MOSCOW, Russia, October 13. THE official mixed 200 free relay world record was set tonight at the FINA World Cup in Moscow, while Katinka Hosszu had a busy night and Ruta Meilutyte nearly picked off another global mark.
Men’s 1500 free
South Africa’s Myles Brown, who already tossed up a third-ranked 14:30.54 at the Eindhoven stop earlier this summer, raced his way to his second tour stop win with a 14:43.52 in the men’s 1500-meter freestyle to start the night. South Africa has had a strong meet so far with Brown, Chad Le Clos and Roland Schoeman all making noise with event wins.
Brazil’s Lucas Kanieski finished more than a second behind with a 14:44.66, while Hungary’s Gergely Gyurta faded to third with a 14:46.17 after leading early on.
Japan’s Ayatsugu Hirai (14:54.23), Brazil’s Miguel Leite Valente (14:57.84), Russia’s Kirill Abrosimov (14:58.40), Russia’s Evgeny Eliseev (15:03.64) and Russia’s Aleksei Solpekovskii (15:11.87) made up the rest of the top eight in the timed final event.
Women’s 400 IM
The Iron Lady picked up right where she left off last night, with another podium finish as Hungary’s Katinka Hosszu snagged the distance medley crown in 4:30.65. That’s her seventh podium of the meet, and second gold. It’s not even close to the speed she had in Berlin when she blasted a world record 4:20.85 for the win, but this stop has been relatively slower outside of the amazing women’s breaststroke events.
Japan’s Miyu Otsuka took a distant second in the finale with a time of 4:32.35, while Spain’s Mireia Belmonte wound up third in 4:36.55.
Hungary’s Evelyn Verraszto (4:40.82), Russia’s Victoria Malyutina (4:40.82), Russia’s Yuliya Larina (4:43.48), Japan’s Miho Takahashi (4:44.40) and Ukraine’s Ganna Dzerkal (4:46.41) rounded out the top eight in the timed final event.
Women’s 100 free
Sweden’s Sarah Sjostrom, who won a remarkable three titles on night one, kept on rolling with a speedy fourth victory. Sjostrom threw down a 51.93 in the 100-meter freestyle to win the finale going away. That time vaulted her to second in the world rankings this year behind Ranomi Kromowidjojo’s 51.54 from the Eindhoven stop. It’s also Sjostrom’s first time under 52 seconds, and stands as the ninth-fastest time ever in the event.
That’s a clean $6,000 in prizes after four wins for the Swede as she continues to tear up the competition here in Moscow.
The Netherlands’ Maud Van Der Meer placed well behind with a second-place time of 53.79, while Russia’s Veronika Popova placed third in 53.94.
The Netherlands’ Inge Dekker (54.61), Russia’s Mariya Baklakova (54.65), Russia’s Maria Reznikova (54.66), Russia’s Alexandra Veselova (55.35) and Russia’s Elizaveta Bazarova (55.54) also vied for the sprint title.
Men’s 200 free
Poland’s Pawel Korzeniowski had a powerful back half in the men’s 200-meter free. Having turned seventh overall with a 51.57 at the 100, Korzeniowski turned on the after burners down the final 100 meters to win in 1:44.12. The butterfly specialist took down some heavy favorites in the process.
Australia’s Bobby Hurley, who is almost Hosszu-like in the amount of podiums he racks up on the FINA World Cup tour, took second in 1:44.33 as he could not withstand a 25.90 final split from Korzeniowski. South Africa’s Myles Brown, just minutes after winning the 1500 free, took bronze in 1:44.46 in what proved to be an exciting race.
Russia’s Evgeny Lagunov (1:46.59), Russia’s Mikhail Polishchuk (1:46.64), Russia’s Alexander Klyukin (1:46.89), Brazil’s Gustavo Braga Godoy (1:47.19) and The Netherlands’ Dion Dreesens (1:47.43) rounded out the finale.
Women’s 50 breast
Lithuanian star Ruta Meilutyte just missed her second $10,000 check with a 28.89 to win the sprint breaststroke finale. Last night, she blasted the global standard in the 100-meter breast, wiping Rebecca Soni out of the record book, and nearly took down another mark this evening.
Meilutyte crushed her European record of 29.44 set at last year’s World Short Course Championships.
Jessica Hardy’s world record of 28.80 from the 2009 Berlin stop, however, will live to fight another day with Meilutyte coming up just short of the time. Meilutyte, by far, has the top time in the world this year. The swim crushed the previous best of 29.42 posted by Alia Atkinson during the Eindhoven stop.
Atkinson, meanwhile, raced her way to a season best with a 29.33 for second, while Germany’s Dorothea Brandt took home third-place money with a bronze-winning 30.35. Much to the displeasure of the Russian fans, Yuliya Efimova drew a disqualification.
Great Britain’s Sophie Allen (30.88), Sweden’s Rebecca Ejdervik (31.22), Russia’s Daria Deyeva (31.50) and Russia’s Anastasia Chaun (32.07) also vied for the sprint breaststroke title.
Men’s 100 breast
Another one of the FINA World Cup veterans who swim anything and everything for circuit points, Australia’s Kenneth To picked up a surprising win in the men’s 100-meter breaststroke. He popped a time of 58.42 to stand atop the podium, and clinch another first-place cash prize. That type of time isn’t near the best in the world, but it doesn’t need to be in a format like the World Cup where versatility pays tangible dividends.
Great Britain’s Michael Jamieson took second in 58.83 as he continues to round into form prior to the Duel in the Pool in his native Scotland in December. Russia’s Viatcheslav Sinkevich earned third-place honors in 58.89.
Russia’s Oleg Kostin (59.02), Russia’s Anton Panferov (59.67), Russia’s Mikhail Dorinov (59.70), Russia’s Ilya Khomenko (59.77) and Croatia’s Sasa Gerbec (1:00.19) completed the championship heat.
Men’s 100 fly
He led a much faster finale during the Berlin stop of the World Cup this year, but South Africa’s Chad le Clos had enough in the tank to capture a 49.34 to 49.74 victory ahead of USA’s Tom Shields. That’s another big win for Le Clos who is cementing his legacy as the top butterfly swimmer in the world after two straight summers of big wins in London and Barcelona.
Poland’s Konrad Czerniak surged to third with a time of 50.66 to round out the podium placements as he clinched the third-place check.
Russia’s Nikita Konovalov (51.32), Germany’s Steffen Deibler (51.79), Russia’s Vladislav Seryy (52.43), Brazil’s Luiz Pedro Ribeiro Pereira (52.48) and Russia’s Andrey Shabasov (52.88) also made their way into the championship finale.
Women’s 100 back
Ukraine’s Daryna Zevina collected her third first-place check of the meet as she easily blasted the field in the 100 back with a 56.91. No one was even with a second of the Ukrainian as her backstroke prowess this weekend had earned her some serious cash with $1,500 for each and every victory.
Japan’s Sayaka Akase raced to second in 58.25, while the World Cup Queen Katinka Hosszu snared her EIGHTH podium of the meet. She clocked a 58.75 for third-place honors as she continues to pile up record numbers of dollars on the circuit.
Russia’s Daria Ustinova (59.26), Russia’s Polina Lapshina (59.51), Russia’s Alexandra Papusha (59.85), Russia’s Nadezhda Vinyukova (1:00.02) and Russia’s Alina Kendzior (1:01.54) wrapped up the rest of the finale.
Men’s 50 back
Australia went 1-2 in the sprint back with a pair of FINA World Cup veterans taking the spoils. Bobby Hurley dominated the field with a sizzling 23.44 for the win, his second of the meet and third podium overall. Compatriot Ashley Delaney then dropped a 23.18 to capture the silver check in the sprint backstroke ahead of Russia’s Anton Butymov. The Russian rounded out the podium with a 23.91.
Russia’s Sergey Makov (24.04), Russia’s Vitaly Borisov (24.23), Brazil’s Nelson Silva Jr. (24.39) and Latvia’s Janis Saltans (24.79) finished fourth through seventh, while Russia’s Andrey Shabasov scratched.
Women’s 200 fly
The Iron Lady Katinka Hosszu collected her third gold medal of the meet, second of the night and NINTH podium appearance thus far as she rolled to a 2:06.80 for the win. Hosszu has a much stronger butterfly in her back pocket with a 2:02 from the World Short Course Championships, but she didn’t need it as she conserved energy en route to another paycheck.
Great Britain’s Sophie Allen posted a second-place time of 2:07.92, while Spain’s Mireia Belmonte picked up another cash prize with a third-place time of 2:10.77.
Russia’s Daria Shmakova (2:11.58), Anastasia Guzhenkova (2:12.94), Victoria Malyutina (2:14.22), Irina Nazarova (2:15.43) and Anastasia Lyazeva (2:16.78) also competed in the finale.
Men’s 200 IM
South Africa’s Chad le Clos backed up his victory in the fly earlier in the night with a double this evening as he held off Australia’s Kenneth To with a 1:53.04 for the win in the 200 IM. To, meanwhile, finished second in 1:54.91, while Poland’s Pawel Korzeniowski claimed third in 1:56.42.
The top three swimmers have all picked up significant cash this weekend with repeated appearances during the awards podium ceremony breaks here in Moscow.
Brazil’s Henrique Rodrigues (1:56.54), Hungary’s David Verraszto (1:56.88), Russia’s Dmitry Gorbunov (1:57.26), Russia’s Sergey Kashperskiy (1:58.33) and Russia’s Alexander Tikhonov (1:58.42) comprised the rest of the championship heat.
Women’s 400 free
Spain’s Melanie Costa coasted to victory in the women’s middle distance event. She turned in a 4:01.71 to win my more than three seconds as she put up a leisurely time to earn a first-place paycheck. Spanish teammate Mireira Belmonte, the world record holder with a 3:54.52 at the Berlin stop in August, took second in 4:04.77, while backstroke specialist Daryna Zevina of Ukraine picked up third in 4:05.03.
Germany’s Sarah Kohler (4:05.44), Sweden’s Louise Hansson (4:06.95), Russia’s Elizaveta Gorshkova (4:13.33) and China’s Chen Ziyi (4:15.72) finished fourth through seventh.
Katinka Hosszu either decided to extend her warmdown period intentionally, or just plain finally hit the bottom of her gas tank in her attempt at a 10th potential podium. She finished eighth in 4:20.07 after already having claimed nine medals here in Moscow.
Men’s 50 free
The Sizzling Siberian Vlad Morozov came within a whisker of tracking down his Russian record in the splash-and-dash. Morozov blasted a time of 20.59 for the win in front of a partisan crowd in Moscow. That effort just missed is 20.55 national mark from the 2012 World Short Course Championships in Instanbul. The win gave Morozov a sprint free sweep this weekend.
South Africa’s Roland Schoeman, who holds the world record in the event with a 20.30 from 2009, raced to second in 21.15, while Trinidad and Tobago’s George Bovell clinched third in 21.49.
Japan’s Shinri Sioura (21.51), Poland’s Konrad Czerniak (21.72), Japan’s Kenta Ito (21.80), Russia’s Nikita Konovalov (21.81) and Great Britain’s Ben Proud (21.96) all cleared 22 seconds in the championship finale.
Women’s 200 breast
Dusting off the 50 breast disqualification, Russia’s Yuliya Efimova broke her six-year-old Russian record in the women’s 200-meter breaststroke with a 2:18.50. That performance blasted half-a-second off her previous mark of 2:19.08 set at the 2007 European Short Course Championships in Debrecen, Hungary.
Russia’s Vitalina Simonova also nearly cleared the former record with a second-place time of 2:19.22, while Japan’s Kanako Watanabe raced to third in 2:20.27.
Japan’s Miho Takahashi (2:20.89), Russia’s Maria Temnikova (2:23.88), Russia’s Anna Belousova (2:24.68), Japan’s Miyu Otsuka (2:25.34) and Sweden’s Jessica Eriksson (2:26.62) finished fourth through eighth in the finale.
Women’s 100 IM
Anytime you have a scary sprint breaststroke on your resume, you are automatically a threat in the sprint medley, and Lithuania’s Ruta Meilutyte demonstrated that fully tonight. Meilutyte blazed the sprint medley with a time of 58.57 after coming home in 30.92 to overtake the world-record holder Katinka Hosszu.
Hosszu, meanwhile, clocked a 58.75 for second to capture her 10th podium of the meet following a warmdown swim during the 400 freestyle. It is astonishing the type of versatility Hosszu presents at these FINA World Cup meets, and is why she’s raking in the dough both for her swimming and also in sponsorship deals.
Jamaica’s Alia Atkinson wrapped up the podium with a third-place time of 59.12, while Germany’s Theresa Michalak also broke 1:00 with a fourth-place 59.34.
Great Britain’s Sophie Allen (1:00.38), Sweden’s Louise Hansson (1:00.96), Hungary’s Evelyn Verraszto (1:01.76) and Russia’s Veronika Popova (1:01.85) also competed in the finale.
Men’s 200 back
Australia’s Ashley Delaney pocketed the distance dorsal title with a time of 1:54.21 as he swapped a 1-2 finish with teammate Bobby Hurley. Earlier in the evening, the two flopped their finishes in the 50 back. Hurley, meanwhile, clocked a 1:54.92 as the two Aussies both broke 1:55 for the top cash prizes. Russia’s Nikita Ulyanov rounded out the podium with a 1:55.98.
Russia’s Maxim Vorzhev (1:56.87), Russia’s Anton Anchin (1:57.02), Brazil’s Nelson Silva Jr. (1:57.73), Russia’s Mikhail Zvyagin (1:58.11) and Sweden’s Mattias Carlsson (1:58.39) also swam in the finale.
Women’s 50 fly
Sweden’s Sarah Sjostrom powered her way to another gold medal. This time, she clocked a sizzling 25.56 to take home the sprint fly as the final individual title of the weekend. That’s four golds for the sensational Swedish sprinter, who definitely knew which events to focus on for her biggest return.
The Netherlands’ Inge Dekker picked up second-place honors in 25.97, while Singapore’s Li Tao finished third in 25.99.
Russia’s Rozaliya Nasretdinova (26.29), Russia’s Daria Tcvetkova (26.31), Germany’s Dorothea Brandt (26.65), Hungary’s Katinka Hosszu (26.98) and Russia’s Anastasia Lyazeva (27.05) also vied for the title. That’s Hosszu’s 12th final of the meet, having claimed a medal in 10 of those attempts.
Mixed 200 free relay
Now, the second IU Hoosiers mixed relay record has been struck down. At the end of last month when the Indiana decided to take advantage of newly recognized FINA event to try to set eight world records, this weekend began the process to close out that blip on swimming’s history. While FINA rejected six of the records, the organizations decided to keep the short course meter mixed 200 medley and freestyle times from Indiana.
Last night, Russia wiped out the mixed 200 medley relay record with a 1:41.70. Albeit, that’s not the fastest legal time in the event as France has a 1:38.74 from last year prior to FINA recognizing the event officially.
Tonight, IU’s mixed 200 free relay record of 1:41.16 set by Bailey Pressey, Stephanie Armstrong, Tanner Kurz and Cody Miller fell to Russia’s Rozaliya Nasretdinova (24.56), Dmitry Efmakov (21.97), Artem Lobuzov (22.06) and Maria Reznikova (24.42), who clocked a 1:33.01.
Notably, Australia’s Matt Abood, James Magnussen, Brittany Elmslie and Emma McKeon still have the fastest legal swim on record with a world best 1:29.31 from the Eindhoven stop of the World Cup this summer.
Brazil’s Felipe De Souza (21.99), Gustavo Braga Godoy (21.49), Roberta Albino (25.21) and Carolina Bergamaschi (24.74) finished second in 1:33.43, while Japan’s Kenta Ito (21.78), Shinri Shioura (21.07), Sayaka Akase (25.61) and Kanako Watanabe (25.02) took third in 1:33.48 in an exciting race to determine who would hold the record.
Singapore B (1:42.06), Armenia (1:43.08) and Singapore A (1:44.19) also fielded teams.