By Retta Race on SwimSwam
2026 ITALIAN OPEN SHORT COURSE CHAMPIONSHIPS Thursday, November 12th – Saturday, November 24th Riccione, ITA SCM (25m) Entries Day 1 Recap Live ResultsDay two of the 2026 Italian Open Short Course Championships was completed in Riccione, with swimmers not already qualified vying for Short Course World Championships selection.
Lorenzo Mora got the job done in the men’s 50m backstroke, stopping the clock at a speedy outing of 22.75. That not only cleared the 22.89 qualification time needed for Beijing, but it also came within just .10 of his personal best of 22.65 set at the 2022 Short Course World Championships.
Michele Lamberti was immediately behind, hitting 22.79 to also make the grade, falling only .17 outside his own national record of 22.62 established in Kazan in 2021.
Gianluca Andolfi rounded out tonight’s podium in 23.25.
28-year-old Mora is an 11-time Short Course World Championships medalist, with his resume including a 50m back silver at the 2021 edition in Abu Dhabi.
Mora now ranks 9th in the world this season.
19-year-old Carlos D’Ambrosio posted the fastest time in the men’s 100m freestyle, registering a performance of 46.41 to top the podium.
He was followed by Lorenzo Zazzeri, who delivered a time of 46.42, as Leonardo Deplano bagged the bronze in 46.87.
The men needed at least a mark of 46.09 to earn Beijing qualification, although D’Ambrosio already qualified via his European Championships performance.
After the race, D’Ambrosio told the Italian Swimming Federation, “I didn’t prepare for the Italian Championships to focus on the World Championships. I can’t say what the time is like. For me, it’s good, considering it’s the second race of the year.”
The women’s 100m backstroke final saw 24-year-old Giulia D’Innocenzo upgrade her silver in last night’s 100m free to gold in this event.
D’Innocenzo put up a podium-topping performance of 57.56 to hold off Martina Biasioli, who was also under the 58-second barrier in 57.75.
Chiara Lamanna also landed on the podium in 58.38, good enough for bronze.
D’Innocenzo came within .01 of her lifetime best and was just over a second off the QT of 56.59.
After dealing with injury, national record holder Sara Franceschi crushed the 2nd-best 400m IM time of her career en route to gold.
The 27-year-old 2022 Short Course World Championships silver medalist hit 4:29.12, clearing the 4:29.9 needed for Beijing.
The next-closest competitor was Giada Alzetta, who registered 4:31.17, with Sofia Napoli earning the bronze in 4:33.43.
Post-race, Franceschi told the Italian Swimming Federation, “I want to thank my father, who always encouraged me not to give up. He knew I would get back to this level. Finally, a great 400m IM medal came along, and I’ve been chasing it for a long time.”
Finally, 24-year-old Emma Virginia Menicucci took charge of the women’s 100m freestyle, ripping a podium-topping effort of 52.06.
Splitting 25.03/27.03, Menicucci obliterated her former lifetime best of 52.87 to dip under the SC Worlds QT of 52.29.
She was the only one to do so tonight, as 15-year-old Alessandra Mao settled for silver in 53.40 and Matilde Biagiotti touched in 53.81 for bronze.
Menicucci said after her lifetime best swim, “I can’t believe my first Italian came in a short course, which isn’t really my cup of tea. Tonight everything was perfect. I’m happier than ever.”
Additional Notes
The men’s 200m butterfly was without Alberto Razzetti, which left Andrea Camozzi to get the gold, putting up a time of 1:51.18. He got to the wall well ahead of his peers, with Gianmarco Foglia snagging the silver in 1:53.98, followed by Andrea Trevisan, who touched in 1:54.32. The men were chasing a qualification time of 1:50.69 to make the squad for Beijing. Anita Gastaldi has already qualified for Beijing, but she dove in for the women’s 100m fly tonight and took gold in a solid swim of 57.38. Costanza Cocconcelli was right behind in 57.58 and Sofia Sartori logged 57.67 as the bronze medalist. Simone Spediacci turned in a lifetime best en route to gold in the men’s 400m IM. He touched in 4:03.44 to knock just under a second off his former best-ever outing of 4:03.44. He needed at least 4:01.49, however, to earn a SC Worlds berth. Benedetta Pilato, already qualified for Beijing, delivered the sole outing of the women’s 50m breaststroke field under the 30-second barrier. The Olympian hit 29.38, with the next-closest swimmer represented by Arianna Castiglioni, who notched 30.22. Simone Cerasuolo proved too quick to catch in the men’s version of the 50m breast, posting 25.81 to hold a narrow advantage over Gabriele Mancini, who scored 25.98. Olympic champion Nicolo Martinenghi was also on the podium in 26.04, good enough for bronze. Cerasuolo and Martinenghi have already booked their tickets to Beijing. 27-year-old Olympic medalist Simona Quadarella dominated the women’s 800m free, clocking 8:08.84 to get to the wall six seconds ahead of the pack. She commented after her swim, “I’m feeling good, and the journey we’re on with Gianluca (Belfiore),” Quadarella explained, “is going perfectly. At the world championships, I intend to compete in the 400, 800, and 1500 freestyle.” Luca De Tullio fell short of SC Worlds qualification in the men’s 800m free. He nabbed gold in 7:33.55 but needed to at least get under the 7:31.79 barrier.Read the full story on SwimSwam: Italian SC Championships: Menicucci Delivers 100 Free Personal Best To Qualify for SC Worlds
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