A hypothesis that is increasingly taking shape. It has often been talked about in the case of Thomas Ceccon Of plan B in view of Paris 2024 Olympics or as an alternative to its main race, the 100 backstroke. The Venetian, given his great eclectic qualities, has shown that he often ranges between various distances, thinking of the 100 freestyle or the 100 dolphin.
Well, it would seem that everything could instead be aimed at the 200 backstroke. Ceccon had also said it recently Spring absolutes that there was this intention to expand the program. The Olympic qualification time limit, set by the Federnuoto, is 1:56.3 and Thomas has shown during this season that he is up to the task, even without a specific job in the 200. We are thinking of the 1:56.49 achieved in October 2023, at the World Cup in Athens.
Also in Greece, in the last weekend, Thomas touched the plate in the 200 backstroke in 1:57.65, in a phase of great load. Consequentially, there are indications for this expansion project and the Settecolli Trophy should be the ideal opportunity to test yourself (21-23 June). A choice that makes sense, also based on the level that this distance is expressing.
Taking into account the certain absence of the Russians in Paris 2024 and therefore of the Tokyo Olympic champion, Yevgeny Rylov, the field could open up. In the last world championships in Doha, the gold went to the Spaniard who trains in the United States, Hugo Gonzalez, author of 1:55.30 and the best time of the year. A reference just over a second better than the one cited by Ceccon in Athens.
For this it might be worth the risk, considering the Hungarian though Hubert Kos (gold in 1:54.14 in the Fukuoka 2023 World Championships and trained by a certain Bob Bowman in Arizona), the American Ryan Murphy (1:54.83 in Japan), Thomas’ great rival also in the 100, and the Swiss Roman Mityukov (world championship silver in Doha in 1:55.40) racing. However, it is reasonable to think that the blue, given the swimming ability he is gifted with, could follow in some ways the same path as Domenico Fioravanti in breaststroke and we then know what the latter did in Sydney in 2000.
