Reported by James Sutherland.
MEN’S 1500 FREE FINAL
- World Record (WR):14:31.02 – Sun Yang, 2012
- World Junior Record (WJ): 14:51.55 – Mack Horton, 2014
- European Record (ER): 14:34.04 – Gregorio Paltrinieri, 2016
- European Junior Record (EJ): 14:48.92 Target Time
- Championship Record (CR): 14:34.04 – Gregorio Paltrinieri, 2016
- Florian Wellbrock, GER, 14:36.15
- Mykhailo Romanchuk, UKR, 14:36.88
- Gregorio Paltrinieri, ITA, 14:42.85
Gregorio Paltrinieri came in as the big favorite in the men’s 1500, having won three consecutive European titles, but it was not his night. He fell off the pace of Florian Wellbrock and Mykhailo Romanchuk around the 1000 metre mark, and the German and Ukrainian took off in the battle for gold.
Wellbrock maintained a slight lead throughout the last 500, and out-split Romanchuk on the final 100 (including a 26.99 final 50) to win in a new German Record of 14:36.15, lowering his 14:40.69 from earlier this year. Romanchuk snuck under his Ukrainian Record for silver in 14:36.88, and Paltrinieri settled for bronze in 14:42.85.
Wellbrock and Romanchuk’s swims stack us as the 8th and 9th fastest performances ever, and Wellbrock takes over 4th fastest perfomrer all-time from Romanchuk as he falls to 5th.
Impressively, the entire field was sub-15:00, with Paltrinieri’s Italian teammate Domenico Acerenza(14:51.88) in for 4th.
Maybe I’m dumb but why is he speaking English? Is English kind of the default language spoken at European events since there are so many languages between the countries?
Maybe because the interviewer was asking him questions in English and he can speak English?
I’m no Italian, but if an Italian TV interview me in Italian and I can speak Italian (I don’t), I would definitely answer in Italian, too.
Didn’t Paltrinieri spend months training with Horton in Australia? I’m sure he is comfortable speaking in English, as evidenced by this interview.
Why not just admit not winning a race instead of excuses? Much more respectable.
If he didn’t say anything people would attack and claim “his career is over”. He says something and people attack him for making excuses, it’s a lose-lose situation
Yeah excuses… first of all the news broke well before the race (in the morning in Italy there were the possibility of a withdraw) then it’s quite clear: 3.53 at 400 and 7.50 at 800, when healty he is a clock 3.50 at 400 and 7.45 at 800.
In the 800 he will bounce back.
He reckoned the great races both Wellbrock and Romanchuk swam. Just disappointed to not have swum at his best, but he knows that it would have been a very difficult race also without the slight fever he’s had in the latest days.
It’s that same 12 hour virus Schooling had at 2017 NCAAs