Thomas Ceccon (; born 27 January 2001) is an Italian swimmer. He is the 2024 Olympic champion and current world record holder in the 100 metre backstroke and has won a total of four Olympic medals, along with being a three-time World champion and a four-time European champion in long course competitions.
Background Ceccon was born in Thiene, in the province of Vicenza, Italy, on 27 January 2001."Thomas Ceccon" (in Italian). Italian Swimming Federation. Retrieved 23 July 2022."Thomas Ceccon". FINA. Retrieved 20 October 2022. He trains under coach Alberto Burlina for Gruppo Sportivo Fiamme Oro. He has retained the Italian record in the long course 100 metre backstroke since 17 December 2020, starting with a time of 52.84.
Career Ceccon won the 50 m free style Youth Olympic title and 4 other medals at 2018 Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires. He participated to the 2019 World Aquatics Championships. He won two gold medals at the 2019 FINA World Junior Swimming Championships.
2021 2020 Summer Olympics
At the 2020 Summer Olympics, held in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and contested in Tokyo, Japan, Ceccon won a silver medal in the 4×100 metre freestyle relay on the second day of competition, contributing a split of 47.45 seconds for the second leg of the relay to help finish second in an Italian record time of 3:10.11. For the 100 metre backstroke, he placed fourth in the morning final on day three with an Italian record time of 52.30 seconds, after setting an Italian record of 52.49 seconds in the preliminary heats on day one."Tokyo Olympics: Swimming – Men's 100m Backstroke results". BBC Sport. July 2021. Retrieved 20 October 2022. In the evening of day three, he swam a personal best time of 47.71 seconds in the preliminary heats of the 100 metre freestyle to qualify for the semifinals ranking first.Reuters (27 July 2021). "Tokyo Olympics: Italy's Ceccon quickest in 100m freestyle heats". The Times of India. Retrieved 20 October 2022. The following day, in the semifinals, he went on to place twelfth with a time of 48.05 seconds, which was 0.94 seconds slower than the fastest swimmer in the semifinals Kliment Kolesnikov of Russia, and did not advance to the event final."2020 Summer Olympics Results – Swimming: Men's 100m Freestyle". ESPN. 27 July 2021. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
On 31 July, Ceccon helped achieve a fourth-place finish in the 4×100 metre mixed medley relay, swimming the backstroke portion of the relay in 52.23 seconds to contribute to the final mark, and Italian record time, of 3:39.28.Omega Timing; Atos (1 August 2021). "Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games: Swimming Results Book". International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 20 October 2022. The following day, he won a bronze medal as part of the 4×100 metre medley relay, finishing in an Italian record time of 3:29.17 with finals relay teammates Nicolò Martinenghi (breaststroke), Federico Burdisso (butterfly), and Alessandro Miressi (freestyle).
2021 World Short Course Championships On day one of the 2021 World Short Course Championships, held in December at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Ceccon placed ninth in the semifinals of the 100 metre backstroke with a time of 50.22 seconds.Tiseo, Giandomenico (16 December 2021). "Nuoto, Thomas Ceccon: "Ho migliorato il mio personale, sono felicissimo dell'argento con la staffetta"" (in Italian). OA Sport. Retrieved 29 January 2023. In the same session, he split a 45.71 for the second leg of the 4×100 metre freestyle relay to help win the silver medal in an Italian record time of 3:03.61.FINA (16 December 2021). "15th FINA World Swimming Championships (25m) Abu Dhabi (UAE): Men's 4x100m Freestyle Final Results". Omega Timing. Retrieved 29 January 2023. Three days later, he started the evening session off with a bronze medal in the 100 metre individual medley with a time of 51.40 seconds and a placing of twelfth in the semifinals of the 50 metre butterfly with a time of 22.74 seconds.Vaccariello, Luigi (19 December 2021). "Nuoto, mondiali vasca corta: oro Italia nella 4x50 sl. Medaglie per Mora e Ceccon" (in Italian). Sky Sport. Retrieved 29 January 2023. For his third and final event of the evening, he helped set a new Italian record of 6:51.48 in the final of the 4×200 metre freestyle relay to place fourth, splitting a 1:44.23 for the second leg of the relay.Tiseo, Giandomenico (19 December 2021). "Nuoto, risultati Mondiali vasca corta: 4×50 sl sul tetto del mondo, Mora e Ceccon a medaglia" (in Italian). OA Sport. Retrieved 29 January 2023. The second-to-last day of competition, he won a bronze medal in the 4×50 metre medley relay, contributing a split of 21.11 for the freestyle leg of the relay in the preliminaries before being substituted out for Lorenzo Zazzeri in the final.FINA (20 December 2021). "15th FINA World Swimming Championships (25m) Abu Dhabi (UAE): Men's 4x50m Medley Relay Heats Results Summary". Omega Timing. Retrieved 29 January 2023.FINA (20 December 2021). "15th FINA World Swimming Championships (25m) Abu Dhabi (UAE): Men's 4x50m Medley Relay Final Results". Omega Timing. Retrieved 29 January 2023. On the final day, he split a 50.96 for the backstroke portion of the 4×100 metre medley relay in the preliminaries before Lorenzo Mora substituted in for him on the finals relay and all relay members won a gold medal when the finals relay finished first in 3:19.76.FINA (21 December 2021). "15th FINA World Swimming Championships (25m) Abu Dhabi (UAE): Men's 4x100m Medley Relay Heats Results Summary". Omega Timing. Retrieved 29 January 2023.FINA (21 December 2021). "15th FINA World Swimming Championships (25m) Abu Dhabi (UAE): Men's 4x100m Medley Relay Final Results". Omega Timing. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
2022 2022 World Aquatics Championships At the 2022 World Aquatics Championships, held in June in Budapest, Hungary, Ceccon won a bronze medal as part of the 4×100 metre freestyle relay on the first day of pool swimming competition.FINA (18 June 2022). "19th FINA World Championships Budapest (HUN): Men's 4x100m Freestyle Final Results". Omega Timing. Retrieved 20 June 2022. For the 50 metre butterfly, Ceccon placed fifth in the final on day two with a time of 22.86 seconds, after setting a new Italian record time of 22.79 seconds in the semifinals to qualify for the final ranking second.Adami, Davide (18 June 2022). "Nuoto, Thomas Ceccon: "Ho sbagliato l'arrivo ma sano felice, con questo tempo si può andare a podio"" (in Italian). OA Sport. Retrieved 20 October 2022.FINA (19 June 2022). "19th FINA World Championships Budapest (HUN): Men's 50m Butterfly Final Results". Omega Timing. Retrieved 20 October 2022. One day later, day three, he won the gold medal in the 100 metre backstroke with a world record time of 51.60 seconds.FINA (20 June 2022). "19th FINA World Championships Budapest (HUN): Men's 100m Backstroke Final Results". Omega Timing. Retrieved 20 June 2022.The Associated Press (20 June 2022). "Italy's Ceccon sets world record in men's 100 backstroke". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 20 December 2022."Ceccon wins men's 100m backstroke title in world record time". SuperSport. 20 June 2022. Retrieved 20 June 2022."Ceccon breaks world record as Pilato completes Italian golden hat-trick". France 24. 20 June 2022. Retrieved 21 June 2022."Italian Ceccon breaks world record on third day of FINA Worlds". China Internet Information Center. 21 June 2022. Retrieved 24 July 2022. His world record was the first world record set in swimming at the 2022 World Aquatics Championships.Régis, Marlos (June 2022). "Em dia de glória, italiano bate primeiro recorde mundial na Natação, veja o resumo do dia" (in Portuguese). surtoolimpico.com.br. Retrieved 23 July 2022. On the fourth day, he helped place fifth in the 4×100 metre mixed medley relay, leading off the relay with a 52.26 for the backstroke portion of the relay to contribute to the final time of 3:41.67.FINA (21 June 2022). "19th FINA World Championships Budapest (HUN): Mixed 4x100m Medley Relay Final Results". Omega Timing. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
In the 50 metre backstroke final on day eight, Ceccon won the bronze medal and received his medal at the medals ceremony before a swimmer from the United States who was disqualified for an illegal finish during the race had his disqualification overturned and bumped the bronze medal from Ceccon to Ksawery Masiuk of Poland."Italy pips US men to relay gold in swimming worlds finale". WFMJ-TV. 25 June 2022. Retrieved 25 June 2022. The same day, he won a gold medal in the 4×100 metre medley relay, splitting a 51.93 for the backstroke leg of the relay in the final to help achieve a European record time of 3:27.51.FINA (25 June 2022). "19th FINA World Championships Budapest (HUN): Men's 4x100m Medley Relay Final Results". Omega Timing. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
2022 European Aquatics Championships Two months later, at the 2022 European Aquatics Championships in Rome, Ceccon qualified for the semifinals of the 50 metre butterfly ranking fifth with a time of 23.38 seconds in the morning preliminaries on day one.LEN (11 August 2022). "European Aquatics Championships Roma 2022: Results 50m Butterfly Men Preliminary" . Microplus. Retrieved 11 August 2022. Speeding up to a 23.14 in the semifinals, he qualified for the final ranking third.LEN (11 August 2022). "European Aquatics Championships Roma 2022: Results 50m Butterfly Men Semi-Final" . Microplus. Retrieved 11 August 2022."Semi. 50 farfalla uomini: 3) Ceccon (23.14), 9) Codia (23.48) primo degli esclusi dalla finale" (in Italian). nuoto.com. 11 August 2022. Retrieved 11 August 2022. On the second day, he ranked fourteenth in the preliminaries of the 100 metre freestyle with a time of 48.92 seconds and did not advance to the semifinals as he was not one of the two fastest swimmers representing Italy.LEN (12 August 2022). "European Aquatics Championships Roma 2022: Results 100m Freestyle Men Preliminary" . Microplus. Retrieved 12 August 2022. Later in the day, in the final of the 50 metre butterfly, he won the gold medal, finishing 0.08 seconds ahead of silver medalist Maxime Grousset of France with a time of 22.89 seconds.LEN (12 August 2022). "European Aquatics Championships Roma 2022: Results 50m Butterfly Men Final" . Microplus. Retrieved 12 August 2022."Swimming: Ceccon wins 50m butterfly". ANSA. 12 August 2022. Retrieved 12 August 2022."Ceccon gara perfetta, si prende l'oro agli Europei. Argento nella 4x100 mista" (in Italian). Il Giornale di Vicenza. 12 August 2022. Retrieved 12 August 2022."Nuoto, 5 ori azzurri: Quadarella, Martinenghi, Panziera e Ceccon dopo Minisini" (in Italian). Sky TG24. 12 August 2022. Retrieved 12 August 2022. For his final event of the evening, he swam a 52.82 for the backstroke leg of the 4×100 metre mixed medley relay in the final, helping win the silver medal with a time of 3:43.61.LEN (12 August 2022). "European Aquatics Championships Roma 2022: Results 4x100m Medley Mixed Final" . Microplus. Retrieved 12 August 2022.