Unbeatable Italian Ceccon sets new mark

BUDAPEST • In a sport in which most swimmers obsessively shave their body hair to go faster, Thomas Ceccon has drawn comments for his moustache.

Asked if it was a lucky charm after he broke a world record in the world championships on Monday, the 21-year-old shrugged.

"It's just a moustache," he said.

The Italian, however, admitted that his victory was a surprise as he shaved a quarter of a second off the 100m backstroke world mark after winning in 51.60sec.

"I didn't expect this time," he said. "I didn't expect to go so fast."

His compatriot Benedetta Pilato then continued Italy's strong start to the competition in Budapest as she clinched a second gold of the evening for Italy.

Pilato, 17, won the last final of the day, a closely contested women's 100m breaststroke, beating Anna Elendt of Germany by just 0.05sec after clocking 1min 5.93sec. Lithuania's 2012 Olympic champion Ruta Meilutyte was third in 1:06.02.

"I am super happy and proud," said the youngest Italian to win gold at the world championships. "It was a dream which came true."

Ceccon edged American Ryan Murphy, who set the previous world record at the 2016 Rio Olympics, by 0.37sec.

Another American, Hunter Armstrong, was third in 51.98.

"Today, nobody could beat me! What a sensational time 51.6. It still has to sink in," Ceccon added.

"I have no words, there was an Olympic champion in 2016 and other strong people.

"It's fantastic when you can break a world record in any sport, for me it is unbelievable. Maybe four athletes have done it in Italy, it's an achievement that means a lot.

"Today, the Americans went very fast. I'm not saying that I knew I was going to win but in my opinion I had no rivals."

Part of his bonus for setting a world record, the first of the championships, is a special Non-Fungible Token (NFT). "I am very interested in NFTs and cryptocurrency, I love this stuff," he said.

Ceccon and Pilato won Italy's second and third golds of the championships after Nicolo Martinenghi, 22, took the men's 100m breaststroke title the night before.

Also on Monday, Katie Ledecky continued to add to her gold medal collection as she clinched a record-extending 17th world championship title with victory in the 1,500m freestyle. The 25-year-old American, who won the 400m freestyle on the opening day, cruised to gold in 15:30.15.

She finished more than 14 seconds ahead of compatriot Katie Grimes while Australia's Lani Pallister (15:48.96) took the bronze.

The win gave Ledecky her 20th world championship medal, equalling the women's record set by compatriot Natalie Coughlin.

"It's pretty wild because I feel like just yesterday I was in Barcelona at my first Worlds," she said. "It's awesome representing Team USA year after year, and it's an honour and a privilege, and it's why I work hard."

In yesterday's events, Olympic double-gold champion Bobby Finke won the men's 800m freestyle in an American record of 7:39.36, while China's Yang Junxuan claimed the women's 200m freestyle gold in 1:54.92.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS