During the first day of competition at the Mare Nostrum meet in Canet, Lithuania’s Ruta Meilutyte cranked out a world best in the women’s 100-meter breast.
Meilutyte took down Yuliya Efimova for the top time in the world in the women’s 100-meter breast. Meilutyte blasted a 1:05.46. That swim cleared Efimova 1:05.89 from the Mission Viejo Invitational, and is just a second off Meilutyte’s world record of 1:04.35.
Denmark’s Rikke Moller Pedersen snared silver in 1:07.01 to move to seventh in the world rankings, while Spain’s Jessica Vall Montero placed third in 1:07.69. USA’s Micah Lawrence also cleared 1:08 with a fourth-place 1:07.86.
Great Britain’s Georgia Davies won the women’s 50-meter back in 27.87, moving to fifth in the world rankings. Denmark’s Mie Nielsen took second in 28.00, just off her seventh-ranked season best of 27.94 from the Golden Tour, while Hungary’s Katinka Hosszu snared third in 28.17. Zimbabwe’s Kirsty Coventry closed out a stacked top four with a 28.51.
France’s Camille Lacourt, already top-ranked in the world with a 24.56 from the French Championships, won the men’s 50-meter back in 24.97. Great Britain’s Christopher Walker-Hebborn placed second in 25.19, off his eighth-ranked season best of 24.92, while Spain’s Juan Miguel Rando took third in 25.42.
Denmark’s Jeanette Ottesen popped a 24.47 to win the women’s 50-meter free title. That swim pushed her from ninth in the world to sixth overall. Bahamas’ Arianna Vanderpool-Wallace, already ranked third in the world with a 24.35, took second in 24.62.
The Netherlands’ Ranomi Kromowidjojo (24.68) and Femke Heemskerk (24.72) placed third and fourth in the finale.
Ottesen doubled up with a victory in the women’s 100-meter fly. She scorched the pool with a 57.31, just off her second-ranked season best of 57.23.
Canada’s Katerine Savard took second in 57.76 to move to sixth in the world, while France’s Marie Wattel placed third in 58.43.
Japan’s Katsumi Nakamura picked up a bit of an upset with a 22.32 to win the men’s 50-meter free. Poland’s Konrad Czerniak placed second in 22.35 with Finland’s Ari Pekka Liukkonen earning third in 22.38.
Great Britain’s Jazmin Carlin crushed the field in the women’s 1500-meter free with a 16:09.69 for the win. That swim pushed her to eighth in the world rankings.
Spain’s Maria Vilas Vidal touched second in 16:18.14 with Great Britain’s Jessica Thielmann earning third in 16:23.23.
Great Britain’s James Guy clocked a time of 3:46.84 to win the men’s 400-meter free. That swim nearly climbed him into the top 10 in the world. South Africa’s Myles Brown placed second in 3:48.28 with Canada’s Ryan Cochrane taking third in 3:49.95.
Hosszu, who already finished third in the 50 back earlier in the evening, claimed the women’s 200-meter back title in 2:08.05. She set the meet record in the event with a 2:07.67 during prelims. Both swims were shy of her second-ranked season best of 2:06.81 from the Golden Tour in Nancy.
Canada’s Hilary Caldwell touched second overall in 2:09.99 with Germany’s Jenny Mensing capturing third in 2:10.43.
Hosszu doubled up with a 2:10.09 in the women’s 200-meter IM after posting a meet-record 2:09.47 in prelims. Great Britain’s Siobhan Marie O’Connor snagged second in 2:10.57, while Japan’s Kanako Watanabe placed third in 2:11.56.
In one of the biggest head-to-head matchups of the meet, Japan’s Ryosuke Irie smoked USA’s Ryan Lochte in the men’s 200-meter backstroke.
Irie won the finale in 1:55.23, just off his top-ranked season best of 1:54.62 from the BHP Super Series. Lochte, meanwhile, took home silver with a 1:57.96. Poland’s Radoslaw Kawecki, who is ranked fifth in the world with a 1:56.38 from Polish Nationals, took third in 1:58.32.
Adam Peaty, the world record holder with a 57.92 from British Nationals earlier this season, touched out Japan’s Yasuhiro Koseki in the men’s 100-meter breast, 59.83 to 59.96. Koseki has also been faster this year with a third-ranked 59.73 from Japanese Nationals.
Germany’s Christian Vom Lehn wound up third in 1:00.24 with South Africa’s Cameron van der Burgh settling for fourth in 1:00.36.
In an incredibly close finale, Japan’s Kosuke Hagino cleared teammate Daiya Seto and Hungary’s David Verraszto in the men’s 400-meter IM.
Hagino, who is top ranked in the world with a 4:08.54 from Japanese Nationals, won in 4:11.16. Seto, ranked second with a 4:10.04 from the Japan Open, placed second tonight in 4:11.48. Verraszto rounded out the top three in 4:11.52 to move to third in the world.
In another highly-anticipated matchup. South Africa’s Chad le Clos downed Lochte in the men’s 100-meter fly.
Le Clos clocked a time of 51.88 to move to eighth in the world, while Lochte earned his second silver of the night with a 52.29. Japan’s Takeshi Kawamoto snared third overall in 52.30.
France’s Charlotte Bonnet cleared Heemskerk, 1:56.16 to 1:56.82, in the women’s 200-meter free. Bonnet moved into a sixth-ranked tie with Federica Pellegrini with her swim, while Heemskerk fell short of her top-ranked 1:54.68 from the Eindhoven Swim Cup. Hosszu collected another medal with a third-place 1:58.94.
The Netherlands’ Sebastiaan Verschuren clipped Guy, 1:48.05 to 1:48.07, for the men’s 200-meter free crown to close the night. Brown placed third overall in 1:48.51.
2015 Mare Nostrum Canet, Day One – Results