The Vortex - April 2025: Ceccon Takes Down Italian 200m Back Mark In 1:55.7 At Australian Open
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Monday, April 21
Kaylee McKeown and Italian visitor Thomas Ceccon, Down Under on a training stint and in national-record form in the 200m backstroke, produced two of the three top swims in heats on the first day of action at Australian Open Championships in Brisbane.
The event offers a chance for Australians to test themselves ahead of June trials for the World Championships in Singapore from late July.
Now coached by Mel Marshall ay Griffith, McKeown became the first woman ever to win back-to-back Olympic backstroke doubles with victories in the 100 and 200 in Tokyo and both crowns retained in Paris last summer. She clocked a solid 2:08.58 - 27.98; 1:00.38 (32.40); 1:37.88 (37.50) and 30.70 - in the morning rounds of the 200m medley - and left it there.
Ceccon followed a similar pattern in one of his events, posting a top time of 23.00 in the 50m butterfly, an event in which the Italian record holder - and Olympic 100m backstroke champion, claimed the 2023 World long-course title. Cameron McEvoy, Olympic 50m freestyle champion, was closest, on 23.09, and, in Ceccon's absence in the evening final, took the title in 23.18.
Just 0.02 off his PB in heats, McEvoy later said:
“I'm trying a new approach again this season, similar but just done in a different way. I only got back in the water three weeks ago, after just doing gym work for a long time. Today was the third time I've swum a 50m since Paris. So … it feels weird being back, despite almost doing a PB this morning. This is the first 50m butterfly I’ve done since finding out it was going to be on the Olympics program and it’s crazy because all of sudden, pure 50m specialist training is in hot demand.”
The 24-year-old Italian had other fish to fry in the evening: he dominated the 200m backstroke in a sizzling national record of 1:55.71 - 27.40; 56.90 (29.50) 1:26.52 (29.62) and 29.19. That was just a touch down on the winning pace set by Oliver Morgan on the last day at Aquatics GB Championships in London:
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The Italian standard had been held by Matteo Restivo at 1:56.29 since the European Championships in Glasgow back in 2018. Ceccon has been Italian No2 since 2023, with the 1:56.49 he clocked at the Athens round of the World Cup, held long-course in October that year.
At that pace, Ceccon was way out in front as he checked in at 47th on the all-time global ranking, up from 75th.
The Italian is currently training with Dean Boxall at St Peters Western and can use the times he clocks in Australia as qualifying efforts for the World Championships in Singapore this July, having bypassed Nationals back home last week. Enjoying his time Down Under, Ceccon said:
“We will see what happens for the 100m but I am feeling refreshed. It’s completely different training here, because at home I train alone or maximum with three people … basically all my career. So I enjoy the group here, like with 20 people, it is a family. And on the weekend, I can take the car for a surf at the Gold Coast."
Closest to Ceccon was Griffith's Josh Edwards-Smith, on 1:58.23. He has a best of 1:55.42 from 2022 but is currently in preparation for June trials. New Zealand's Kane Follows finished third in 1:58.96.
In other action, the women's 200IM, in the absence of McKeown, went to debut Olympian in Paris Ella Ramsay, Griffith, in 2:10.05, with tara Kinder, MVC, on 2:11.29, and Isabella Boyd, Nunawading, on 2:13.13.
Said Ramsay, via Swimming Australia:
“I'm loving training with Mel (Marshall) and … that swim was pretty good, It would've been nice to dip under the 2:10 minute mark but I can't ask for much more at this point in the season. Having my Olympic Games cut short due to COVID I was questioning a lot of things like whether I actually wanted to stay in the sport or whether I had more to give. But I knew I had a really good training camp leading into the Olympics, so I knew I still had a lot more to give and I just needed to get the preparations right and not get sick. And I couldn’t be happier.”
The women's 100m freestyle featured an in-season speed test for Olympic 200m, 4x100m and 4x200m champion, Mollie O'Callaghan. The 21-year-old coached by Dean Boxall at St Peters Western, was out in 26.10, home in 27.01, for a 53.12 win a big wave ahead of Olympic 50m free silver medallist and Dolphin relay mate Meg Harris, 54.03, the bronze to another debut Olympian in Paris, Alexandra Perkins, 54.21.
O'Callaghan's clubmate Elijah Winnington, the 2022 World 400m freestyle champion, took the eight-length race in a solid in-season 3:45.97 ahead of training partner Benjamin Goedemans, 3:47.03, and Matthew Galea, on 3:51.42.
Others winners on the day were Sam Williamson, MVC, in 1:00.46 in the 100m breaststroke, and Griffith's Mia O'Leary, in 31.23 in the 50m breaststroke.
In other news - April 19-20
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Also In The April Vortex:
- Sienna Toohey Tops The Billboard & Carlile Ends St Peters Decade-Long Dominance By Close Of Aussie Age Titles
- Sara Curtis Makes It Three Italian Sprint Free Records In 24 Hours
- Records For Daniel Wiffen & Danielle Hill As Irish Open Ends With 3 Irish Senior & 4 Junior Records Along With 12 Meet Marks
- Sienna Toohey's Shift From Junior To Senior Speed Tangible
- Swimming Australia's excellent SIX PACK Potted Insight Files
- When Sara Swam Faster Than Federica Ever Did ... Curtis Clocks 53.1 Italian 100 Free Mark
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- Hayley Mackinder's Mission Assisted by coaches Thomas Fraser-Holmes and ... Mel Marshall (Peaty's Mentor)
- Nicolo Martinenghi 59.16 takes Italian 100 Crown, Ludovico Viberti's 59.04 In The Wrong Race
- Isabel Gose Goes 4:04 For 400 Victory In Stockholm
- John Shortt Takes Down Irish 200 Back Mark in 1:56; Dan Wiffen Goes 3:46 Championship record in 400 Free
- Leading Lights Rise Up The Aerial At Aussie Age Titles, Olympic Summers On The Horizon
- Full House For Dan Wiffen's 7:41 At Irish Open
- Lukas Märtens & Florian Wellbrock Lead Another Winning Day For Germans In Stockholm
- Koa Stotz In Junior Record Form As Gen-Brisbane 2032 Comes Into View
- Hubert Kós Pips Kristof Milák in 100 'Fly As Hungarian Nationals Close
- Kyle Chalmers - All-time Fastest Aussie 'Fly Dasher In Textile
- Michael Houlie Takes 50 Breast Crown in Battle With Chris Smith
- David Popovici Pops 47.30 Then Bypasses Final With Back Pain
- Robert Badea Steps Into Limelight For Third Title
- John Shortt, Tom Fannon On The Plane To Singapore; Speedy Start For Pre-selected Ellen Walshe
- Gone At HK$180,000 - Siobhan Haughey's Tokyo Silver Suit & Cap Break Michael Phelps Record At Auction
- Kristof Rasovszky Pops Shiny Suit Standard For Hungarian 400 Free Crown
- Rebecca Meder takes down SA 200IM record for 4th time
- Greg Meehan hired as USA Swimming Team Director
- Popovici Pounces With 1:45 Flat In 200 Free
- David Popovici & Adrian Radulescu Honoured Before Sprinter Downs Romanian 50 Free Mark In 21.8
- Meet round-ups including updates on the following meets as and whenever we get to them
- Hubert Kós Cracks Hungarian 50 Back Mark, Twice, At Nationals
- Pieter Coetze Rattles Own SA Record For 52.71 Win In 100 Back
- German Swim Federation In DSV Deal With SwimBetter
- Ellen Walshe Heads To Irish Open With "A Clean Slate" & Loving Her Job
- The Cap Fits: Hector Pardoe Returns To Ellesmere To Inspire The Next Wave
- No Chad, No Tatjana At Nationals For First Time In Generations As South Africa Nationals Get Started
- Mollie O'Callaghan On Post-Paris Challenges & "Getting Comfortable With Being Uncomfortable"
- Dan Wiffen's vlog On Recovery Strategy For Champs
- Recovery from mystery nerve pain and fatigue Puts Tess Schouten Out Of Singapore World Champs
- House vs. NCAA Settlement - What's All About?
- What are we to make of 'A Women’s Final Of Two Biological Men'?
- Dolphin Madi Wilson Weds Cricketer Matt Short
- Kyle Chalmers Makes A Splash Of The Dash With Career High 21.78 In Bergen
- Alice Williams Joins Swimming Australia Board
- Becca Mann Memoir Out This Week
- Kyle Chalmers The Toast Of Bergen With 47.2 Blast In 100 Free
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- Dutch Government Refuses To Reinstate Mandatory School Swimming
- Short & Thomas At The Distance Double As Urlando Goes 1:52 200 'Fly
- Ponti Pops 22.88 For Swiss 50 'Fly Crown
- Serious Doubts Over How Much Of £474m Covid Loans To Sport & Culture "Will Ever Be Repaid"
- Yes, it was an April's Fool:
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- Spain's Carlos Garach Takes Break From Pool To Pursue Military Career
