Thomas Ceccon he will be one of the spearheads of the Italian national swimming team at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, with the aim of winning the gold medal in the 100 backstroke as world record holder and world champion gold in Budapest 2022. The Italian phenomenon will play a role also important for the relays, especially the 4×100 freestyle and the men’s 4×100 medley, but he could decide to participate in other individual races.
The 23-year-old from Veneto, on the eve of the Settecolli, spoke precisely about this in an interview granted to Corriere della Sera: “In Paris I’ll do the 100 backstroke, in the 200 let’s see if anyone does better than me at the Settecolli… then maybe the 100 dolphin, although realistically my goal there is to get to the final, so let’s see if it makes sense. Finally the relays. Too many races? The program is doable: after the 100 backstroke there is a break day. Versatility is my characteristic but at the Olympics it is perhaps better to focus on medals“.
On his ambitions in Paris: “I’m ultra-competitive today only in the 100m backstroke, we’re working on the rest. Ultra-competitive means aiming for the maximum. In the 200m backstroke, if things go as they should, the first non-finish is the Hungarian Kos: there is a lot of difference between trying to get a medal and going to win. Mentally he is very different“.
On the pressure of going into the Olympics as the favorite on paper for the 100m backstroke title: “I try to hide behind the fact that in 2021 I didn’t win individual medals, so I don’t have to defend titles. I try to hide behind this finger, but well… I set the world record two years ago, I came 2nd last year, completely missing the finish line, so it’s clear that I’m among those who are competing for it“.
