Federica Pellegrini Posts 1:53.35 200 Free at Gran Premio Italia Day 1

GRAN PREMIO ITALIA

• Friday, Nov. 18 – Saturday, Nov. 19
• Massarosa, Italy
• Results
• Short Course Meters

Italian star Federica Pellegrini dominated the first two sessions of the Gran Premio Italia in Massarosa, Italy. This morning, she popped a 1:53.35 in the 200 free, picking up the win by over four seconds. That swim pins her for the #3 time in the world this year. During this afternoon’s session, in the 200 back, she won with a 2:04.14, also more than four seconds ahead of the next-best competitor. Though she’s not known for her backstroke, Pellegrini was within tenths of her 2:03.75 from 2013 that marks the Italian national record, and she wasn’t far outside of the world top 5, either.

Meanwhile, Gabriele Detti nearly cracked the world’s top 5 this season in the 400 free. He won over Matteo Ciampi (3:42.55) with a strong 3:40.90, which ranks him 6th in the world. Detti is coming off of a strong Olympic performance, which saw him earn bronze medals in both the 400m free and 1500m free. He’ll surely be a medal contender in both of those events at the upcoming FINA SCM World Championships next month in Windsor.

Meanwhile, in addition to Pellegrini, Silvia Di Pietro came away with two wins on day 1. In the 100 fly, she posted a 57.48 to defeat Italian record holder Iliara Bianchi (58.29). In the afternoon, Di Pietro scored her second win with a 24.27 in the 50 free to just nip Erika Ferraioli (24.30). That 24.27 puts Di Pietro just two hundredths outside of the top 5 in the world rankings.

Giacomo Carini came very close to breaking the Italian record in the 200 fly. The teenager’s time of 1:53.95 was just .23 off of the old record of 1:53.72. That old mark was set back in 2009 by Niccoló Beni, while Carini, who is just 19, set a new Italian 200 fly record in LCM this past summer.