BERLIN, Germany, August 11. HUNGARY’s Katinka Hosszu kept steamrolling through the 2013 FINA World Cup just like she did the 2012 edition. By the end of the night, she owned all the IM world records along with a triple this evening.
Meanwhile, Spain’s Mireia Belmonte Garcia tracked down her second world record of the meet in Berlin.
Men’s 1500 free
Italy’s Gregorio Paltrinieri completed a sweep of the 1500 frees during the European cluster of the FINA World Cup with a time of 14:30.74 this evening. That’s well off the 14:27.65 from the Eindhoven stop, but plenty good enough against tonight’s competition to earn him another $1,500 this week.
Hungary’s Gergo Kis checked in second with a 14:34.69 for the silver-medal paycheck to move into the top 15 all time in the event’s history. He pushed the pace throughout, often outsplitting Paltrinieri, but could not overcome Paltrinieri’s early speed that claimed the lead for good.
Poland’s Filip Zaborowski rounded out the podium with a 14:36.42 for bronze. He’s also now within the top 15 all time with his effort.
USA’s Michael Klueh (14:45.16), The Netherlands’ Ferry Weertman (14:52.03), Ukraine’s Sergiy Frolov (15:01.99), Austria’s David Brandl (15:19.64) and China’s Hou Guangsen (15:46.07) rounded out the competition.
Women’s 400 IM
Make it $60,000 in world-record bonus checks for the Iron Lady as Hungary’s Katinka Hosszu came roaring back in the freestyle leg to complete an IM world-record sweep this week. Although initial information states that a $50,000 world-record bonus is in place, Hosszu’s fianc?/coach Shane Tusup assures us that FINA has lifted that cap looking for more world records on the FINA World Cup.
This evening, after clocking a world record in the sprint medley for the third time this week during prelims, Hosszu turned on the afterburners in the freestyle leg of the distance medley for the world record as she clocked a 4:20.85 to become the first woman to break 4:21.
That swim broke the world record set by Julia Smit with a 4:21.04 back in Manchester, England in 2009, and gave Hosszu an amazing sweep of the IM records as she currently owns the 100 IM (57.45), 200 IM (2:03.20) and now 400 IM (4:20.85) marks for her sixth world record performance in four days of swimming this week.
Splits
Julia Smit
28.39, 1:00.60 (32.21), 1:33.93 (33.33), 2:06.01 (32.08), 2:42.66 (36.65), 3:19.42 (36.76), 3:50.58 (31.16), 4:21.04 (30.46)
Katinka Hosszu
27.91, 59.79 (31.88), 1:32.77 (32.98), 2:04.99 (32.22), 2:42.16 (37.17), 3:20.68 (38.52), 3:51.31 (30.63), 4:20.85 (29.54)
Hungary completed another IM podium sweep as Zsuzsanna Jakabos took second in 4:29.42, while Evelyn Verraszto placed third in 4:32.97.
The Netherlands’ Wendy van der Zanden (4:36.03), Austria’s Joerdis Steinegger (4:38.87), Annika Bruhn (4:41.06), Kathrin Demler (4:41.82) and The Netherlands’ Lieke Verouden (4:51.28) also swam in the historic finale.
Women’s 100 free
The Netherlands went 1-2 in the sprint freestyle event with Ranomi Kromowidjojo making a run at the World Cup record of 51.19 set by Fran Halsall in Singapore in 2009. Kromowidjojo, the 50 free victor, raced her way to a 51.28 for the win.
That makes her the third fastest all time in the event, and breaks her national record of 51.44 set at the 2009 European Championships. With her progression within the event, it may just be a matter of time before Kromowidjojo owns both the 50 and 100 free world records as Libby Trickett’s world record of 51.01 from 2009 is now definitely within striking distance.
Compatriot Femke Heemskerk snatched the second-place paycheck with a time of 52.20, while Canada’s Sandrine Mainville popped a 52.41 for third-place honors. That swim beat Victoria Poon’s Canadian record of 52.51 from the 2010 World Short Course Championships in Dubai.
Australia’s Emma McKeon (52.50), Canada’s Chantal Van Landeghem (52.87), The Netherlands’ Maud van der Meer (53.27), Australia’s Brittany Elmslie (53.30) and Japan’s Haruka Ueda (53.91) also vied for the title this evening.
Men’s 200 free
North Baltimore posted another 1-2 finish in the men’s 200 free after having similar success in Eindhoven earlier this week. France’s Yannick Agnel threw down a 25.42 final split to overtake NBAC teammate Conor Dwyer down the stretch, with a winning time of 1:41.26. That pushed him into the top five all time in the event.
Dwyer, meanwhile, rattle Ryan Lochte’s American record of 1:41.08 from the 2012 World Short Course Championships, with a second-place time of 1:41.30 to also join the top five all time. Dwyer has been piling up the cash this week with plenty of podium placements during his trip with NBAC teammate Agnel.
Poland’s Pawel Korzeniowski tracked down third-place honors with a 1:42.86 to complete the podium.
Australia’s Bobby Hurley (1:43.17), Russia’s Artem Lobuzov (1:43.58), Dimitri Colupaev (1:43.62), The Netherlands’ Dion Dreesens (1:44.28) and Robin Backhaus (1:45.92) finished fourth through eighth in the finale.
Women’s 50 breast
Jamaica’s Alia Atkinson charged through the sprint breaststroke en route to a victorious sub-30 time. She blasted the field with a sizzling 29.31, bettering her personal best of 29.42 from the Eindhoven stop earlier this week.
With her progressions, she keeps inching closer and closer to Jessica Hardy’s stunning world record of 28.80 from the Berlin stop of the 2009 World Cup following her one-year suspension. That year was a coming out party for Hardy as she raced her way to the World Cup title after her unfortunate 2008 that witnessed her lose a year of swimming due to tainted supplements.
Denmark’s Rikke Moller Pedersen placed second in 30.00, while Caroline Ruhnau also earned some cash with a third-place 30.14.
Dorothea Brandt (30.35), Sweden’s Jennie Johansson (30.36), Australia’s Sally Foster (30.79), Sweden’s Rebecca Ejdervik (31.03) and Germany’s Theresa Michalak (31.12) comprised the rest of the top eight.
Men’s 100 breast
In an exciting finale, Italy’s Fabio Scozzoli touched out Hungary’s Daniel Gyurta for the title as the two traded strategies that including Gyurta coming on like a freight train down the stretch with a 29.93 final split.
Scozzoli, however, managed to hold on for the win with a 56.58 to 56.79 triumph over the Olympic gold medalist. Germany’s Marco Koch completed the podium with a third-place time of 57.38. That’s a lifetime best for the German, beating his 57.52 that had stood as his best time in the event.
Japan’s Kosuke Kitajima (57.82), Germany’s Hendrik Feldwehr (57.87), Ireland’s Barry Murphy (58.31), Slovakia’s Tomas Klobucnik (58.59) and Erik Steinhagen (58.61) wrapped up the championship finale.
Men’s 100 fly
USA’s Tom Shields completed a sweep of the short course meter butterfly American records by downing a legendary mark by Ian Crocker in the 100 fly this evening.
Shields crushed a loaded field, including South Africa stalwart Chad Le Clos, as he raced to a winning time of 49.01. That performance eclipsed the American record of 49.07 set by multiple-time Olympic gold medalist Crocker back in 2004.
The record-breaking performance gave Shields a sweep of the American butterfly records as he already owns the 50 fly (22.46) and 200 fly (1:51.31) marks, with the 200 fly record going down this week for Shields. All that’s left now for Shields outside of a world record is to join the 48-second club.
Le Clos clocked a 49.48 to take second this evening, while Germany’s Steffen Deibler placed third in 49.72 to round out the sub-50 second times.
Russia’s Nikolay Skvortsov (50.57), Canada’s Coleman Allen (51.30), Poland’s Pawel Korzeniowski (51.35), The Netherlands’ Mike Marissen (51.39) and Austria’s Sascha Subarsky (53.32) finished fourth through eighth in the championship heat.
Women’s 100 back
No one has been able to touch Japan’s Aya Terakawa this week in the backstroke events as she has now swept the 50 and 100s during the European cluster of the FINA World Cup. Tonight, she posted a 56.10 for the 100-meter backstroke victory, winning by nearly half-a-second.
Australia’s Emily Seebohm continued collecting checks with a second-place time of 56.59. She’s been pulling down some strong winnings this week with routine podium finishes. Czech’s Simona Baumrtova earned herself a third-place check with a bronze-winning time of 57.15.
Australia’s Belinda Hocking (57.64), Ukraine’s Daryna Zevina (57.79), Canada’s Hilary Caldwell (58.66), Colombia’s Carolina Colorado (58.73) and Australia’s Meagen Nay (59.10) captured fourth through eighth.
Men’s 50 back
It might not have been nearly is 23.0 lifetime best, but Australia’s Bobby Hurley had plenty of speed to capture the first-place paycheck in the sprint backstroke event tonight.
Hurley raced his way to a 23.20 to top the sprint backstroke event, while Russia’s Vlad Morozov placed second in 23.56 as both he and Hurley continued to pull in significant cash with race winnings. Australia’s Mitch Larkin made it a 1-3 for the Aussies with a 23.80 for bronze. Hurley has definitely made the World Cup a big part of his professional swimming career, as he brought home plenty of money last year as well.
France’s Ben Stasiulis (23.86), USA’s David Plummer (23.90), The Netherlands’ Bastiaan Lijesen (24.01), Canada’s Russell Wood (24.29) and Brazil’s Nelson Silva Jr. (24.30) also vied for the cash in the championship finale.
Women’s 200 fly
Just minutes after burning her reserves to set the world record in the 400 IM, Hungary’s Katinka Hosszu bounced back with just enough to capture the 200 fly title for a double this evening.
Hosszu, who has a lifetime best in the 2:02s, held tight through the 150-meter mark as she turned in third, before charging home with a 31.10 to win the finale in 2:03.36. That’s Hosszu’s third win this week as she has already cleared the $50,000 mark in winnings with her race earnings and world-record bonus checks.
Australia’s Ellen Gandy, who recently switched her sports allegiance from Great Britain, managed to pull in a second-place check with a 2:03.79, while Canada’s Audrey Lacroix raced to third in 2:04.02.
Franziska Hentke (2:04.33), Hungary’s Zsuzsanna Jakabos (2:04.43), Canada’s Katerine Savard (2:07.31) and Austria’s Claudia Hufnagl (2:13.04) finished fourth through seventh, while China’s Tian Siyu scratched the finale.
Men’s 200 IM
Australia’s Kenneth To touched out South Africa’s Chad Le Clos en route to an Australian record in the medley event.
To led wire-to-wire with a 1:52.01 as he held off a hard-charging Le Clos in the process. That time bested To’s national record of 1:52.40 from the Eindhoven stop and nearly moved him into the exclusive 1:51 club. He’s only half-a-second off Darian Townsend’s World Cup circuit record of 1:51.55 set here in Berlin in 2009.
Le Clos, closing in 25.72 down the stretch, took second overall in 1:52.11, while Japan’s Daiya Seto pocketed third-place honors in 1:52.62. The time for Le Clos smashed his previous best of 1:54.06, while Seto just missed his lifetime best of 1:52.48 from last year.
USA’s Conor Dwyer (1:53.03), Germany’s Markus Deibler (1:53.24), Australia’s Daniel Tranter (1:54.18), Townsend (1:56.37) and Dimitri Colupaev (1:56.42) comprised the rest of the top eight.
Women’s 400 free
A day after becoming the first female to ever break 8:00 in the women’s 800-meter freestyle with her amazing world-record performance, Spain’s Mireia Belmonte Garcia did it again in the 400-meter freestyle.
Trailing both the world-record pace and New Zealand’s Lauren Boyle with 50 meters to go, Belmonte Garcia went berserk in the final sprint to the way with a sizzling 28.71 split to win the finale in 3:54.82 and clip Camille Muffat’s world record of 3:54.85 from last November. It also edged Muffat’s circuit record of 3:54.93 from here in Berlin a year ago.
Splits
Camille Muffat
26.84, 56.24 (29.40), 1:25.91 (29.67), 1:55.95 (30.04), 2:25.94 (29.99), 2:56.01 (30.07), 3:25.72 (29.71), 3:54.85 (29.13)
Mireia Belmonte Garcia
27.82, 57.34 (29.52), 1:27.15 (29.81), 1:57.06 (29.91), 2:26.69 (29.63), 2:56.46 (29.77), 3:25.81 (29.35), 3:54.52 (28.71)
Belmonte Garcia has been on fire the past few weeks after setting several Spanish long course records at the FINA World Championships in Barcelona. She transitioned that success quite well to the short course World Cup with her second world record of the meet. That’s the 10th world record of the circuit so far, adding $100,000 in winnings with FINA eliminating the world-record bonus cap.
Boyle, meanwhile, threw down a swift time of 3:55.31 after becoming the first swimmer ever to break 4:00 in prelims with a 3:59.84 this morning. Spain’s Melanie Costa Schmid checked in third with a 3:58.31.
Denmark’s Lotte Friis (4:00.91), Sarah Koehler (4:03.14), Leonie Beck (4:03.22), Australia’s Jessica Ashwood (4:03.61), and The Netherlands’ Rieneke Terink (4:07.82) also swam in the historic finale.
Men’s 50 free
South African veteran Roland Schoeman continued to defy age as he collected his third sprint first-place check of the meet. There really isn’t much this man can’t sprint as he owns one of the best sprint games ever in this sport.
He popped a 20.86 to win the men’s 50-meter free tonight, just a bit off his techsuited World Cup record of 20.57 from here in Berlin in 2009, and just half-a-second off his world record of 20.30 from Pietermaritzburg also in 2009. That’s a quick $4,500 after three wins for Schoeman this week.
Russia’s Vlad Morozov kept on pulling in the podium checks with a second-place time of 21.00, while Germany’s Steffen Deibler also is in the same boat with plenty of top threes en route to cash as he finished third in 21.04.
Trinidad and Tobago’s George Bovell (21.19), Australia’s Matthew Abood (21.22), Finland’s Ari-Pekka Liukkonen (21.23), Australia’s James Magnussen (21.39) and Ukraine’s Andrii Govorov (21.45) also vied for the splash-and-dash crown in the finale.
Women’s 200 breast
Denmark’s Rikke Moller Pedersen surfaced with a lifetime best in the distance breaststroke event in what proved to be a sparse finale.
Pedersen, with open water, blitzed the field with a 2:15.93 for the win. She came up a bit short of Leisel Jones’ World Cup mark of 2:15.42 from Berlin in 2009, but beat her previous top time of 2:16.08 from the 2012 World Short Course Championships.
Japan’s Rie Kaneto (2:19.31) and Canada’s Martha McCabe (2:19.85) finished second and third for the money, while Australia’s Sally Foster (2:20.03), Sweden’s Joline Hostman (2:23.24) and Julia Willers (2:30.93) also swam in the six-swimmer finale.
Women’s 100 IM
Hungary’s Katinka Hosszu pulled off another stunning triple, this time finishing just half-a-second off her preliminary world record in the sprint medley.
Hosszu, who set the world record for the third time this morning with a 57.45, posted a 57.74 to win the finale for her third triumph of the night. Last year was an amazing run for Hosszu as she accumulated the most cash on a World Cup, and this year looks like it will be more of the same for the Iron Lady.
Australia’s Emily Seebohm finished second in 58.76, while Jamaica’s Alia Atkinson picked up another paycheck with a third-place 58.77.
Poland’s Aleksandra Urbanczyk (59.49), Czech’s Simona Baumrtova (1:00.63), Austria’s Lisa Zaiser (1:00.95) and Hungary’s Evelyn Verrastzo (1:00.99) finished fourth through seventh, while Germany’s Theresa Michalak drew a disqualification.
Men’s 200 back
Poland’s Radoslaw Kawecki topped the men’s 200 backstroke event ahead of some heavyweights in the distance dorsal event. Kawecki cleared 1:48 for the first time with a 1:47.63 for the win. That swim cleared his previous best of 1:48.48 from the 2012 World Short Course Championships last December.
USA’s Tyler Clary finished second in 1:48.60, while Japan’s Ryosuke Irie wound up third in 1:50.72.
Australia’s Mitch Larkin (1:51.21), Switzerland’s Lukas Rauftlin (1:52.88), Canada’s Russell Wood (1:55.17), Hungary’s David Verraszto (1:55.62) and France’s Yannick Agnel (1:56.18) also competed in the finale.
Women’s 50 fly
After initially looking like a winner, Denmark’s Jeanette Ottesen Gray drew a disqualification in the sprint fly event to close out the individual swims for the Berlin stop.
Italy’s Ilaria Bianchi took home the title with a 25.62, while Canada’s Katerine Savard (25.93) and Sandrine Mainville (26.04) placed second and third.
Australia’s Brittany Elmslie (26.11), Ellen Gandy (26.16) and Emma McKeon (26.18) placed fourth through sixth, while USA’s Claire Donahue snared seventh in 26.28.
Mixed 200 free relay
The Netherlands’ Sebastiaan Verschuren (21.92), Femke Heemskerk (23.90), Ranomi Kromowidjojo (23.23) and Jasper Van Mierlo (21.28) won the event in 1:30.33, while Germany’s Dorothea Brandt (23.95), Markus Deibler (20.80), Steffen Deibler (21.68) and Theresa Michalak (24.92) took second in 1:31.35.
The Netherlands’ B team of Joost Reijns (22.12), Maud Van Der Meer (24.35), Tamara Van Vliet (23.95) and Dion Dreesens (21.89) took third overall in 1:32.31. Canada (1:32.39), Australia B (1:34.01), Canada B (1:34.60) and Canada C (1:38.36) also posted legal finishes in the mixed event.
Australia wound up with a disqualification on the James Magnussen to Brittany Elmslie exchange that registered a -0.11 takeover.