Simona Quadarella and Thomas Ceccon won silver yesterday in the 1500-meter and 100-meter backstroke events, respectively, on the third day of the 20th World Championships in Fukuoka, which run through July 30 at the Marine Messe. It thus adds to Italnuoto's medal collection, which already includes a gold and four silvers. Nicolò Martinenghi finishes second in the 50-breaststroke final, following rising Chinese star Qin Haiyang. "Beautiful, beautiful, this medal - exclaims enthusiastically the 24-year-old Roman and queen of the European middle-distance race Simona Quadarella - I'm overjoyed, and I wanted it so badly. It is my first silver medal in a 1500-meter international competition; I have won the others. This race is my first love, which began in Budapest in 2017 with a bronze medal, and over the years I've consistently improved. I wanted to get back on the right track after coming in fifth at the Olympics in Tokyo and the World Championships in Budapest. Consistency has always defined me, and this podium is crucial. I was very nervous before the race; I did not live very well in the minutes before the race, but the anxiety vanished as soon as I entered the water. I went on the offensive immediately and distributed the energies effectively. Maintaining such a high standard for an extended period of time requires a lot of training as well as a lot of mental balance." However, a silver medal won in a comeback, that of 22-year-old Thomas Ceccon, who loses the title of the 100-backstroke to American Ryan Murphy - Olympic bronze in Tokyo - who wins in 52 "22. "I swam worse than yesterday - says Ceccon - I'm happy for the medal, which is still a world silver, but I know I made mistakes. I felt good in the water, and even though I was defending my title, I didn't feel particularly stressed. Possibly, I am not accustomed to competing in a central position, close to opponents who wish to defeat me. I perform better from the side. I accept being second best, rather than second fastest, because I recognize my defeat". With this silver, Thomas Ceccon becomes the third Italian swimmer to reach the world podium at least six times in the long pool, passing Massimiliano Rosolino (5); ahead of him are Gregorio Paltrinieri (8) and Federica Pellegrini (11), but he has time and quality to catch them. Furthermore, for the first time in the history of Italian long-course swimming, Ceccon was able to reach the podium three times in two world championships: Stefano Battistelli and Giorgio Lamberti in Perth 1991 and Nicolò Martinenghi in Budapest 2022 have succeeded in a single edution. However, this World Cup isn't even halfway over yet.
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