World Championships, Day Four Finals: Simone Cerasuolo Captures First World Title in 50 Breaststroke with Perfect Finish
In a final packed with speed but missing some familiar faces, it was Italy’s Simone Cerasuolo who rose to the occasion. After leading prelims and qualifying second through the semifinals, the 20-year-old Italian delivered a picture-perfect finish to claim his first gold medal in the men’s 50-meter breaststroke at the World Championships in Singapore.
Cerasuolo’s time of 26.54 was about a tenth slower than his prelim swim (26.42), but still enough to beat the rest of the field. The win marks Italy’s first gold in the event at the World Champs and is one of six medals captured by Italy in Singapore.
With Great Britain’s Adam Peaty and American Nic Fink absent from this year’s World Championships, the field in the breaststroke sprint was wide open. Eyes were on China’s Qin Haiyang, who claimed gold in the 100-meter breaststroke earlier this week. Qin entered the final as the top seed after clocking 26.52 in the semifinals, yet he wasn’t able to replicate that speed in the 50 distance. Cerasuolo was strong from the start and carried his momentum into the finish.
“It is amazing for me,” Cerasuolo said. “This win is unbelievable, and this race was very crazy, so I am happy for this win. I thought of doing the right things. I just thought about myself and my opponents. And that was it. I am happy to have taken the gold medal home. (I feel) lots of happiness. It’s a dream come true. I don’t know what to say. At the moment, I am a bit confused but I told myself, ‘Finally, I made it’”.
Russia’s Kirill Prigoda claimed silver with a time of 26.62, with Qin taking the bronze in 26.67.
With his title, Cerasuolo added to a strong tradition in the breaststroke events for Italy. Last summer, Nicolo Martinenghi won the gold medal in the 100 breaststroke at the Olympic Games in Paris. Through the years, the likes of Domenico Fioravanti, Loris Facci and Fabio Scozzoli have medaled in breaststroke events in international competition.
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