Federico Burdisso has done it. The Northwestern swimmer earned the bronze medal in the men’s 200-meter butterfly for his native Italy at the Tokyo Olympics.
Burdisso swam a 1:55:14 in the preliminary heat on July 26, finishing third in his heat and qualifying him through to the semifinal round. In the semifinals on July 27, he swam a 1:55.11, again finishing third in his heat and fourth overall, sending him to the finals on Tuesday night.
The men’s 200-meter butterfly final itself was a race for second place. Hungarian Kristof Milak holds the world record of 1:50.