Alberto Razzetti<\/strong> upgraded silver to gold as he claimed the 400IM title at the European Championships in Rome following a back-and-forth battle with three-time champion David Verraszto<\/strong>.<\/p>\n The Italian was second last time out in Budapest last year behind Ilya Borodin<\/strong> although the Russian isn\u2019t competing at the Foro Italico because of the ban following the invasion of Ukraine.<\/p>\n Neither is European record-holder Leon Marchand<\/strong> competing, the Frenchman who rattled Michael Phelps\u2019 world mark en-route to the world title in 4:04.28 in Budapest.<\/p>\n Verraszto qualified first from morning prelims as he sought his fourth long medley title after winning three straight golds in 2014, 2016 and 2018.<\/p>\n Razzetti traded the lead throughout with Verrazsto but ultimately the former secured a comfortable victory in 4:10.60 to the Hungarian’s 4:12.58 with Pier Andrea Matteazzi<\/strong> making it an Italy one-three in 4:13.29.<\/p>\n Razzetti made his intentions clear on the fly when he reached the 100 in 55.93 to Verraszto’s 57.10 only for the Hungarian to pull back the deficit on the backstroke.<\/p>\n He was ahead by 150, a lead he extended at 200, but Razzetti then responded on the breaststroke and he had reclaimed the lead at 250, followed by a superb turn which saw him with clear water.<\/p>\n It was Razzetti all the way by then and his victory was ultimately far more comfortable than had appeared would be the case.<\/p>\n He said:<\/p>\n \u201cMy time is normal. It wasn\u2019t that important, I thought I could go 4:09 but it doesn\u2019t matter.<\/p>\n “The goal was to finish first at the end, the pressure was tremendous here in Rome, in front of our fans.<\/p>\n “I did it, I\u2019m overjoyed. I know my rivals very well, I knew I had to stay close to them and stay focused for all the race.<\/p>\n “I did that, I gave my all and I\u2019m really happy to open the championships with a gold.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n It was a sixth medal in the event for Verraszto who has been on the podium every year since 2010 and he said:<\/p>\n \u201cThis is the reality today, a 4:15 in the morning, and a 4:12 in the afternoon, taking into account that in February I went on holiday to the Maldives, had a fine vacation and weighed 85kg (now 69).<\/p>\n “There I decided that I still had the will to go on, even after the disappointing fourth place at the Olympics.<\/p>\n “I trained in Austria with my former coach, and after we managed to find the common path, the last two months were real workouts and over the final three weeks I felt that things are coming together.<\/p>\n “This time is a sign that it\u2019s worth going on. After all, I managed to beat guys 10, 15 years younger than me.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n