Sette Colli Meet Stacked with Top Stars; Gretchen Walsh and David Popovici Expected to Race
The 62nd edition of the Sette Colli International Swim Meet (June 26-28) will once again feature some of the biggest names in the sport, headlined by the presence of American Gretchen Walsh and Romanian David Popovici. Held at the historic Foro Italico in Rome, the meet will serve as a tuneup for this summer’s major international competition, namely the European Championships in Paris and the Pan Pacific Championships in Irvine, California.
The world-record holder in the 100-meter butterfly, Walsh clocked 54.33 in her prime event earlier this year and has been more than a second faster than the No. 2 performer in history, Sweden’s Sarah Sjostrom (55.48). Sjostrom is scheduled to race in Rome, with her focus on the 50 freestyle and 50 butterfly, events in which she holds the world records.
Meanwhile, Popovici will compete at a venue that has been good to him through the years. At the 2022 European Championships, Popovici set a then-world record in the 100 freestyle and clocked 1:42.97 in the 200 freestyle, a mark that makes him the third-fastest man in history.
Also slated to race at the Setti Colli meet is Great Britain’s Adam Peaty, the world-record holder in the 50 breaststroke and 100 breaststroke. He will be joined in action by Hong Kong’s Siobhan Haughey, a four-time Olympic medalist, and Irish distance star Daniel Wiffen. According to the meet website, other notable names expected to compete include:
Noe Ponti (Switzerland)
Kliment Kolesnikov (Russia)
Marrit Steenbergen (Netherlands)
Thomas Ceccon (Italy)
Nicolo Martinenghi (Italy)
Sara Curtis (Italy)
Carlos D’Ambrosio (Italy)
