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Ilaria BIANCHI
Sport Swimming
NOC Italy   
GenderWomen
Born06 Jan 1990 in Castel San Pietro, ITA
Height1.70 m
 Human Interest 
Further Personal Information
Occupation
 Police Athlete
Languages
 Italian
Sport Specific Information
When and where did you begin this sport?
 She learned to swim at age two in Castel San Pietro, Italy. She began competing at age five.
Why this sport?
 Her parents wanted her to try a sport. "It was my mother who took me into the water when I was two years old, mostly because, like every parent, she was afraid that I'd drown in the sea."
Club / Team
 GS Fiamme Azzurre [ITA] / Azzurra 1991 Bologna [ITA]:
Name of coach
 Fabrizio Bastelli [personal], ITA
General Interest
Nicknames
 Iaia (ilariabianchi.com, 01 Sep 2014)
Hero / Idol
 US swimmer Michael Phelps. (sportface.it, 31 May 2018)
Injuries
 In June 2015 she suffered a shoulder injury that prevented her from training for a month. (swimbiz.it, 14 Jun 2015)
Sporting philosophy / motto
 "When I'm not in the water, I want to disconnect completely. So when I leave training it is over and this makes me want to continue swimming. Also, if I had to talk about swimming 24 hours a day, I'd go crazy." (sportface.it, 31 May 2018)
Other information
 MENTAL FOCUS
She believes that mental preparation is even more important than physical training. "The head accounts for 60% and the physique for 40%. High-level swimming is done with your head. I see very strong athletes who can't achieve what they should in the water, precisely because they lack mental preparation. After so many years, I can distinguish an excellent swimmer from a mediocre one and I am very sorry when I see that mentally the guys are not there. I would not be able to live with the guilt of not believing and not trying. But this not only applies to sports, it also applies in life." (nuoto.com, 28 Dec 2019)

TRANSITION TO 200M
In 2017 she began competing in the 200m butterfly, in addition to racing over 50m and 100m. "I realised that 50m is not really for me. It is too fast. Also, 50m and 100m butterfly are becoming more and more challenging and the level is rising noticeably. I realised I could be more competitive swimming the 200m. My first medal came [at the 2017 European Short Course Championships] in Copenhagen. I have to reinvent myself once in a while and this was definitely an opportunity." (nuoto.com, 28 Dec 2019)

 Competition Highlights
Olympic Games
Rank Year Venue Event Result
15 2021 Tokyo, JPN 100m Butterfly 58.07
Heats 2016 Rio de Janeiro, BRA 100m Butterfly 58.48
8 2016 Rio de Janeiro, BRA 4 x 100m Medley Relay  
Heats 2012 London, ENG 4 x 100m Medley Relay  
5 2012 London, ENG 100m Butterfly 57.27
Semifinal 2008 Beijing, CHN 100m Butterfly  DSQ
Heats 2008 Beijing, CHN 4 x 100m Medley Relay  
World Championships
Rank Year Venue Event Result
Heats 2019 Gwangju, KOR 200m Butterfly  DNS
Semifinal 2019 Gwangju, KOR 100m Butterfly 57.92
4 2019 Gwangju, KOR 4 x 100m Medley Relay  
8 2019 Gwangju, KOR 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay 3:25.58
Heats 2017 Budapest, HUN 200m Butterfly 2:09.12
Semifinal 2017 Budapest, HUN 100m Butterfly 57.95
8 2017 Budapest, HUN 4 x 100m Medley Relay 3:59.98
8 2017 Budapest, HUN 4 x 100m Medley Relay 3:46.33
Semifinal 2015 Kazan, RUS 100m Butterfly 58.49
Heats 2015 Kazan, RUS 4 x 100m Medley Relay  
6 2013 Barcelona, ESP 100m Butterfly 58.11
Heats 2013 Barcelona, ESP 50m Butterfly 26.63
Heats 2013 Barcelona, ESP 4 x 100m Medley Relay  DSQ
Heats 2011 Shanghai, CHN 100m Butterfly 1:00.36
Heat 2011 Shanghai, CHN 4 x 100m Medley Relay  
Heat 2009 Rome, ITA 4 x 100m Medley Relay  
Heat 2009 Rome, ITA 100m Butterfly 58.81
World Championships Short Course
Rank Year Venue Event Result
Semifinal 2021 Abu Dhabi, UAE 100m Butterfly 57.03
Heats 2021 Abu Dhabi, UAE 200m Butterfly 2:07.20
6 2021 Abu Dhabi, UAE 4 x 100m Medley Relay  
5 2018 Hangzhou, CHN 200m Butterfly 2:05.57
4 2018 Hangzhou, CHN 100m Butterfly 56.39
Heats 2018 Hangzhou, CHN 50m Butterfly 26.29
8 2018 Hangzhou, CHN 4 x 50m Medley Relay  
3 2018 Hangzhou, CHN 4 x 100m Medley Relay  
6 2014 Doha, QAT 100m Butterfly 56.67
Heats 2014 Doha, QAT 50m Butterfly 26.37
4 2014 Doha, QAT 4 x 50m Freestyle Relay  
5 2014 Doha, QAT 4 x 50m Medley Relay 1:46.47
7 2014 Doha, QAT 4 x 100m Medley Relay 3:55.15
1 2012 Istanbul, TUR 100m Butterfly 56.13
Semifinal 2012 Istanbul, TUR 50m Butterfly 26.02
7 2012 Istanbul, TUR 4 x 100m Medley Relay 3:56.12
European Championships
Rank Year Venue Event Result
  2022 Rome, ITA 100m Butterfly  
2 2022 Rome, ITA 4 x 100m Medley Relay  
8 2021 Budapest, HUN 100m Butterfly 58.41
Heats 2021 Budapest, HUN 50m Butterfly 26.79
4 2018 Glasgow, SCO 100m Butterfly 57.72
Heats 2018 Glasgow, SCO 200m Butterfly 2:10.43
Semifinal 2018 Glasgow, SCO 50m Butterfly 26.43
4 2018 Glasgow, SCO 4 x 100m Medley Relay  
3 2016 London, ENG 100m Butterfly 57.52
Heats 2016 London, ENG 50m Butterfly 27.14
2 2016 London, ENG 4 x 100m Medley Relay 4:00.73
2 2016 London, ENG 4 x 100m Medley Relay  
3 2014 Berlin, GER 100m Butterfly 57.71
Heats 2014 Berlin, GER 50m Butterfly 27.01
5 2014 Berlin, GER 4 x 100m Medley Relay  
5 2014 Berlin, GER 4 x 100m Medley Relay 3:59.62
Semifinal 2012 Debrecen, HUN 100m Butterfly  DSQ
7 2012 Debrecen, HUN 50m Butterfly 26.55
2 2012 Debrecen, HUN 4 x 100m Medley Relay 4:01.92
European Championships Short Course
Rank Year Venue Event Result
3 2021 Kazan, RUS 200m Butterfly 2:05.43
8 2021 Kazan, RUS 100m Butterfly 57.98
Heats 2021 Kazan, RUS 50m Butterfly  DNS
2 2019 Glasgow, SCO 200m Butterfly 2:04.20
5 2019 Glasgow, SCO 100m Butterfly 56.92
Semifinal 2019 Glasgow, SCO 50m Butterfly 26.00
Heats 2019 Glasgow, SCO 4 x 50m Freestyle Relay  
5 2017 Copenhagen, DEN 100m Butterfly 56.65
2 2017 Copenhagen, DEN 200m Butterfly 2:04.22
Semifinal 2017 Copenhagen, DEN 50m Butterfly 25.89
4 2015 Netanya, ISR 100m Butterfly 56.45
Heats 2015 Netanya, ISR 50m Butterfly 27.02
Heats 2015 Netanya, ISR 100m Individual Medley 1:01.33
4 2013 Herning, DEN 4 x 50m Freestyle Relay  
Semifinals 2013 Herning, DEN 50m Butterfly 26.27
6 2013 Herning, DEN 100m Butterfly 57.19
3 2013 Herning, DEN 4 x 50m Medley Relay 1:39.68
1 2012 Chartres, FRA 100m Butterfly 56.40
4 2012 Chartres, FRA 50m Butterfly 25.79
3 2012 Chartres, FRA 4 x 50m Freestyle Relay 1:31.74 
8 2012 Chartres, FRA 4 x 50m Medley Relay DSQ
6 2011 Szczecin, POL 50m Butterfly 26.15
3 2011 Szczecin, POL 100m Butterfly 57.42
5 2011 Szczecin, POL 4 x 50m Medley Relay 1:49.00
World Cup Short Course
Rank Year Venue Event Result
37 2017   Overall  
2 2017 Berlin, GER 100m Butterfly 56.42
1 2013 Berlin, GER 50m Butterfly 25.62
8 2013 Doha, QAT 100m Butterfly 59.07
4 2013 Doha, QAT 200m Butterfly 2:07.68
8 2013 Dubai, UAE 50m Butterfly 26.60
5 2013 Dubai, UAE 200m Butterfly 2:10.23
5 2013 Dubai, UAE 100m Butterfly 58.52
4 2013 Eindhoven, NED 100m Butterfly 57.47
8 2013 Eindhoven, NED 50m Butterfly 26.45
27 2012   Overall  
1 2012 Berlin, GER 100m Butterfly 56.86
1 2012 Berlin, GER 50m Butterfly 25.96
2 2012 Berlin, GER 4 x 50m Medley Relay 1:41.64
1 2012 Moscow, RUS 100m Butterfly 57.18
2 2012 Moscow, RUS 50m Butterfly 26.21
6 2012 Stockholm, SWE 100m Butterfly 58.94
5 2012 Stockholm, SWE 50m Butterfly 26.30