Swimming phenomenon Thomas Ceccon left the sporting world in disbelief when he smashed the 100m backstroke world record in June 2022. Shaving a quarter of a second off the previous record at the world championships in Budapest with his incredible time of 51.60 seconds, the young Italian swimmer is helping his country’s team reach dizzying new heights. His record-breaking win may have shot him into the limelight, but it wasn’t even considered a breakout swim for the talented youngster who previously won the same event at the 2019 world juniors and only just missed the podium at his first Olympics in Tokyo 2020. Ceccon was disappointed with his fourth place in the individual backstroke in Tokyo, but just missing out on a medal has since fuelled him to train even harder – and his hard work is now paying off.

Hailing from Thiene, Italy in the province of Vicenza, Ceccon was always a fan of swimming and spent a lot time watching past Olympics trying to learn from the world’s most legendary swimmers. He began swimming when he was 9 years old, and his talent and versatility soon shone through as he started to win regional competitions. In 2015 he took part in his first national-level competition where he set 3 age group records and won 5 individual events.

Since then he has risen swiftly through the ranks of the sport, making his Olympic debut in 2021 and making waves across the world with his breath-taking world record. Talented, hard-working and full of charisma, Ceccon is a force to be reckoned with and looks set to become a swimming legend.