Italy's Sveva Schiazzano surprised by swimming gold

Italian swimmer Sveva Schiazzano has admitted that it was a "surprise" to win gold in the women's 1500m freestyle at the European Games in Baku.

The 15-year-old needed a late charge to finish ahead of Hungary's Janka Juhasz, while Spain's Marina Castro Atalaya completed the podium.

Schiazzano told reporters: "I feel very emotional now because I had prepared for this Games for one year, and I trained a lot this year, and now I have reached my goal of a gold medal.

"It was a surprise, I didn't expect to win gold and that is why I cried before I came [to the Interview Zone]. At the beginning I expected to get on the podium, so I was positive, but I did not expect gold.

"The goal is to never stop training, but my ultimate goal I don't know. I took 22 seconds off my time so I'm very excited."

Schiazzano will be in action again on Saturday in the 4x200m freestyle relay.

Written by
Sian Cowper