ROME, June 23 (Xinhua) -- The final chance for swimmers to meet Olympic qualifying standards wrapped up here Sunday, with dozens of athletes recording qualification times and having a preview of some of the rivalries that will be on display in Paris.

The 60th edition of the Sette Colli event held at the Foro Italico Swimming Stadium in Rome featured nearly 1,000 swimmers from more than 50 countries and regions.

Among the highlights from the final day of the three-day event: Sarah Sjostrom of Sweden and Italy's Simona Quadarella each had three victories in three days, while Daiya Seto of Japan won the 200m individual medley five years after setting a meet record in the event.

But Katinka Hosszu of Hungary, who holds the world and meet records in the women's 200m individual medley fell short of qualifying for her record-equaling sixth consecutive Olympics in her last try Sunday. A year after becoming a mother, the 35-year-old Hosszu, the holder of three Olympic gold medals, will stay home during the Summer Olympics for the first time since Sydney 2000.

On Friday, the competition's first day, Siobhan Haughey from China's Hong Kong won the women's 200m freestyle in 1 minute 55.35 seconds, just ahead of Olympic contenders Mary-Sophie Harvey of Canada and Britain's Freya Colbert.

But on Saturday, Haughey fell short against world record holder Sjostrom, who won the women's 100m final in 52.57 seconds, a new meet record. Haughey, a two-time Olympic silver medalist, finished second in 52.78 seconds. But the two swimmers will not have a rematch in Paris, as Sjostrom indicated she will skip the event.

Sjostrom, who is also the world record holder in the 50m fly, finished first in that event in 24.73 seconds on Friday and will compete in the event in Paris. As the only woman to ever best 25 seconds in the event, Sjostrom did so in Rome for at least the 23rd time in her career.

Also on Friday, Italy's Thomas Ceccon set a meet record in winning the men's 100m backstroke in 52.43 seconds. Ceccon, the world record holder in the event, defended his 2023 title in the meet in only the second competition of the year.

Brazil's Guiherme Costa won the men's 400m freestyle in 3:45.33 and Nicolo Martinenghi of Italy won the men's 100m breaststroke in 58.90 seconds, short of his meet record set in 2021. Britain's Adam Peaty, the two-time defending Olympic champion, was fourth in 59.51 and will be among the favorites in Paris. Italian Benedetta Pilato won the women's 100m breaststroke in 1:05.44, more than a second behind the 2024 world-leading time of 1:04.39 set in April by China's Tang Qianting.

The Netherlands' Nyls Korstanje won the men's 100m fly stroke by more than a second in 50.90 seconds, finishing just 0.01 seconds short of the meet record that has stood since 2021.

Quadarella of Italy broke her own meet record in the 1,500m freestyle, finishing in 15:48.27, just ahead of Germany's Isabel Gose and far ahead of the rest of the field. On Saturday, Quadarella also won the 800m freestyle in another meet record of 8:18.95 and followed that up on Sunday when she won the 400m freestyle in 4:06.43.

On Saturday, Italy's Michele Lamberti won the men's 50m backstroke in 24.40 seconds, 0.01 seconds short of the five-year-old meet record. Alessandro Miressi of Italy won the men's 100m freestyle in 48.08 seconds, a new meet record, though he was more than a second off the world-record time set by China's Pan Zhanle earlier this year. Martinenghi followed his 100m breaststroke victory with a narrow win over two countrymen in the 50m version, finishing in 26.65 seconds. Lukas Maertens of Germany won the men's 800m freestyle in 7:43.52.

Many of the participants were seeking the Olympic "A" or "B" qualifying standard. For a delegation to have multiple athletes in an event, they all must have met the "A" standard by Sunday. A delegation can have a single participant if that athlete met the "B" standard on or before Sunday.

The Paris Olympics will run from July 26 to August 11, though the pool events in Paris will take place only from July 27 to August 4. Enditem

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