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I'm the greatest Italian athlete ever: Pellegrini

(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-07-31 09:40

Federica Pellegrini of Italy reacts after setting a world record in the women's 200m freestyle final at the World Championships in Rome July 29, 2009. [Agencies]

ROME: Federica Pellegrini said she was the greatest Italian athlete ever after winning the 200m freestyle at the World Swimming Championships on Wednesday in a world record, her 10th overall.

Pellegrini, 20, clocked one minute, 52.98 seconds in winning the 200, breaking her own world record. She also was the first woman to break four minutes in the 400 when she won in 3:59.15 on Sunday.

"Without any false modesty, I didn't think there were any doubts about that as of a few world records ago. There you have it," Pellegrini, who won the Olympic 200 last year, said when asked if she was the greatest Italian athlete.

"With today's world record, I've had 10 world records before I'm 21. I've won an Olympic gold medal, two world championship gold medals here. So, I think so," she told a news conference.

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Pellegrini, who enjoys celebrity status in Italy, said she was "destroyed physically and psychologically" after the two events.

"The times I've had in the World Championships here in Rome really surprised me and I really worked a lot on my 400m," she said.

"In the 400m I never thought I could get below four minutes, and in the 200 I never thought I could be so fast."

Pellegrini, who also won an Olympic silver medal in the 200 in 2004, said she had trained with men since she was 14, a regime she called "mind-blowing, women can't keep up".

"In training, I can't beat the men but I can come close. 1:52 in the 200, that's almost a man's time. 3:59, not yet," she said.

Pellegrini swam the 4x200 freestyle relay yesterday (Firday morning Beijing time) and then will take a vacation after what she called "the air bubble" of the championships.

Reuters