CANET, France, June 12. SOME swift long course meter swimming highlighted the first day of the Mare Nostrum stop held in Canet.
Russia's Yuliya Efimova claimed the women's 50 breast with a meet-record time of 30.55. She threatened her top-ranked time from the Monaco stop of 30.35. USA's Rebecca Soni finished second in 30.93, while Sweden's Jennie Johansson took third in 31.63.
Great Britain's Elizabeth Simmonds posted a meet-record time of 2:08.32 in the women's 200 back. Simmonds is the top-ranked swimmer in the event this year with a 2:06.79 from March. New Zealand's Melissa Ingram snagged second in 2:10.07 to move to 13th in the world, while Canada's Sinead Russell placed third in 2:12.38.
USA's Ariana Kukors popped a meet-record time in the women's 200 IM with a 2:11.22. The time fell a second short of her third-ranked season-best time of 2:10.34 from March. France's Camille Muffat touched second in 2:11.96, off her fourth-ranked 2:10.48, while Spain's Mireia Belmonte took third in 2:12.46.
Hungary's Laszlo Cseh touched out Austria's Markus Rogan, 1:59.01 to 1:59.26, in the men's 200 IM. Cseh moved up to fourth in the world with the time, while Rogan just missed his now fifth-ranked time of 1:59.12 from the Barcelona stop. Great Britain's James Goddard earned third in 2;01.86.
Soni returned in the women's 100 breast with a strong time of 1:06.27. She is the second-ranked swimmer in the world with a 1:05.90 from May. Leisel Jones owns the top time with a 1:05.79 from March. Efimova wound up second in 1:07.14, while USA's Jessica Hardy took third in 1:09.08.
Japan's Kosuke Kitajima put up a 1:00.65 on the board in the men's 100 breast for the win. Kitajima currently ranks second in the world with a 59.91 from April. France's Kristopher Gilchrist finished second in 1:01.84, while Russia's Stanislav Lakhtyukhov wound up third in 1:02.21.
Romania's Dragos Agache captured the men's 50 breast in 27.93 to move into an 11th-ranked tie with Christian Sprenger and Cameron van der Burgh. Glenn Snyders of New Zealand took second in 28.20, while France's Giacomo Perez Dortona placed third in 28.28.
Sweden's Therese Alshammar nearly matched her season high with a 24.84 for the win in the women's 50 free. Her third-ranked season-best time is a 24.82 from April. Great Britain's Fran Halsall took second in 24.92, off her second-ranked effort of 24.77 from March. Germany's Dorothea Brandt placed third in 25.06. Brandt jumped to fifth in the world ahead of Yolane Kukla's 25.08.
In an exciting finish, France's Fred Bousquet touched out compatriot Alain Bernard, 22.13 to 22.18, in the men's 50 free. Germany's Steffen Deibler took third in 22.42.
France's Sebastien Rouault captured the men's 400 free in 3:50.97, falling two seconds back of his seventh-ranked season-best time of 3:48.57. Tunisia's Ous Mellouli earned second in 3:51.02, while Great Britain's Dave Carry placed third in 3:52.55.
Poland's Radoslaw Kawecki won the men's 200 back in 1:59.75, while Hungary's Peter Bernek placed second in 2:00.84. New Zealand's Gareth Kean wound up third in 2:01.14.
USA's Dana Vollmer cruised in the women's 100 fly with a winning time of 58.72 leading a 1-2-3 U.S. sweep of the event. Kim Vandenberg took second in 59.33, while Natalie Coughlin placed third in 59.35.
Russia's Nikolay Skvortsov won the men's 100 fly in 52.99, while Australia's Andrew Lauterstein finished second in 53.16. Venezuela's Albert Subirats picked up third in 53.24.
China's Tang Yi topped the women's 200 free in 1:58.90, while USA's Katie Hoff earned second in 1:59.24. USA's Morgan Scroggy picked up third in 1:59.54.
Canada's Brent Hayden touched out Germany's Benjamin Starke, 1:48.56 to 1:48.59, in the men's 200 free. Russia's Evgeny Lagunov finished third in 1:49.04.
France's Coralie Balmy closed out the first day with an 8:31.53 to win the women's 800 free. Australia's Blair Evans grabbed second in 8:33.25, while South Africa's Wendy Trott placed third in 8:34.25.