Day 6: 1997 European Championships
SEVILLE, Spain – Olympic gold medalist Michelle de Bruin finished the European Championships with 2 gold and 2 silver medals, taking her second silver Sunday in the 200m butterfly behind Spain’s Maria Pelaez. De Bruin also said she will file libel lawsuits in the next few weeks against 3 Irish newspapers and 1 British paper – and is reviewing possible suits against the Chicago Sun-Times and the French sports daily L’Equipe. Pelaez beat de Bruin 2:10.25 to 2:10.88. Mette Jacobsen of Denmark was third in 2:11.97. In the men’s 200 IM, Netherland’s Marcel Wouda defended won in a time of of 2:00.77. Natalia Mescheryakova of Russia won the women’s 50m free in 25.31. In the men’s 1,500 free, Italy’s Emiliano Brembilla won in 14:58.65. Four-time defending champion Joerg Hoffmann withdrew from the final. In the women’s 200m backstroke, Germany’s Cathleen Rund had the best European time of the year (2:11.46) to take the gold. In the men’s 400m medley, Russia won the gold in 3:39.67.