By Steve Thomas and Norbert Agh
BERLIN, Germany, Jul 29. A dramatic, unanticipated world record by the powerful German women’s 4 x 100 meter freestyle relay was the highlight of the first night of finals of the European Championships, being held in Berlin. The Germans clocked 3:36.00, destroying the world mark of 3:36.61 set by the 2000 USA Olympic team of Amy Van Dyken, Dara Torres, Courtney Shealey and Jenny Thompson.
Veteran Kathrin Meisner took the team out 26-hundreths under world record pace in a PR 54.82. Petra Dallman followed with an amazing 53.95, though that dropped the Germans just behind the US team's world record pace.
Another veteran, Sandra Volker, brought the Germans roaring bacxk with a lifetime best split of 53.59, handing over the anchoring chores to the darling of the Berlin crowd, the reborn Franzi van Almsick. Van Almsick responded with a 53.64 aanchor leg to cinch the record.
Sweden was a distant second in 3:40.66, while an Inge de Bruijn-less Dutch team held off Belarus to get third in 3:41.98. Holland almost certainly would have been second with De Bruijn swimming.
The men's relay was much closer, but the result was the same, with Germany snatching the gold in 3:17.67, just a hair ahead of Sweden (3:17.75) with Italy taking the bronze (3:18.20).
Italy Sweeps the 400 Free,
The Italian stallions, Emiliano Brembilla and Massi Rosolino went one-two in the 400 free
clocking 3:45.60 and 3:48.70 from early leader Romanian Dragos Coman, who was just touched out
for the silver with his 3:48.78.
Klochkova Holds Off Risztov
World record-holder, Olympic champion and double defending European Champion Yana Klochkova, Ukraine, had to fight all the way to hold off promising 17 year-old Hungarian Eva Risztov, 4:35.10 to 4:36.17.
Behind after the first two legs, Klotchkova edged ahead in the breast but Risztov wouldn't back down, and it wasn't until the final few meters that Klochkova clinched the win.
Klochkova's time was a new Championship record. Risztov's time broke the Hungarian national record of 4:36.54 set by the great Kristina Egerszegi in winning gold at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona.
Swimming World and SwimInfo have been following and chronicling Risztov's progress since her breakthrough meet at the 2000 European Junior Championships.
Klochkova and Risztov have qualified one-two in the 400 free and will battle it out again tomorrow in the final.
EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS
Berlin, Germany
DAY ONE: July 29, 2002
RESULTS
Men's 400 meter freestyle
1. Emiliano Brembilla (ITA) 3:45.60
2. Massimiliano Rosolino (ITA) 3:48.70
3. Dragos Coman (ROM) 3:48.78n
4. Kvetoslav Svoboda (CZE) 3:50.44
5. Athanasios Oikonomou (GRE) 3:50.53n
6. Jorg Hoffmann (GER) 3:52.30
7. Nicolas Rostoucher (FRA) 3:53.09
8. Heiko Hell (GER) 3:54.06
Women's 400 meter individual medley
1. Yana Klochkova (UKR) 4:35.10
2. Eva Risztov (HUN) 4:36.17n
3. Nicole Hetzer (GER) 4:42.22
4. Mirjana Bosevska (MAC) 4:46.42
5. Diana Remenyi (HUN) 4:46.63
6. Simona Paduraru (ROM) 4:46.81
7. Sara Nordenstam (SWE) 4:49.27
8. Federica Biscia (ITA) 4:50.69
Women's 4 x 100 meter freestyle relay
1. Germany 3:36.00 WR
(Kathrin Meissner, Petra Dallmann,
Sandra Volker, Franziska van Almsick)
2. Sweden 3:40.66
(Josefin Lillhage, Johanna Sjoberg,
Anna-Karin Kammerling, Therese Alshammar)
3. Netherlands 3:41.98
(Manon Van Rooijen, Marleen Veldhuis,
Chantal Groot, Wilma Van Hofwegen)
4. Belarus 3:42.16n
5. Greece 3:46.16
6. Belgium 3:47.31
7. Switzerland 3:47.39
8. Italy DQ
Men's 4×100 meter freestyle relay
1. Germany 3:17.67
(Lars Conrad, Stefan Herbst,
Torsten Spannenberg, Stephan Kunzelmann)
2. Sweden 3:17.75
(Erik La Fleur, Stefan Nystrand,
Lars Frolander, Mattias Olin)
3. Italy 3:18.20
(Lorenzo Vismara, Christian Galenda,
Michele Scarica, Simone Cercato)
4. Netherlands 3:18.34
5. Croatia 3:22.06
6. Portugal 3:23.62
7. Switzerland 3:24.43
8. Ukraine 3:25.60
Men's 3-meter springboard diving
1. Dmitri Sautin (RUS) 495.45 points
2. Andreas Wels (GER) 463.59
3. Vassilliy Lissovsky (RUS) 456.06
4. Dmytro Lysenko (UKR) 437.19
5. Yuri Shlyakhov (UKR) 413.34
6. Joona Puhakka (FIN) 398.73
7. Nikolaos Siranidis (GRE) 397.59
8. Jaroslav Makohin (CZE) 381.51
9. Nicola Marconi (ITA) 372.48
10. Thomas Bimis (GRE) 360.00
Progression in the World Record in the Women's 4 x 100 meter Freestyle Relay
3:58.11 United States Aug. 18, 2972
(Peyton, Nielson, Barkman, Babashoff)
3:58.11 East Germany Aug. 30, 1972
(Eife, Eichner, Sehmisch, Ender)
3:55.19 United States Aug. 30, 1972
(Nielson, Kemp, Barkman, Babashoff)
3:52.45 East Germany Sept. 8, 1973
(Ender, Eife, Huebner, Eichner)
3:51.99 United States Aug. 31, 1974
(Heddy, Marshall, Peyton, Babashoff)
3:49.37 East Germany July 26, 1975
(Ender, Krause, Hempel, Bruckner)
3:48.80 East Germany June 2, 1976
(Krause, Seltmann, Gabriel, Pollack)
3:44.82 United States July 25, 1976
(Peyton, Boglioli, Sterkel, Babashoff)
3:43.43 United States Aug. 26, 1978
(Caulkins, Elkins, Sterkel, Woodhead)
3:42.71 East Germany July 27, 1980
(Krause, Metschuk, Diers, Hulsenbeck)
3:42.41 East Germany Aug. 21, 1984
(Otto, Koenig, Friedrich, Meineke)
3:40.57 East Germany Aug. 19, 1986
(Otto, Stellmach, Schulze, Friedrich)
3:39.46 United States July 28, 1992
(Haislett, Torres, Martino, Thompson)
3:37.91 China Sept. 7, 1994
(Le Jingyi, Shan Ying, Le Ying, Lu Bin)
3:36.61 United States Sept. 16, 2000
(Van Dyken, Torres, Shealy, Thompson)
3:36.00 Germany July 29, 2002
(Meissner, Dallmann, Voelker, Van Almsick)