Martinenghi was disqualified and then reinstated in the 100m breaststroke final. "I lost two years of my life."

"I'd like two years of my life back." The years Nicolò Martinenghi lost in the anguish and anger of the final minutes of the 100m breaststroke semifinal at the World Championships in Singapore, the event in which he won Olympic gold in Paris. After finishing second (58.62), behind China's Haiyang Qin and ahead of fellow Italian Ludovico Viberti, the swimmer from Varese was disqualified for an alleged butterfly kick, which is obviously prohibited in breaststroke events. Tete barely had time to despair, but enough time to lose two years of his life, before he was reinstated.

The judges cancelled the disqualification

The judges reviewed the footage and overturned the disqualification. Tete will therefore regularly start tomorrow's final alongside Viberti. There was no need for the appeal that Italy technical director Cesare Butini and Martinenghi's coach Matteo Giunta had intended to file: they rushed to the VAR room but were immediately greeted with an apology from the competition director, Australian Mike Hanger, who admitted the error and reassured the coaches, adding that something was amiss, but likely in another lane near Martinenghi's.

Martinenghi's apologies

After correcting the error, Tete regained his composure and apologized to the microphones, which initially skipped over due to anger and confusion. “It's not like me to be unprofessional, I apologize, but for us, the races and these races are everything. I was sure I did everything correctly, I was very aware of my actions. I understand that mistakes can happen, it's human, but I wish someone would give me back the two years of life I lost in those moments. I'm torn between conflicting emotions, the first very bad at the moment of the disqualification, the other good for the way I swam and felt in the water. The final will be very tough, there's a lot of competition and a lot of opponents, including Lodovico. But I'm happy with myself and I want to prove I'm still here; I have more to burn.”