucky? Swimming takes a lot from you, but gives you something worth even more: it puts you face to face with who you really are. It asks how much you really care, how much you’re willing to endure, how much effort you’re ready to swallow to get where you want.
It strips you down, isolates you, tests your mind.
And if you stay, if you keep going, it’s because there’s something burning inside you that’s stronger than fatigue.
In the end, only one truth remains: how much are you willing to give for what you truly want?
The words hit with the force of a backstroke turn off the wall—clean, sharp, and disarming.
For Ceccon, the 2025 World Championships didn’t end the way he had hoped. He leaves Singapore with three medals (silver in the men’s 100m back and men’s 4×100m free relay, and bronze in the men’s 50m fly), but no gold. No title. And, by his own admission, “that gold might’ve made the difference.”
In his final race, the 100 butterfly, he narrowly missed the podium, though he had set a new Italian record in the semifinals.
Earlier in the meet, he withdrew from the 50 backstroke, choosing to focus on that final. It was a calculated risk. It didn’t pay off in medals—but perhaps it did in perspective.
“I Win or… I Win”: A Pre-Meet Mindset
Before Singapore, Ceccon had spoken candidly with Emanuela Audisio of Italian la Repubblica, offering a glimpse into a man preparing to compete not just against the world, but against his own inner storms. “Forget the golden sheen of success,” he told her. “Forget the proud gaze of the champion who broke the water with that 51.60 in the 100 back.”
In the same interview, he described his time training in Australia, a four-month self-imposed exile where he found quiet routine, early mornings, canned tuna dinners, and the kind of mental reset only distance can bring. “I emptied my mind. I learned to care about others,” he said. “I needed silence.”
Between Love and Loneliness
It’s not just training logs and medal counts that Ceccon is willing to share. In the same interview, he spoke openly about emotional wounds—a recent breakup, therapy, and the hope to one day return home “to someone waiting for me.” He paid tribute to his father Loris, an overworked nurse who made double shifts to support his son’s journey, and to his brother Efrem, a former swimmer turned healthcare worker. “I started swimming because I wanted to be like him.”
Ceccon is also aware of the gaze that follows him outside the pool. On being asked if he considers himself a sex symbol, he replied sharply: “Let’s not exaggerate. I belong to myself, too.” A nod to the constant pressure, the double standards, and the need for athletes to preserve their own space—especially when their image often speaks louder than their voice.
A Champion Who Divides—but Demands Respect
In Italy, Ceccon inspires polarized opinions. To some, he is irreverent and unpredictable. To others, he is a rare genius in a generation. But whether loved or challenged, he is always respected—and not just because of the medals. His world record in the 100 backstroke (51.60) still stands. His versatility, competing in backstroke, butterfly, and relays at the highest level, sets him apart from his peers.
Singapore may not have crowned him, but Ceccon continues to lead—not only in the lanes, but also in how he confronts vulnerability, emotion, and failure. “Swimming tests your mind,” he wrote. But Ceccon tests us, too—inviting the swimming world to look deeper, past the podiums, into the quiet truths that lie beneath the surface.
Read the full story on SwimSwam: Thomas Ceccon’s Post-Worlds Reflection: Between Pain, Truth, and the Weight of Expectation
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