National 50 back record for Niccolo Bonacchi to close Italian Nationals

Full results

Niccolo Bonacchi closed Italian Nationals with a bang, downing the national record in the men’s 50 back with the second fastest time in the world.

Bonacchi went 24.65 to knock a tenth off the Italian mark of 24.77 set by Mirco Di Tora in 2009. It also sits #2 in the world for 2014, behind only Aussie Ben Treffers.

While Bonacchi won the day’s shortest race, Aurora Ponsele won the longest in the very next event. Ponsele went 8:27.65 for the women’s 800 free crown, a time that sits 7th in the world this year. Second place went to national 1500 free champ Martina Rita Caramignoli in 8:38.66.

The session kicked off with the women’s 100 breast. Arianna Castiglione went 1:08.13 to beat out Ilaria Scarcella‘s 1:08.80 for the national title.

The men’s 200 fly was even closer. Francesco Pavone went 1:57.73, just .06 ahead of Matteo Pelizzari. Then the women sprinters kept the streak of tight races running, with Erika Ferraioli touching out Silvia Di Pietro for the 50 free crown 25.37 to 25.39.

In the men’s 200 breast, Luca Pizzini took home the title in 2:10.84, a time that now ranks 7th in the world for 2014.

Stefania Pirozzi took home the final women’s event of the meet, going 2:13.68 to win the 200 IM. That topped Luisa Trombetti by almost two seconds.

Finally, the meet closed with the men’s 200 free, where Andrea (Mitch) D’Arrigo nabbed the title, coming off his collegiate season with the Florida Gators. D’Arrigo went 1:47.18, a time that just sneaks into the top 10 in the world this year, sitting 10th, but just .05 out of 8th.