2026 Italian Championships: Bottazzo and Pilato Set Up 50 Breast Battle In Day 5 Prelims ...Middle East

By Sam Blacker on SwimSwam

We are now onto the final day of the 2026 Italian Championships, with this marking the first of two selection meets for the European Championships to be held in Paris this summer. Swimmers will also have the opportunity to qualify at the Sette Colli in June, but after an update to the qualifying procedure this year can lock up their spot by winning their event faster than the mandated qualification time.

Anita Bottazzo and Benedetta Pilato will lock horns in the women’s 50 breast final tonight, after four swimmers broke 31 seconds this morning. Bottazzo will be in lane 4 thanks to her 30.41, 0.27 seconds ahead of Benedetta Pilato‘s 30.68 to claim lane 5.

The European Championships qualification time stands at 30.40, so both Bottazzo and Pilato will need to drop time this evening. Neither swimmer has qualified for the meet so far.

Bottazzo moves up to 6th in the world this year, with Pilato in 10th after clocking 30.48 in February.

2025-2026 LCM Women 50 BREAST

Irene Mati broke 31 seconds for the first time in 3rd with a time of 30.87, slicing 0.13 off her entry time of 31.00 to move to 5th all-time among Italian women. Lisa Angiolini, who has won both the 100 breast and 200 breast so far this week including setting a new Italian record in the latter, was 4th in 30.97.

Arianna Castiglioni, the second-fastest Italian women in history with her time of 29.91 from the 2022 European Championships, was 5th in 31.39.

Simone Cerasuolo, the world champion in the men’s 50 breast, claimed the top seed by 0.14 seconds in 27.00, just ahead of Flavio Mangiamele‘s 27.14. That marked a 0.40 second PB for the Turin-based swimmer, moving him up to become the 9th-fastest Italian man in history.

Cerasuolo notably set a huge best time in the 100 breast on day 2 of these championships, breaking 59 seconds for the first time. The 58.82 he swam is the 3rd-fastest by an Italian man and ranked him 2nd in the world so far this season, now bumped to 3rd after Van Mathias‘ 58.19 at the Bergen Swim Festival.

Federico Poggio, the 100 breast silver medalist, was 3rd in 27.50, 0.54 seconds off his best from the 2024 Sette Colli.

Simona Quadarella will be in lane 4 in the women’s 400 free tonight after cruising to the top seed in 4:11.39. She has won the 800 free and 1500 free so far, hitting the qualification time for the European Championships in both events, and placed 3rd in the 200 free in 1:58.23.

Bianca Nannucci, the 200 free champion, was 2nd in 4:12.02, with 800 free bronze medalist Noemi Cesarano 4th in 4:12.43. Cesarano’s twin sister Antonietta was 6th in 4:13.91, so will swim next to Noemi in the final tonight.

Emanuele Potenza was the only man under 4:20 in the men’s 400 IM, leading 200 IM champion Jacopo Barbotti‘s 4:21.02 for the top seed for tonight’s final. Potenza was off his PB of 4:15.45 from the European U23 Championships last summer.

Barbotti, who has broken out at this meet in winning the 200 IM and taking 2nd in the 200 free, will be gunning for another swim at the European Championships here. He was just over a second off the lifetime best 4:19.92 he posted last month, but dropped two seconds from the 200 IM time he posted at that meet. The time he will be aiming for is a stiff 4:14.80 however, so a huge drop tonight would be required.

National record Alberto Razzetti was a no-show in the event, having already locked up his qualification for the European Championships in the 200 fly. He placed 12th at the Singapore World Championships in 4:14.52 last summer, and won European Short Course gold in December.

Alessia Bianchi was the fastest woman in the 200 back this morning, posting 2:12.47 to lead top seed and 100 back champ Federica Toma by 0.74 seconds. Aurora Velati, who took bronze in the 100 back after dropping a second from her PB, was 4th this morning in 2:13.70, just off her best of 2:13.48.

National record holder Silvia Di Pietro led the women’s 50 fly in 26.33, just under a second off her PB of 25.49 from the Singapore World Championships last summer. She will need a time of 25.90 or better to add this event to her schedule for the European Championships, having already hit the qualification standard in the 50 free.

Sara Curtis was 2nd in 26.52, a lifetime best by 0.44 seconds, as she seeks her fourth title this week. Viola Scotto Di Carlo, the only Italian woman besides Di Pietro to have broken 26 seconds, was 4th in 26.67.

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