Wednesday,
August 02, 2006
Alessia Filippi: New Italy Swim Star, with Model Looks
With
model looks, 19-year-old Alessia Filippi, who comes
from one of Rome's roughest
districts, has become the nation's
first woman ever to strike gold at the 2006 European Swimming, Diving,
Synchronized and Open Water Swimming Championships (held in Budapest,
Hungary) and smashed the Italian record by almost five seconds in the 400m
individual medley
The
relay team of Lorenzo Vismara, Christian Galenda, Alessandro Calvi and
Filippo Magnani retained the 4x100m freestyle title Italy conquered in Madrid two years ago .
Earlier former Olympic champion Massimiliano Rosolino won a silver medal in the 400m freestyle
.
Monday's medal haul comes on top of three bronzes won at
the weekend - two by the synchronized swimming team, the other by Ercoli Simone in the men's
5km open-water event .
Italy
can now count on two top young female stars in the pool. The other is Federica Pellegrini, who won a silver medal in the 200m freestyle at
the Athens Olympics at the age of just 16. Pellegrini
will be looking to add to Italy's gold-medal tally later this week in the 100m,
200m and 400m freestyle races .
ITALY SALUTES NEW SWIMMING STAR
Roman teenager becomes Azzurri's first
female Euro Champ
Italy is
toasting the 19-year-old Roman who has become the nation's
first woman ever to strike gold at the European Championships. Alessia Filippi, who comes from one of Rome's roughest districts, smashed the Italian record by
almost five seconds in the 400m individual medley to complete her historic endeavour in Budapest
on Monday .
Filippi's winning time of 4:35.80 was the fourth
fastest registered in the event's history .
"Alessia
is golden: Historic triumph," read a headline on the front page of sports
daily Corriere dello Sport
on Tuesday .
"Well
done Alessia," said Giovanni Petrucci, the head
of the Italian Olympic Committee .
"It's a result that marks the onset of a new era."
Filippi seemed taken aback at becoming the new
darling of Italian sport .
"My hair
is horrible," was the first thing she said on television
.
"I'm happy, but at the moment I have not taken it in.
"I danced to the national anthem! (on the podium), but I didn't sing it all because I had the sun in my face and
I couldn't see anything" .
Filippi's victory was only part of a superb day for Italy in the
pool on Monday .
The relay team
of Lorenzo Vismara, Christian Galenda,
Alessandro Calvi and Filippo Magnani
retained the 4x100m freestyle title Italy
conquered in Madrid
two years ago .
Earlier former
Olympic champion Massimiliano Rosolino
won a silver medal in the 400m freestyle .
"I'm enormously satisfied with the medals," said
Sports Minister Giovanna Melandri .
"Alessia Filippi's gold
rewards the talent of a promising youngster, while Rosolino
showed that the years might pass by, but for an athlete of his calibre, the class does not go away .
"The gold
in the relay is a prize for our swimmers'
determination not to let us down at this big sporting event"
.
Monday's medal haul comes on top of three bronzes won at
the weekend - two by the synchronized swimmin! g team, the other by Ercoli Simone
in the men's 5km open-water event .
"This is
confirmation that Italian swimming is in excellent health," continued Melandri .
"It is a
good sign in view of the upcoming international events, like next year's World Championships in Melbourne, the 2008
Beijing Olympics and the 2009 World Championships, which will take place in Rome"
.
Filippi's heroics means Italy can now count on two top
young female stars in the pool. The other is Federica Pellegrini,
who won a silver medal in the 200m freestyle at the Athens Olympics at the age
of just 16. Pellegrini will be looking to add to Italy's gold-medal tally later this week in the 100m,
200m and 400m freestyle races .
Filippi is a massive AS
Roma fan and the Serie A club's
captain, Francesco Totti, gave her one of his match
shirts before the European Championships as a good-luck gesture
.
As well as
being an ace in the pool, Filippi plays a mean game
of volleyball ! too .
On a TV show
the 19-year-old, who is 1.85m tall and weighs 63 kilos, recently said she would
like to work as a model.
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