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3 gold medals for Italy on the second day of the CITI World Series
Trimi celebrates her birthday with the most precious metal.
Plenty of Italian success at the CITI World Series 2024, with the Azzurri securing 3 gold medals out of 6 available today in the senior category. The competition schedule featured finals for the 50m breaststroke, 200m freestyle, and 50m freestyle events.
Francesco Bocciardo, competing in the S5 class, after clinching gold in the 200m freestyle with a score of 1005 points, said: “I’m happy with today’s race; I didn’t think I would reach a thousand points, but I did it, and now I’m aiming for the future. My life has changed a lot since my son was born in November 2023; priorities are different, and competing is starting to become a bit difficult, so we take it one step at a time towards Paris.”
The competition ended with the fastest race on the program, the 50m freestyle, won by Simone Barlaam, Paralympic champion and world record holder in the S9 class, with a time of 24.72 and a score of 1030 points, ahead of the American Jamal Hill (S9, 1001 points). There was also Italian gold in the women’s field, with Arjola Trimi (S5) celebrating her 37th birthday in style by winning gold in 58.69 seconds and scoring 1013 points. “I’m very happy; this gold is a gift I didn’t expect,” she said with her usual smile, adding, “Happy birthday to me.” And rhythmic wishes came from all the excited spectators in Lignano Sabbiadoro. Arjola looks ahead: “I came back here after 2 years away from competitions, and I didn’t know what to expect after the injury to the right shoulder. I’m thrilled; now, one step at a time, and after Lignano, there will be the European Championships in Madeira, then we’ll see.”
After two days of competition, the medal table sees Italy still leading with 12 medals (5 gold, 5 silver, and 2 bronze), followed by Great Britain (3 gold and 1 bronze), while for the provisional third place, Israel surpasses the United States (4 total medals), thanks to the gold in the men’s 50m breaststroke by Dadaon Ami Omer (SB3, 864 points), bringing the tally to 2 golds.
Looking forward to tomorrow for the third day of competitions, with the following schedule starting at 9:00 AM Italian time:
– 100m backstroke
– 50m butterfly
– 200m IM
