COIMBRA – Luis Vaz, Pedro Oliveira, Nuno Quintanilha, Ana Rodrigues, Ana Leite and Raquel Monteiro each won three individual events as the Portugal National Swimming Championships wrapped up Saturday in Coimbra.
Men
Alexandre Agostinho of Portinado claimed the men’s 50 free title in 23.16, less than two tenths ahead of Academica de Coimbra’s Gustavo Madureira (23.32). Porto’s Joao Ascensao rounded out the top three in 23.64.
Luis Vaz of Famalicao scored a six-tenth victory in the men’s 100 free final, touching in 50.91 to top Nautico/Urgicentro-Sanfil’s Mario Pereira (51.53) and Portinado’s Miguel Nascimento (51.82).
After finishing 1-2 in the 100 free, Vaz and Pereira posted matching 1:50.75s to tie for first in the 200 free. Nascimento picked up a second third place finish with a 1:52.35 in finals.
Vaz earned his third win of the meet in the 400 free, out-distancing the field with a 4:00.55. Sporting’s Guilherme Dias finished just under two seconds later in 4:02.44, while Naval Amorense’s Rafael Gil rounded out the top three in 4:03.43.
In the 800 free, Gil and Columbofila Cantanhedense’s Alexandre Coutinho were neck-and-neck the entire race before Gil pulled ahead at the finish, 8:18.27 to 8:18.65. The two swimmers separated themselves from the rest of the field as Sporting’s Mario Bonanca took third in 8:23.31.
The top two spots were reversed in the 1500 free, as Coutinho earned a 10 second victory over Gil, 15:48.60 to 15:58.52. Benedita’s Guilherme Pina solidified third place with a near sub-16 minute swim of 16:00.16.
Estrelas S. Joao de Brito’s Pedro Oliveira dominated the men’s 50 back final, winning by more than a second in 25.81 and just missing Alexis Santos’ national record of 25.78. Louzan Natacao’s Gabriel Lopes emerged to take second in 26.87, while Rodrigo Rosa of Colegio Monte Maior placed third in 27.05.
In the 100 back, Oliveira just dipped under his own national record of 55.55 from December with a 55.46 in finals. He had plenty of clean water and finished well ahead of Lopes’ 57.11 and Nathan Theodoris of Louletano/Loule Concelho (57.20).
Oliveira swept the backstroke events at the meet, cruising to a 2:00.97 in the 200. Theodoris separated himself for second with a 2:03.10, while Colegio Monte Maior’s Joao Vital claimed third in 2:05.94.
A trio of swimmers broke 30 in the men’s 50 breast final, led by Colegio SM Lamas’ Simao Capitao in 29.65. He got to the wall two tenths ahead of Estrelas S. Joao de Brito’s Joao Gigante, who came in at 29.85. Nuno Fernandes of Benfica finished third in 29.94.
Vilacondense’s Filipe Ramos claimed the 100 breast title in a tightly bunched final, posting a 1:05.01 to top Capitao (1:05.59) and Belenenses’ Francisco Quintas (1:05.77).
Ramos nearly picked up a second win in the 200 breast, but was out-done by Leixoes’ Andre Santos, who out-touched him by three tenths, 2:19.61 to 2:19.92. Quintas finished in third for a second time, posting a 2:22.22.
Gigante picked up his first win of the meet in the 50 fly final, narrowly out-touching Carlos Santos of Porto, 25.23 to 25.30. Alges’ Pedro Santos was right behind in third at 25.31.
Colegio Vasco de Gama’s Nuno Quintanilha rocketed to a 54.12 in the 100 fly, a full 1.4 seconds ahead of Nascimento, who posted a 55.52 for second. Pedro Santos edged several others for third with a 55.65.
Quintanilha went two-for-two in the butterfly events with a second win in the 200 fly. Quintanilha was the only swimmer in the field to break 2:00, posting a 1:58.77 for the win. Pedro Oliveira earned another podium finish with a second place showing of 2:00.64, with Uniao Piedense’s Jose Carvalho in third at 2:04.49.
Diogo Carvalho of Galitos prevailed in the 200 IM final by only .08 over Alexis Santos of Sporting. The two swimmers were virtually even the entire race before Carvalho touched first, 2:00.52 to 2:00.60. The pair finished way out in front of the rest of the heat, as Sporting’s Pedro Pinotes touched third in 2:06.29.
Quintanilha won his third event of the meet with the top time in the 400 IM at 4:23.93, more than three seconds in front of Nautico/Urgicentro-Sanfil’s Tomas Veloso (4:27.27). Pinotes wound up third again in 4:31.78.
Women
Estamos Juntos’ Ana Rodrigues scored a one-second victory in the women’s 50 free final as she topped the championship heat in 26.04. Joana Pinto of Ginasio Vila Real tapped the wall second at 27.04, followed by Desportiva de Viana’s Catarina Ferreira at 27.22.
Ginasio Vila Real’s Ana Leite cleared the national record in the 100 free by nearly four tenths, stopping the clock at 56.41 to take down Sara Madeira’s 56.80 from 2008. Rodrigues finished in the top three for a second time, posting a 57.18, while Porto’s Diana Duraes claimed third in 57.70.
Duraes proved to be the top 200 freestyler of the meet as she stopped the clock at 2:03.91 for a convincing win over Sporting’s Mafalda Beleza (2:06.06). Maria Amorim of Porto finished right behind in third with a 2:06.17.
In the 400 free, Duraes equalled the national record set by Ana Neto in 2013 with a 4:19.75. Braga’s Tamila Holub just held off a fast-closing Angelica Andre of Fluvial Portuense for second, 4:22.05 to 4:22.48.
Andre and Holub reversed places in the 800 free, with Andre coming out ahead in 8:53.76 and Holub grabbing second in 8:56.91. Columbofila Cantanhedense’s Florbela Machado nearly broke nine minutes with a 9:00.74 for third.
Holub had her best performance in the longest race of the meet, the 1500 free, as she topped the field in 16:55.15. Machado, the national record-holder in the event with a 16:46.35, came in a distant second at 17:12.66, while Andre placed third in 17:26.95.
Ginasio Vila Real’s Ana Leite cruised to victory in the women’s 50 back final with the only sub-30 swim of the day at 29.56. No one finished within a second of her as Louletano/Loule Concelho’s Catia Martinheira touched second in 30.60. Marta Abreu of Porto snuck in for third with a 30.92.
Leite swept the sprint backstroke events, establishing a new national record in the 100 back with a 1:03.42. She shaved .03 off Marta Marinho’s 1:03.45 from 2010. Alges’ Francisca Azevedo wrapped up second in 1:04.08, seven tenths in front of teammate Rita Frischknecht (1:04.78).
In the 200 back, Azevedo rocketed to a new national record with a 2:15.27, taking just over three tenths off her own record of 2:15.58 from just a week ago. Frischknecht also beat the old record with a 2:15.53 for second, while Catia Martinheira came in a distant third at 2:21.14.
Estamos Juntos’ Ana Rodrigues dominated the women’s 50 breast final, winning by more than a second and a half with a 31.83, just off the overall national record of 31.60. Porto’s Paula Oliveira hit the wall second in 33.36, followed by Armacenenses’ Catarina Sequeira in 33.52.
The same three swimmers – Rodrigues, Oliveira and Sequeira – finished in the same order in the 100 breast, with Rodrigues leading the way in 1:10.55. Oliveira touched just over two seconds back in 1:12.60, with Sequeira in third at 1:14.05.
Alges’ Raquel Pereira dominated the women’s 200 breast final, winning by more than five seconds in 2:33.90. Barbara Barata, also of Alges, touched second in 2:39.33 to edge Nautico Abrantes’ Maria Silva (2:39.54).
Vilacondense’s Ana Monteiro earned a close victory in the 50 fly, just out-touching Portinado’s Jessica Brito, 28.82 to 28.93. Barata picked up another top three finish with a 29.05 for third.
Monteiro went two-for-two in the sprint fly events, stopping the clock at 1:01.20 in the 100 fly. Pimpoes/Cimai’s Victoria Kaminskaya finished right behind in 1:01.80, while Galitos’ Ana Rodrigues rounded out the top three in 1:04.54.
In the 200 fly, Monteiro made it a trifecta of wins with a dominating performance. She finished eight seconds out in front with a 2:12.27, with Colegio Vasco de Gama’s Ana Pereira in second at 2:20.32. Nautico da Marinha Grande’s Giovanna Vargas claimed third in 2:22.08.
Victoria Kaminskaya proved to be the top individual medley swimmer of the championships, out-distancing the field in the 200 IM by a sizable margin with a 2:16.83. Alges teammates Madalena Azevedo (2:20.65) and Raquel Pereira (2:21.01) grabbed the second and third place spots.
Fluvial Portuense’s Angelica Andre raced to victory in the 400 IM, posting a 4:56.44 to top Madalena Azevedo (4:59.64) by about three seconds. Porto’s Maria Cabral tapped the wall third at 5:03.39.
2015 Portugal National Swimming Championships – Results
On last day of championships Pedro Oliveira broke the 100m backstroke national record again in the medley relay with 55.42.