I swim. The 19-year-old from Pavia, the new Italian champion of the 200 butterfly (and with the pass for Tokyo in his pocket), targets the Hungarian Milak
The mission
Roberto Lodigiani
On Easter Monday afternoon, Federico Burdisso was already at the station in Pavia waiting for the train that would take him to Rome, destination the Coni center of Acqua Acetosa. Now that the pass for Tokyo is in the safe and yet another Italian title on the 200 butterfly on the bulletin board, the 19-year-old swimming champion (he will blow out his twenty candles on September 20) will concentrate all his energies together with his coach Simone Palombi on improving times .
Not that the time trial of the Riccione tricolors is to be thrown away, far from it: the 1’54 “41 which guaranteed him the first step of the podium, clearly detaching the second, Alberto Razzetti (1’56” 10) and Giacomo Carini (1’57 ″ 42), is well below the limit for the Games (1’55 ”5) and only two hundredths, a trifle, from the national record on distance he himself held; Burdisso has established, in fact, the second best performance of the season behind the unrivaled Hungarian Kristof Milak (1’51 “40), world record holder with 1’50” 73 set at the world championships in Gwangju, when he won gold and the talent from Pavia closed in fifth place.
But to feed the dream of an Olympic medal and put pressure on the Hungarian ace and other specialists (such as the Japanese Daya Seto and the South African Chad Le Clos) it is necessary to file several more cents and optimize the performance in the last pool: the yet another confirmation at the Italian championships, fast start, remarkable passage of 53’19 ”at 100 meters, but suffered resistance in the final stretch up to the victory and the title.
«I am perfectly aware of having to work hard in the pool to get a better time – Federico admits – the last fifty meters are my problem, there you have to do better».
Confident?
“Quite. Work doesn’t scare me, I feel I have the potential within me to do better and better. The European Championships scheduled for next month in Budapest can be a good test in this sense ».
Disappointed for the second place in the 100 butterfly to the Italians?
“Well, I certainly can’t be satisfied. Maybe I felt a little tired, after the victory in the 200m I arrived unloaded for the next day’s race. But to be honest, I trained above all on 200, my favorite distance ».
A typical day in Rome?
“Wake up at six in the morning, from 7 to 9 training in the pool with Simone Palombi, break, from 14.15 another two hours in the pool, then I study until around midnight”.
Online lessons?
«I am enrolled at the University of Chic ago. In the last few months I have followed the degree courses in Economics, Mathematics and Statistics at a distance, but in September I really hope to be able to return to the United States and thus find my brother, who is fourteen months older than me and has remained in Chicago ” .
Problems with Covid?
“I got sick, but nothing serious, fortunately. Just a headache. Now I am cured and I am fine, in these days anyway I will get the vaccine ».
Girlfriend?
«Until some time ago, she was also a swimmer, then we broke up. At this moment I have other things to think about ». –
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