"Rafael Nadal wrote me very nice words" - Olympic gold medalist Thomas Ceccon shares Spanish tennis legend's assurance after hearing about his fandom

Thomas Ceccon has shared what tennis legend Rafael Nadal said to him after he mentioned idolizing the Spaniard following his success at the 2024 Paris Olympics. At the quadrennial games in Paris, Ceccon delivered an outstanding performance representing Italy by winning two medals.

Ceccon first contributed to the nation’s bronze medal victory in the men’s 4x100m freestyle by swimming the second leg where he recorded a time of 47.44 as the overall timing was 3:10.70. With this, Italy came only behind the USA (3:09.28) and Australia (3:10.35) to finish third in the event.

Two days later, Ceccon accomplished his first-ever Olympic gold medal in the men’s 100m backstroke discipline. The world record holder displayed his brilliance, swimming a time of 52.00 to take home the gold, finishing ahead of China’s Xu Jiayu (52.32) and Ryan Murphy (52.39) from the United States.

Following his sensational gold medal victory, Thomas Ceccon has risen to global prominence, with over 750K followers on his Instagram. In a recent interview with Corriere della Sera, Ceccon revealed that Rafael Nadal is his idol.

“The greatest fighter in the history of sport. Even now, who no longer has any, refuses to give up, he still tries, because he likes it, because he enjoys it, because it is his life,” Ceccon said of the 22-time men’s singles Grand Slam champion.

After the three-time world champion (long course) spoke about Nadal in the interview, the tennis icon contacted him, as per World Aquatics, the sport’s global governing body, writing:

“Honored to be your idol. I would be happy to meet you.”

Here is what Nadal also told Ceccon on Instagram (via GDV Sport):

“He wrote me very nice words.”

Thomas Ceccon opens up on feeling ‘empty’ after the 2024 Paris Olympics

Thomas Ceccon at the 2024 Paris Olympics (Photo By Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile via Getty Images)

Thomas Ceccon talked about his life after the conclusion of the Paris Olympics. He opened up about feeling empty after accomplishing his top life goals. Adding the same in his interview with Corriere della Sera, he said:

“Empty. The more you win, the more you go up; but the more you go down too. I'm going to make your life over again. I'm blown away. I go to bed at the time when I usually get up, six in the morning, even at seven o’clock. I sleep until two in the afternoon.”

In the interview, the four-time Olympic medalist also believed he would soon find motivation again.