European Championships: Simona Quadarella Makes It a Three-Peat in 800 Freestyle

European Championships: Simona Quadarella Makes It a Three-Peat in 800 Freestyle

On a global scale, we all know about Katie Ledecky’s aura and dominance. She is the greatest distance swimmer in history, and perhaps the finest female performer to ever hit the water – challenged by only Tracy Caulkins‘ multi-event range. Simply, when it comes to what Ledecky has achieved, every box has been ticked.

In recent years, on a European scale, Italian Simona Quadarella deserves a nod for her excellence.

Battling with Germany’s Isabel Gose for much of the race, Quadarella claimed her third consecutive gold medal in the 800-meter freestyle on Friday night at the European Championships. Racing in her homeland at the Foro Italico in Rome, Quadarella edged away from Gose over the back half of the race and collected the gold medal in 8:20.54. The title accompanied victories in the event from the 2018 and 2021 editions of the competition. Gose picked up the silver medal in 8:22.01 while the bronze medal went to Turkey’s Merve Tuncel in 8:24.33.

The event marked the first of three pursuits this week by Quadarella of triples. She will also chase third straight crowns in the 400 freestyle and 1500 freestyle, and that reign only affirms her status as Europe’s premier distance swimmer. But because she just tripled in the 800 freestyle, let’s take a look at what the 23-year-old has pulled off in that event. On top of her three-peat in the event at the European Champs, appreciate these achievements:

2022 World Champs: Bronze
2020 Olympics: Bronze
2019 World Champs: Silver
No. 5 Performer of All-Time (8:14.99)

Obviously, consistency has been a trademark of Quadarella over the past few years. If there is a major competition, count on Quadarella showing up and putting forth a strong effort. In her latest European-title victory, she led wire-to-wire, but Gose was a factor for much of the race. Holding a .29 advantage over Gose at the midway point, Quadarella gradually extended her margin. The pair will meet again in the 400 freestyle, where Gose is likely to have her best chance at gold.

“I felt really good and it feels really great to be European champion again,” Quadarella said. “I wanted more, a better time. I heard the fans cheering and they carried me in the race over the last meters. This is my third consecutive gold in this race. It truly feels amazing and I’m really happy to win this race.”

By winning the last individual title of the night, Quadarella put the cap on a superb evening for the Italians. Before she stood on the top of the medals stand, Margherita Panziera (200 backstroke), Thomas Ceccon (50 butterfly) and Nicolo Martinenghi (100 breaststroke) captured European crowns.

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