{"id":428564,"date":"2020-04-24T01:00:18","date_gmt":"2020-04-24T08:00:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=428564"},"modified":"2020-07-12T08:22:13","modified_gmt":"2020-07-12T15:22:13","slug":"federica-pellegrini-doing-it-for-the-love-of-the-sport","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/federica-pellegrini-doing-it-for-the-love-of-the-sport\/","title":{"rendered":"Federica Pellegrini Doing It “For the Love of the Sport”"},"content":{"rendered":"

There is no denying that Federica <\/em>Pellegrini is the greatest 200 <\/em>freestyler in history. What makes <\/em>her illustrious career so special is <\/em>her approach to swimming: she\u2019s <\/em>simply doing what she loves. This article appeared in the April 2020 issue of Swimming World Magazine<\/a>. It was written before the coronavirus postponed the Olympics back a whole year.<\/em><\/p>\n

Italy\u2019s Federica Pellegrini<\/strong> has held the world record in the women\u2019s 200 meter freestyle for more than a decade now, with her 1:52.98 shiny-suit standard still standing from 2009. An Olympic gold medalist in 2008, she has also medaled at every single World Championships since she was 17 in 2005.<\/p>\n

And she just keeps getting better and better.<\/p>\n

A couple of weeks before her 31st birthday last year, Pellegrini won the 200 free gold medal at the World Championships in Gwangju, South Korea<\/a>. It was her fourth World title in the event, adding to her gold medals won in 2009, 2011 and 2017. And it was the fastest she had ever swum in a textile suit.<\/p>\n

Her winning time of 1:54.22 was a huge surprise to her. Even with all her success in the 200 and all of the accolades she had received, she had contemplated many times in 2018 if she would even still be competitive internationally in that event.<\/p>\n

It seems silly in retrospect. Pellegrini was the reigning World champ from 2017 when she became the first person to take down Katie Ledecky<\/strong><\/a> in that final in Budapest. After that race, she insisted that she was done competing in the 200 and that she would take up the 100 freestyle.<\/p>\n

DECISION TIME<\/h3>\n

But her 100 free results were not as strong. And she went back and forth on whether she would still want to swim the 200 at Gwangju. Then a month before Worlds, she swam at the Sette Colli international meet in Rome, site of where she set her world record a decade earlier.<\/p>\n

\u201cI swam a 1:55.3, and it exceeded my expectations,\u201d Pellegrini said of that race in June 2019. \u201cAt that moment, we decided to swim the 200 freestyle at the World Championships. Until then, we didn\u2019t know if I could be competitive in the 200.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even though she was the reigning champion and world record holder, she wasn\u2019t the favorite heading into Gwangju. Instead, all of the attention was focused<\/a> on the Australian duo of Emma McKeon<\/strong> and Ariarne Titmus<\/strong>, who had both swum 1:54s a month earlier. Ledecky and Sweden\u2019s Sarah Sjostrom<\/strong> were also considered among the favorites since they finished 1-2 at the Rio Olympics.<\/p>\n

Then there was Canada\u2019s Taylor Ruck<\/strong>, who had the fastest time in the world in 2018, and France\u2019s Charlotte Bonnet<\/strong> was the reigning European champion. Needless to say, Pellegrini was hardly on anybody\u2019s radar.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had no expectations and no pressure at all,\u201d Pellegrini admitted, \u201cbecause everybody was talking about Titmus, Ledecky, Sjostrom, McKeon. I was off the radar, so that was a good point for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

AN INCREDIBLE RACE<\/h3>\n
\"Federica

Federica Pellegrini celebrates her 200 free gold in 2019. Photo Courtesy: Patrick B. Kraemer<\/p><\/div>\n

The 200 free was shaping up to be one of the marquee events of the World Championships, but illness affected Ledecky and McKeon, and the two medal contenders withdrew from the race before the heats even started. McKeon had the second fastest time in the world before the meet, and Ledecky had her impressive pedigree across the longer distances. Losing two medal contenders right before the heats didn\u2019t deter Pellegrini in the slightest.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was focused on trying to perform my best,\u201d Pellegrini said. \u201cThe day before, Ledecky wasn\u2019t (at her best) for the 1500, and she didn\u2019t swim the final. But if you start thinking about someone else besides yourself, it doesn\u2019t work well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even without those two, it was still an incredibly fast final. The top four all swam under 1:55, with Titmus winning the silver (1:54.66)\u2014just 44-hundredths behind Pellegrini\u2014and Sjostrom the bronze (1:54.78). Hong Kong\u2019s Siobhan Haughey<\/strong> added her name to the mix with a 1:54.98, just missing the podium.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was incredibly happy with what I swam,\u201d Pellegrini said, acknowledging just how fast the race was.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cTitmus\u2014she just got the gold medal in the 400 freestyle, so she was in incredible condition. And Sjostrom was the silver medalist in 2016 in Rio, so everything was going perfectly for me.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was feeling incredibly good when I touched and looked at the scoreboard. Swimming a 1:54.2 was really amazing for me\u2014especially since I\u2019m almost 31 and I just swam my best…and the sensation I had during the race. That was an incredible thing.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would like to have that same feeling every time I jump into the water\u2014hopefully again a few more times.\u201d<\/p>\n