The World Swimming Championships in Doha, Qatar witnessed an outstanding performance by 25-year-old Simona Quadarella who clinched the gold medal in the 1500 freestyle event. She showcased a dominant performance right from the start at the Aspire Dome and claimed victory with an impressive time of 15’46″99. Her closest competitors were Bingjie Li from China who clocked 15’56″62 and Isabel Gose from Germany who finished at 15’57″55. This is Quadarella’s second world gold in the 1500m event, the first one being in 2019 in Gwangju, South Korea.
Quadarella expressed her joy at the victory and said, “I’m really happy, I knew it would have been within my reach to win but I’m satisfied with my time, I didn’t think I’d swim 15’46″”. She further added, “I wanted to take this gold. Initially, I tried to stay patient, but as I realized I wasn’t struggling too much, I tried to pull ahead of my competitors. There’s something extra in this medal that I didn’t think I would be able to achieve. This victory is a dedication to myself. I’ve been going through some tough times lately, and I’ve thought several times if it was the right decision to come here. I was unsure about participating in the World Championships, but finally, I decided to challenge myself.”
The other blues
In other news from the championship, Luca De Tullio and Gregorio Paltrinieri have qualified for the 800 freestyle final. Alberto Razzetti and Federico Burdisso have also successfully moved to the next round in the 200 butterfly event, showing promising potential for the semi-final.
Nicolò Martinenghi and Simone Cerasuolo have also secured their spots in the 50m breaststroke final. Martinenghi, the 24-year-old swimmer from Lombardy, achieved the second best time of the semi-finals in 26″65, while Cerasuolo, the young talent from Romagna, clocked the fifth best time in 26″98. The fastest time was recorded by Australian swimmer Sam Williamson in 26″41.
