Gold by Gregorio Paltrinieri in the 1,500 freestyle in Budapest on the last day of the World Swimming Championships, with European record. After the defeat in the 800, the blue Olympian returned to the top step of the podium in the longest distance after the 2015 and 2017 gold medals and the bronze in 2019. Paltrinieri dominated the race from the first pool and finished with a time of 14 : 32.80, new European record. The others are far behind, the American Robert Finke (14: 36.70) and the German Florian Wellbrock (14: 36.94).
“I was super disappointed the other day, but I know I’m there. I wanted to demonstrate it, go fast and I think I made it », Paltrinieri commented. Beaten in the 800s, the blue reaffirmed his desire for redemption. “I love swimming and I wouldn’t do anything else, but when you lose you wonder where you’re wrong,” he added. «Today I said to myself ‘give it all, rather die in the tank’, and I have shown that I am there».