Tuesday, 28. October 2025
HUNTER ARMSTRONG LEADS A WORLD- CLASS LINE-UP ALONGSIDE CERASUOLO AND DEPLANO
SWIMMEETING SOUTH TYROL UNVEILS AN OLYMPIC CHAMPION – HUNTER ARMSTRONG LEADS A WORLD- CLASS LINE-UP ALONGSIDE CERASUOLO AND
DEPLANO
This year, fans will have to wait two weeks longer than usual. The GREENEVENT Swimmeeting South Tyrol returns to Bolzano on 15th and 16th November, marking the
29th edition of the event since its debut in 1997. Once again, some of the finest swimmers on the planet will gather in the South Tyrolean capital to kick oM the short-
course season.
At this morning’s press conference at SSV Bozen headquarters, organisers unveiled a glittering field led by an Olympic gold medallist: Hunter Armstrong. The 24-year-
old American backstroke specialist struck gold in the relay at the Tokyo 2021 and Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Armstrong continues a proud tradition of Olympic champions appearing in Bolzano — he is the 18th reigning gold medallist to compete at the meeting. Previous stars
include Ryan Lochte, Aaron Peirsol, Anthony Ervin, Gary Hall Jr., Tyler McGill, Katie Meili, Kelsi Worrell Dahlia, Kathleen Baker, Ed Moses and Cullen Jones (all USA), the
Italian Massimiliano Rosolino, the Dutch greats Ranomi Kromowidjojo, Femke Heemskerk and Inge Dekker, as well as Brazil’s César Cielo Filho. Italian icons
Federica Pellegrini, Thomas Ceccon and Nicolò Martinenghi also graced the Bolzano pool before going on to Olympic glory.
“It’s quite a list, and we’re proud of it,” said meeting director Christian Mattivi. “With Hunter Armstrong, Bolzano has secured a true world-class star.”
Armstrong’s résumé speaks for itself: three Olympic medals (two gold, one bronze) and 15 World Championship medals, including seven world titles. In 2023, he was
crowned world champion over 50m backstroke in Fukuoka. Mattivi believes he could even threaten the meeting’s long-standing record: “Hunter is certainly capable of breaking our oldest mark,” he said. The 100m backstroke record — 50.32 seconds, set by Nick Thoman 16 years ago — still stands. A new record would earn a €1,000
bonus. Armstrong will warm up at the Genoa meeting a week earlier, ensuring ideal preparation for Bolzano.
After a rare year without any meeting records in 2024 — only the second time since the “Covid edition” of 2020 — organisers expect faster times this November. Among
those likely to shine is Mona McSharry, the Irish Olympic bronze medallist from Paris in the 100m breaststroke. The 25-year-old also won bronze at the 2021 Short Course
Worlds in Abu Dhabi and the 2019 European Short Course Championships in Glasgow. “McSharry swam 29.59 in Illinois last weekend — under our 50m breaststroke record
— and a week earlier clocked 1:04.16 in Carmel, faster than Meili’s winning time here ten years ago,” Mattivi noted.
The field also features Dutch flyer Nyls Korstanje, sixth in the 100m butterfly at the Paris Olympics and a strong contender for new marks over 50 and 100m fly.
From Italy, Bolzano welcomes two more big names. Simone Cerasuolo, the reigning long-course world champion, will race in South Tyrol after winning gold over 50m
breaststroke in Singapore this summer (26.54). “Cerasuolo will definitely be chasing our breaststroke records,” said Mattivi. Fellow Italian Leonardo Deplano, who
claimed Olympic bronze in Paris as part of Italy’s 4x100m freestyle relay, brings further sprint power. The 25-year-old is also a four-time short-course world champion and triple world silver medallist.
Local fans can look forward to a homecoming for Stefano Ballo, the 32-year-old Bolzano native who trains in Bologna and has his sights set on the 2026 European
Championships. Ballo will compete in the 50m and 100m freestyle and 100m medley — and hopes to become the first South Tyrolean man to win on home soil.
To date, South Tyrolean swimmers have claimed 13 victories in the women’s events. Laura Letrari, recently a new mother, has eight Bolzano wins to her name, followed
by Lisa Fissneider (four) and Sara Parise, who triumphed in the 100m medley 23 years ago. Rising star Luca Scampicchio, 18, will also feature after helping Italy to junior
European gold in the 4x100m freestyle relay this summer.
As always, the Green Event in Bolzano will showcase its stars in rapid succession. The three fastest heats of each event (all 50m and 100m distances, plus the 100m
medley) will be swum on Saturday from 4pm to 6pm and on Sunday from 1pm to 2.45pm. Around 550 swimmers are expected at South Tyrol’s first major swimming
event of the season.
