PARIS, July 29 (Xinhua) -- Italian Thomas Ceccon secured Italy's second swimming gold medal of the Paris Olympics by winning the men's 100m backstroke final here on Monday.
Ceccon finished in 52.0 seconds at La Defense Arena, more than three tenths of a second faster than second-placed Xu Jiayu of China.
Veteran Ryan Murphy of the United States took bronze in 52.39.
Nicolo Martinenghi grabbed Italy's first gold medal of the swimming competition in Paris when he prevailed in the 100m breaststroke final on Sunday.
Ceccon said he had learned from mistakes made at last year's world championships in Fukuoka, when he earned silver in the same event.
"I changed my tactical approach for tonight," Ceccon said. "I have to say the last few meters I was very tired. But these races are won like this. Last year I lost because I was a bit slow and made a few mistakes, even during the warm up.
"This time around, I haven't made those mistakes. This is proof that sometimes you can lose, but you can learn from that." ■
