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The start of pool swimming arrived. The first day I spent the whole day at the Swimming Stadium: between the morning and afternoon sessions there were diving competitions. I was with my family, we arrived a little late, after the heats of the first race. Most of the stands were full. It was awfully hot, someone in the stands said "if they let me enter the water on the condition of diving from 10 meters, I would accept". I wouldn't have done it, maximum 5. In a break, at the bar we found Di Biasi behind us: he's shorter than I imagined.
The heats were disappointing for Italy: Rosolino in the 400 freestyle came 13th -14th, the breaststroke swimmers remained out of the semifinals and also the men's 4X100fs did not enter the final. Next to me was an Imola swimming group, protesting that their member Fabio Scozzoli had not been selected: he had been the first Italian to swim below one minute in the 100 breaststroke shortly before, be he had done it too late.
In the afternoon Biedermann won the 400 freestyle in 3:40.07, beating Thorpe's record by one hundreth: his record still stands. It was the era of rubber swimsuits, "rubber dinghies with horses power", as Rosolino would say years later. It was necessary to specify which swimsuit an athlete wore, such as for skis or tires for motor sports. There were grotesque effects: a celebration was planned, with music, for world records, but it had become a routine thing, it could also be heard for 3-4 races in a row. In some races the record was beaten in both semi-finals and then also in the final. We are not talking about the championship records, which were already beaten in the heats. Another consequence of this situation was that it was no longer clear how much a time was worth: performances that were exceptional a couple of years ago became mediocre. The most striking case for us was in the women's 4X200fs heats, where the performance in the first three legs, later saved by Pellegrini, was considered very disappointing: 5 years earlier it would have been a time near the world record.
During the week I went to see the afternoon sessions after work. It was always hot and on the way back the traffic was terrible. I saw the four Italian medals, all women's: it began with Filippi's gold in 1500. Too bad that later she had problems and retired early, I really liked her so much, even physically. Then there was the splendid double win by Pellegrini: 200 with the record still in force and 400 in which she was the first below 4 '. Filippi also won the bronze medal in the 800, while the two together arrived not far from the podium in the women's 4X200: for the bronze a performance by Pellegrini comparable to that of the individual race would have been needed, but she could not always make miracles.
For the rest they were disappointing World Championships: many who were expected at least to qualify for the final stopped in the semifinals. It was especially sad the decline of Rosolino, out of the semi-finals in the 200 and not as expected in the relay. And we thought that the Roloino of would almost certainly have won thegold in the 400: it was estimated that its 3:43.40 was worth a time under 3'40" with the rubber swimsuit. I thought he would have retired instead he went on for another 3 years.
I didn't see the last two days: I missed Colbertaldo's 4th place in the 1500 and Marin's race (eliminated in the 400 mixed heats), which had a record of two WCH medals, but was cited only as Pellegrini's boyfriend.
The heats were disappointing for Italy: Rosolino in the 400 freestyle came 13th -14th, the breaststroke swimmers remained out of the semifinals and also the men's 4X100fs did not enter the final. Next to me was an Imola swimming group, protesting that their member Fabio Scozzoli had not been selected: he had been the first Italian to swim below one minute in the 100 breaststroke shortly before, be he had done it too late.
In the afternoon Biedermann won the 400 freestyle in 3:40.07, beating Thorpe's record by one hundreth: his record still stands. It was the era of rubber swimsuits, "rubber dinghies with horses power", as Rosolino would say years later. It was necessary to specify which swimsuit an athlete wore, such as for skis or tires for motor sports. There were grotesque effects: a celebration was planned, with music, for world records, but it had become a routine thing, it could also be heard for 3-4 races in a row. In some races the record was beaten in both semi-finals and then also in the final. We are not talking about the championship records, which were already beaten in the heats. Another consequence of this situation was that it was no longer clear how much a time was worth: performances that were exceptional a couple of years ago became mediocre. The most striking case for us was in the women's 4X200fs heats, where the performance in the first three legs, later saved by Pellegrini, was considered very disappointing: 5 years earlier it would have been a time near the world record.
During the week I went to see the afternoon sessions after work. It was always hot and on the way back the traffic was terrible. I saw the four Italian medals, all women's: it began with Filippi's gold in 1500. Too bad that later she had problems and retired early, I really liked her so much, even physically. Then there was the splendid double win by Pellegrini: 200 with the record still in force and 400 in which she was the first below 4 '. Filippi also won the bronze medal in the 800, while the two together arrived not far from the podium in the women's 4X200: for the bronze a performance by Pellegrini comparable to that of the individual race would have been needed, but she could not always make miracles.
For the rest they were disappointing World Championships: many who were expected at least to qualify for the final stopped in the semifinals. It was especially sad the decline of Rosolino, out of the semi-finals in the 200 and not as expected in the relay. And we thought that the Roloino of would almost certainly have won thegold in the 400: it was estimated that its 3:43.40 was worth a time under 3'40" with the rubber swimsuit. I thought he would have retired instead he went on for another 3 years.
I didn't see the last two days: I missed Colbertaldo's 4th place in the 1500 and Marin's race (eliminated in the 400 mixed heats), which had a record of two WCH medals, but was cited only as Pellegrini's boyfriend.
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