Italian Long Course Nationals: Samuel Pizzetti Posts Second-Ranked Time; Federica Pellegrini Earns Third Title

RICCIONE, Italy, April 16. SEVERAL top 10 times went up on the scoreboard during the fourth day of swimming at the Italian Long Course nationals held in Riccione.

Samuel Pizzetti turned in the second-best time in the world in the men's 1500 free with a winning time of 14:56.47. Only Sun Yang has been faster with a sterling time of 14:42.52 in China. Yosuke Miyamoto, meanwhile, is the only other sub-15:00 man this year with a 14:57.56 from Japan. Rocco Potenza finished well back in second with a 15:12.77, while Luca Baggio placed third in 15:15.66.

Luca Dotto raced to victory in the men's 50 free with a top time of 22.04. That effort vaulted him to fifth in the world rankings behind Fred Bousquet (21.82), Alain Bernard (21.98), Stefan Nystrand (22.01) and Matt Abood (22.02). Marco Orsi placed second this evening in 22.26 to move into the top 15, while Lucio Spadaro rounded out the podium with a third-place 22.48.

Federica Pellegrini snatched a third freestyle victory for the meet with a 1:56.98 in the women's 200 free. She'd already triumphed in the 100 and 400 frees earlier this week. Her performance pushed her to sixth in the world rankings. Renata Fabiola Spagnolo placed a distant second in 2:00.35, while Alice Nesti earned third in 2:00.40.

Federico Turrini captured the men's 200 IM title in 2:00.54 to move into the top 20 in the world rankings. Davide Cova and Claudio Fossi tied for second with matching times of 2:20.69.

Arianna Barbieri nearly moved into the top 20 in the world rankings with a winning time of 28.70 in the women's 50 back. Elena Gemo placed second in 28.87, while Carlotte Zofkova wound up third in 29.30.

Chiara Boggiatto cruised to a win in the women's 50 breast with a 32.06. Erica Donadon earned second-place honors in 32.35, while Martina Carraro placed third in 32.47.

In relay action, Gemo (1:02.64), Giulia De Ascentis (1:10.53), Elena Di Liddo (1:00.68) and Pellegrini (54.54) captured the women's 400 medley relay crown in 4:08.39. Mirco Di Tora (54.27), Alberto Catalano (1:02.43), Joseph Davide Natullo (53.86) and Marco Orsi (48.52) snared the men's 400 medley relay title in 3:39.08.

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