BUDAPEST, Hungary, August 13. A pair of top-ranked times in the world were enjoyed by the fans in attendance during the fifth evening of swimming at the European Long Course Championships.
Finals
Men's 800 free
France's Sebastien Rouault led four swimmers under Gergo Kis' meet record of 7:51.94 set in the distance event in 2008. Rouault clocked a 7:48.28 for the win, cutting three seconds from Samuel Pizzetti's previously top-ranked time of 7:51.42 set in April. Rouault had been second in the world with a 7:51.94 from April.
Germany's Christian Kubusch placed second in 7:49.12 to move to second in the world, while Pizzetti improved upon his season best with a third-place and third-ranked 7:49.94. Kis, meanwhile, also cleared his former meet record with a fourth-place 7:51.93 to move to fourth in the world.
Pal Joensen of the Faroes Island finished fifth in 7:53.11 to take fifth overall in the world, while Italy's Federico Colberaldo placed sixth in 7:54.84. Denmark's Mads Glaesner (7:55.80) and Hungary's Gergely Gyurta (7:59.95) completed the top eight.
Women's 200 breast
Russia's Anastasia Chaun used a blazing final 50 (36.50) to snatch the meet record and title in the distance breast with a time of 2:23.50. That effort erased the meet record of 2:24.09 set by Yuliya Efimova, and made her just the third swimmer this year to break 2:24. Rebecca Soni has the top-ranked time with a 2:21.41, while Leisel Jones owns second with a 2:23.45.
Norway's Sara Nordenstam placed second in 2:24.42 to move to sixth in the world, while Denmark's Rikke Moeller Pedersen took third overall in 2:24.99.
Sweden's Joline Hostman (2:26.00), Slovenia's Tanja Smid (2:27.73), Italy's Chiara Boggiatto (2:28.61), Great Britain's Stacey Tadd (2:28.64) and Serbia's Nadja Higl (2:29.60) also swam in the finale.
Men's 100 free
France's Alain Bernard stood atop the podium by the end of a stocked sprint free finale with a 48.49. He's been faster this year though, with a second-ranked 48.32. Russia's Evgeny Lagunov took second in the head-to-head battle with a 48.52, falling short of his top-ranked time of 48.23 from earlier in the meet.
France's William Meynard took third in 48.56 to tie Brent Hayden for sixth in the world, while Italy's Filippo Magnini finished fourth in 48.67 to improve his 11th-ranked season best of 48.72.
Russia's Andrey Grechin (48.69), The Netherlands' Sebastiaan Verschuren (48.82), Sweden's Stefan Nystrand (48.82) and Italy's Luca Dotto (49.05) comprised the rest of the championship field.
Women's 100 fly
Sweden's Sarah Sjostrom came up just short of Martina Moravcova's meet record of 57.20 set in 2002, but still took the title in 57.32 to tie Christine Magnuson for the top ranking in the world. Great Britain's Fran Halsall placed second in the event with a 57.40 to jump into fourth in the world, up from seventh with a 57.83 from March.
Sweden's Therese Alshammar finished third in 57.80, shy of her fifth-ranked season best of 57.55 from earlier in the meet, while Denmark's Jeanette Ottesen touched fourth in 58.21.
Israel's Amit Ivri (58.73), France's Aurore Mongel (58.79), Hungary's Eszter Dara (58.79) and Portugal's Sara Freitas Oliveira (59.04) finished fifth through eighth.
Semifinals
Women's 200 free
Italy's Federica Pellegrini downed the meet record during semis with a swift 1:56.53. She cleared the 2002 record of 1:56.64 set by Franziska Van Almsick in Berlin. Pellegrini's swim tonight just missed her top-ranked time of 1:56.23 set at the Italian Nationals back in April.
Hungary's Agnes Mutina qualified second in 1:57.19, improving on her fifth-ranked season best of 1:57.24, while France's Camille Muffat placed third in 1:57.97 well off her third-ranked season best of 1:56.92.
Hungary's Evelyn Verraszto (1:58.07), Spain's Patricia Castro Ortega (1:58.11), The Netherlands' Femke Heemskerk (1:58.28), Germany's Silke Lippok (1:58.29) and France's Coralie Balmy (1:58.58) also made finals.
Men's 100 fly
The Netherlands' Joeri Verlinden put up a 51.96 for the top seed in the finale. With the time, he moved into fifth in the world, as only Michael Phelps (50.65), Evgeny Korotyshkin (51.70), Andrew Lauterstein (51.79) and Takuro Fujii (51.94) have been faster.
Poland's Konrad Czerniak finished second in 52.09, just off his seventh-ranked season best of 52.03. Russia's Korotyshkin cruised into finals with a third-seeded 52.10.
Slovenia's Peter Mankoc (52.31), Poland's Pawel Korzeniowski (52.32), Sweden's Lars Frolander (52.46), Great Britain's Antony James (52.70) and Russia's Nikolay Skvortsov (52.71) earned the fourth through eighth seeds in the finale.
Women's 50 back
Belarus' Aliaksandra Herasimenia became just the fourth swimmer under 28 seconds this year with a top-seeded time of 27.98. She joined Gao Chang (27.72), Zhao Jing (27.72) and Emily Seebohm (27.95) under the 28-second barrier. She also lowered the meet record of 28.05 set by Anastasia Zueva in 2008.
Spain's Mercedes Peris Minguet took second in 28.04, moving to fifth in the world in the event. Germany's Daniela Samulski placed third in 28.19, while The Netherlands' Hinkelien Schreuder placed fourth in 28.49. Samulski just missed her ninth-ranked season best of 28.16.
Norway's Ingvild Snildal (28.53), Greece's Theodora Drakou (28.60), Ukraine's Alina Vats (28.70) and Italy's Elena Gemo (28.95) claimed the fifth through eighth transfer spots into finals.
Men's 200 back
Poland's Radoslaw Kawecki paced the semifinal heats with a 1:57.84, which moved him up to 10th in the world in the event. Russia's Stanislav Donets finished second in 1:58.01, while France's Benjamin Stasiulis took third in 1:58.31.
Germany's Yannick Lebherz (1:58.42), The Netherlands' Nick Driebergen (1:58.48), Italy's Sebastiano Ranfagni (1:58.73), Austria's Markus Rogan (1:58.79) and France's Eric Ress (1:59.36) made up the rest of the top eight.
Men's 50 breast
The Netherlands' Lennart Stekelenburg posted the fastest time in semis with a 27.44. He moved to fourth in the world in the event, with only Kosuke Kitajima (27.30), Damir Dugonjic (27.37) and Brenton Rickard (27.40) being faster this year.
Italy's Fabio Scozzoli qualified second in 27.46 to move to fifth in the world, while The Netherlands' Robin van Aggele took third in 27.50. Dugonjic, meanwhile, qualified fourth in 27.52.
Slovenia's Emil Tahirovic (27.57), Ireland's Barry Murphy (27.60), Norway's Alexander Dale Oen (27.63) and Romania's Dragos Agache (27.64) earned the final four lanes in the finale.