Italian Breaststroker Anita Bottazzo Transfers to Indiana
Italian international Anita Bottazzo on Monday announced her transfer to Indiana. Bottazzo spent her first two NCAA seasons at the University of Florida.
Bottazzo announced her decision on social media.
She wrote in part: “I want to thank everyone who stayed with me and supported me the past month. New chapter, go hoosiers!”
Bottazzo tied for second in the 100 breaststroke at NCAAs last year, with a best time in-season of 56.87 seconds. She finished seventh in the 200 breast at NCAAs, her best time again in-season at 2:06.97.
She was on Florida relays that finished 11th in both the 200 medley and 400 medley. Her split of 25.69 in the 200 medley was third-fastest in the field, and her 400 medley split of 56.10 was quickest. (If you’re comparing to Indiana’s breaststrokers, Jonette Laegreid went 27.24 in the ninth-place 200 medley relay and 59.62 on the seventh-place 400 medley. Substituting Bottazzo’s time would’ve raised the Hoosiers to fifth in the 200 medley and second in the 400 medley.)
Bottazzo won both breaststroke events at the SEC Championships, the first Gator to do that since 2006. She holds the program record in the 100 breast and was third in the 200 breast.
As a freshman, she won the B final of the 100 breast at NCAAs and finished 20th in the 200 breast. She is a seven-time All-American.
The Venice native qualified for the 2025 World Aquatics Championships, finishing fourth in the 50 breast and sixth in the 100 breast. She is part of a deep Italian female breaststroke contingent on the way to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
