Simone Cerasuolo has emerged as one of the standout performers at the ongoing World Swimming Championships in Singapore. The young swimmer from Bologna captured gold in the 50m breaststroke, adding to Italy’s growing medal tally following victories by Chiara Pellacani and Matteo Santoro in diving.
Representing the Fiamme Oro, Cerasuolo touched the wall in 26.54 seconds, narrowly beating Russia’s Kirill Prigoda (26.62) and China’s Qin Haiyang (26.67).
The 22-year-old from Imola had already made an impression in the early stages of the competition, setting the fastest time in the heats with a personal best of 26.42. Although his time slightly dropped in the semifinals to 26.64, he still advanced with the second-best performance behind Qin Haiyang (26.52). Italy’s Nicolò Martinenghi was surprisingly eliminated, finishing 13th in 27.03.
In the final, Cerasuolo took command from the start, using his explosive power to build a lead and holding off Prigoda in the closing stages to secure the win.
“I wanted a medal, but nothing was guaranteed,” Cerasuolo told Sky Sport. “In this event, speed matters, but in the final, the strongest swimmer wins. I’ve become a solid athlete. I made a few mistakes, my start wasn’t perfect and my last few strokes were wider but the important thing was to win. My family instilled values in me that go beyond sport, and I’m proud to carry them forward.”
In the men’s 200m butterfly, Italy’s Alberto Razzetti and Federico Burdisso finished sixth and eighth respectively. The event was won by American swimmer Luca Urlando, who dominated from the heats (1:52.71) to the final, where he claimed gold with a time of 1:51.87. Poland’s Krzysztof Chmielewski (1:52.64) and Australia’s Harrison Turner (1:54.17) completed the podium. Razzetti clocked 1:54.85, while Burdisso finished in 1:55.27.
Italy’s mixed 4×100 medley relay team—Christian Bacico, Nicolò Martinenghi, Costanza Cocconcelli, and Sara Curtis—finished sixth. Despite a strong opening leg by Bacico, the team lost ground, particularly due to Martinenghi, who is still recovering from food poisoning. The Italian quartet posted a time of 3:42.19. The event was won by the Neutral Athletes B team, who set a championship record of 3:37.97, ahead of China (3:39.99) and Canada (3:40.90).
