David Popovici and Gretchen Walsh Headline Sette Colli International (Entry Lists)
The 62nd edition of the Sette Colli International Swim Meet will be held from Friday through Sunday the famed Foro Italico in Rome, with a star-studded field set to race in the Italian capital. The competition annually serves as a major tuneup for the summer championships, and this year will be no different. Athletes attending are preparing for the European Championships, Commonwealth Games and Pan Pacific Championships.
David Popovici will lead the fields in the 100 freestyle and 200 freestyle, the Romanian having enjoyed superb results through the years at the Foro Italico. In addition to setting a world record in the 100 freestyle at the venue in 2022, Popovici posted his best time in the 200 freestyle in Rome, clocking 1:42.97. In addition to his prime events, Popovici is also entered in the 50 freestyle.
Olympic champion and world-record holder Thomas Ceccon will be cheered on by the home crowd, as the Italian is slated to compete in multiple events, including the 100 backstroke. He’ll be complemented as a home athlete by rising freestyle star Carlos D’Ambrosio, who is entered in the 100 freestyle and 200 freestyle.
Other big names on the men’s side include Great Britain’s Adam Peaty, the two-time Olympic champion in the 100 breaststroke, and Hungarian Kristof Milak, the reigning Olympic gold medalist in the 100 butterfly.
For the women, the United States’ Gretchen Walsh will go to work in her best event, the 100 butterfly. Walsh is coming off a 55.00 performance in the 100 fly at the TYR Pro Series stop in Indianapolis, and will be joined in action by her older sister, Alex Walsh, a three-time medalist in the 200 individual medley at the World Championships.
The Netherlands’ Marrit Steenbergen, who recently went sub-52 in the 100 freestyle, will contest a handful of events, along with Hong Kong’s Siobhan Haughey, a four-time Olympic medalist. They will be joined in women’s competition by Italian distance star Simona Quadarella and Italy’s Sara Curtis, a sprint star who helped the University of Virginia to a sixth consecutive NCAA team title last March.
