World swimming championships, Quadarella gold in the 800 freestyle. Paltrinieri disappointment

Swimming: Quadarella world gold in the 800 freestyle

An extraordinary Simona Quadarella wins the gold medal in the 800 meters freestyle and after 51 years Italy climbs to the top step of the podium in this discipline. Extraordinary double gold in the Italian middle distance for a historic Quadarella who also qualifies for the 2024 Paris Games in both the 1500 and 800, with a time of 8.17.44 ahead of the German Isabel Gose, silver at 8.17.53 in the photo finish. Bronze for New Zealand's Erika Fairweather.

Swimming: World Championships, Paltrinieri out of the 1500 freestyle final

Gregorio Paltrinieri sensationally missed out on the final of the 1500m freestyle at the World Swimming Championships in Doha. The Italian champion was excluded from the eight finalists by just 21 cents. This morning in heat 'SuperGreg' was unable to change pace in the second part of the race, reaching 14'55″19, being preceded in the final by the Irishman Daniel Wiffen (14'54″29) and the Turkish Kuzey Tuncelli (14'54 ”98). The swimmer from Carpi closed the World Championships in the capital of Qatar with bronze in the 800 freestyle and silver in the open water swimming relay.

Water polo: Seven world silver medal and Paris Games pass

Only the icing on the cake was missing but the Settebello at the World Championships which took place a stone's throw from the waters of the Persian Gulf and the same number from the Arabian Desert, won the fourth silver medal in the history of the world championship and the pass to the Paris Olympics. Italy's men's water polo team lost 14 to 13 on penalties to Croatia for their third world championship gold after those in 2007 and 2017. For the second time in less than two years (Budapest 2022) the Azzurri lost the world championship final by five meters.

The final took place in the pool of the 'Aspire Dome' in Doha, Qatar which was attended by around a thousand spectators, was very emotional and hard-fought with the Italians reaching 11-11 with just five minutes remaining in the fourth and final period. Buric's equalizer was signed after Andrea Fondelli's opening goal scored one hundred seconds from time. A total of five goals for Fondelli (three penalties), a brace for captain Francesco Di Fulvio and Nicholas Presciutti, and goals from Luca Marziali and Francesco Condemi. The performance of Italian goalkeeper Marco Del Lungo was very good and he was named best player of the World Cup in his role. At the penalties the Azzurri, after scoring with Fondelli and Presciutti, made mistakes with Gonzalo Echenique (crossbar) and Di Fulvio (save). The silver won today is the ninth Italian world championship medal ever (four gold/1978, 1994, 2011 and 2019, four silver/1986, 2003 and 2022 and one bronze/1975). For the boys of technical commissioner Sandro Campagna there were a few tears on the edge of the pool BUT the satisfaction of having reached the final act and having obtained the minimum objective of the expedition to Qatar, i.e. the pass for the Paris 2024 Olympics, remains.

“I can't blame the boys for anything, they not only had a great final but an amazing World Cup. We grew during the tournament, during the season – said the citizen Campagna –. On the last play they played with the goalkeeper ahead, we made a mistake because we played three and three, we should have played four and two and put more density on the shot from outside. The regret of having lost by five seconds remains. The team is there to achieve something prestigious at the Olympics.” In the run up to today's final, Settebello were defeated only once, on penalties against reigning champion Hungary after leading by two goals. For the Azzurri, Olympic participation in the round of 16 against the United States was secured, the victory in the quarterfinals over vice-champions Greece was beautiful, and the victory over European champions Spain in the semifinals was superlative. Today the Spaniards won bronze thanks to the victory over France 14 to 10. The Italian men's water polo team is already throwing down the gauntlet for revenge: in 2025 the World Cup will be held in Singapore. In 2027 the world championship tournament will be held in Budapest, Hungary and in 2029 in Beijing, China.