World Water Sports Championships: Silver medal for Italy's Merisi, Frigo and Conte Boonen

At the World Aquatic Sports Championships currently being held in Doha (Qatar), the swimming competitions began and Italy immediately rose to the podium thanks to the men's 4 x 100 meter freestyle relay.

The blue quartet formed by Fiamme oro holders Alessandro Merisi, Manuel Frigo and Paolo Conte Boonen, along with blue Lorenzo Zazzeri, won the silver medal behind China, ahead of the USA team at the finish line.

The Italian national team, which has already qualified for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, was able to assert itself on the second step of the podium, having already won in Fukuoka 2023, despite the absence of the Crimson Champion Tomas Cicon, who is still suffering from rehabilitation after an injury to his hand. . Immediately last December.

The Azzurri swam with excellent body parts, finishing the final in a time of 3:12:08, but China had the hat saved by the sensational performance of Zhanli Pan who stopped the clock in the first break at 46:80 (a new world record). ), allowing his team to take a lead that remained unassailable until the end, despite trying to come back in the middle stages.

In the end, China rose to the top of the podium with a time of 3:11:08, followed by Italy, which finished with a time of 3:12:08, ahead of the United States (3:12:29).

“We worked even without Thomas Ceccon – said Merisi immediately after the race – an excellent relay. In my part, I could have done a little more, but I did not expect the world record. I made some mistakes, but overall we gave a performance “Well, another silver medal here, better than anywhere else.”

Sergio Fufo