Ten days to the 23rd edition of the Swimmeeting Südtirol and the outstanding field of participants is complete. As always, the fans will get their money's worth at the two-day event on 2nd and 3rd November in Bolzano. Meeting chief Christian Mattivi and his staff have again brought a selected field to Bolzano, which has been extended by a few prominent names in the last few days. After Cesar Cielo, the fastest swimmer in the world over 50 and 100 m freestyle on the long-distance track, and the famous backstroke swimmer Guilherme Guido, Bolzano has

to offer a third foreigner from Brazil this year. Breaststroke specialist Felipe Franca da Silva like Cielo and Guido is already 32 years old. He is about to swim his last big season on the international stage and wants to set a tone at the end of his career at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. Franca da Silva was world champion over 50m breaststroke 2011 in Shanghai and vice world champion on the same track two years earlier in Rome. Franca da Silva has won no less than six gold medals at Short Track World Championships in his career (three individually and three in the Brazilian relay). He is also quadruple Pan American champion. Franca da Silva has been holding America's 50 and 100m breaststroke records in the 25.63 and 56.25 seconds since 2014, and will make things difficult for Fabio Scozzoli. Italy's veteran has already celebrated 17 victories in Bolzano. In addition to Laura Letrari, South Tyrol's best-known and nowadays most successful swimmer is going at the start in Bolzano. For Stefano Ballo it is like coming back home. The 26-year-old grew up in Bolzano and is now training in Caserta. Last season he finally made the big breakthrough and was one of the protagonists with Italy's freestyle relay over 4 x 200 m freestyle at the World Championships in July in Gwangju in South Korea, that missed bronze and finished fourth. "We are happy that Stefano is at the start in Bolzano," says OC boss Christian Mattivi. "Ballo will be in three races: he will swim the

50m and 100m freestyle as well as the 100m IM". In addition to the Italian stars Fabio Scozzoli, Martina Carraro, Elena Di Liddo and Piero Codia, other two Azzurri are reported to come, that have their best times probably still in front of them. For both it’s a return to Bolzano. Thomas Ceccon was born on January 27th in 2001. He won the gold medal over 50m freestyle at the Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires a year ago. This year he won the "Double" at the European Junior Championships in Kazan over 50 and 100 meters backstroke. Martinenghi, born in 1999, made an international sensation at the Junior World Championships two years ago in Indianapolis, when he was titled world champion over 50 and 100 meters breaststroke. In his career he has conquered seven Junior European Championship title and that’s one more than Ceccon.