Host Italy is not expecting to win much at world meet

ROME (AP) — Italy’s hopes for medals at the swimming world championships in their pool are mostly limited to Olympic champion Federica Pellegrini and Beijing silver medalist Alessia Filippi.

Filippo Magnini, the two-time defending world champion in swimming’s signature race — the 100-meter freestyle — has fallen off form, and Massimiliano Rosolino appears at the end of a career that has included 19 medals at Olympics and world championships.

So the expectations for medals at the world championships are low for the host country.

“We only have two or three athletes capable of winning medals, so we would be happy with two or three medals,” head coach Alberto Castagnetti said Monday.

At the Beijing Olympics last year, Italy won only two medals at the Water Cube. Pellegrini took gold in the 200 freestyle and Filippi was second in the 800 free.

Traditional swimming events begin Sunday, and Italy’s only other chances for medals at the Foro Italico could come in the men’s and women’s 800 freestyle relays. However, a key member of the men’s squad, Marco Bellotti, is sick with a 102-degree fever.

“I doubt he’ll race,” Castagnetti said. “He’s been sick for a week and he hasn’t swam for 10 days.”

The biggest expectations are for Pellegrini, who has set world records in the 200 and 400 free this year, although the 20-year-old Italian will face stiff competition in the 400 from Olympic champion Rebecca Adlington and Joanne Jackson of Britain.

“In the 400 there are two or three athletes practically even,” said Castagnetti, who is also Pellegrini’s personal coach. “In the 200, she’s the favorite. We’re hoping she wins one of the two.”

Pellegrini has been barraged by local media, who have turned her into somewhat of a sex symbol. The swimmer posed nude on the cover of the latest Italian version of Vanity Fair.

“I think by now all the questions have pretty much been asked and she can finally focus on her events,” Castagnetti said.

Filippi set a short-course world record in the 800 free in December, but Adlington still holds the long-course mark, set in her Olympic victory last year.

“She’s got to confirm what she’s capable of,” Castagnetti said. “She’s ready. But she too has some tough opponents. She’s not ranked first at the moment.”

Magnini set a personal best of 48.11 seconds in the 100 free earlier this year, but he is still far from matching French favorites Alain Bernard and Frederick Bousquet.

Magnini failed to qualify for last year’s Olympic final, won by Bernard.

“He’s certainly not the favorite anymore, but I think he could compete with the top guys again,” Castagnetti said.

The youngest member of Italy’s team is 16-year-old breaststroker Ilaria Scarcella, who recently won three golds at the junior European Championships.