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Two new world records fell this week in Budapest at the European Championships with Russia’s Kliment Kolesnikov and Italy’s Benedetta Pilato setting the marks in the 50 backstroke and breaststroke respectively.
Read the five biggest stories of the week in The Week That Was sponsored by Suitmate.
The Week That Was #1: Kolesnikov Breaks World Record in 50 Back at Europeans
Photo Courtesy: Becca Wyant
Kliment Kolesnikov lowered his own 50 back world record for the second time in as many days as he went 23.80 at the European Championships.
The Russian had first set a global mark of 24.00 at the 2018 Europeans in Glasgow, a time he reduced to 23.93 in Monday’s semi-finals.
Come the final and Kolesnikov sliced a further 0.13 off as he claimed his second gold of the championships following his anchor leg on Russia’s 4×100 free quartet.
He said:
“I don’t know what to say.
“I swam 100m free (semi-final) fifteen minutes ago so I was a bit tired. At the same time, I was full of energy, mental energy and just tried fire myself up.
“That’s all, I have nothing more to say.”
#2: Benedetta Pilato Breaks First World Record of Career in 50 Breast
Photo Courtesy: Becca Wyant
Call Italian teenager Benedetta Pilato the greedy type – at least when it comes to racing breaststroke.
The 16-year-old, just hours removed from establishing a world junior record in the 50-meter breaststroke, clearly wanted a little bit more and blasted the overall world record in the event during semifinal action at the European Championships in Budapest on Saturday. Clocking in at 29.30 inside the Duna Arena, Pilato shaved a tenth of a second off the 29.40 mark that American Lilly King delivered at the 2017 World Championships.
It was quite a day for Pilato, who earlier in the week was relegated to spectator status for the semifinals and final of the 100 breaststroke. Although Pilato had the fourth-fastest time of prelims in the 100 breast, she was bettered by countrywomen Arianna Castiglioni and Martina Carraro, and the two-per-country rule locked Pilato out of further action in the event.
The Week That Was #3: Sun Yang Re-Trial Set For This Week
Photo Courtesy: Becca Wyant
The Court of Arbitration for Sport announced on Tuesday that it will hold the retrial of China’s Sun Yang next week, with May 25-27 slated for the private hearing, which will be conducted by video link. Sun was originally found guilty of violating anti-doping rules and given an eight-year ban, but the Olympic-champion freestyler appealed the verdict to the Swiss Federal Tribunal.
The Swiss court ruled that a member of the three-person CAS panel, Franco Frattini, made biased comments on social media and sent the case back to the Court of Arbitration for Sport for retrial. Two months shy of the Olympic Games in Tokyo, Sun’s case will be heard by a new three-member panel. If Sun is found not guilty of violations, he will be eligible to defend his Olympic title later this summer. If the retrial results in a guilty verdict, Sun’s career will be all but over.
#4: Norimasa Hirai to Retire as Japan Swimming Federation Chairman
Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick
With the Olympics just months away, Norimasa Hirai will retire as chairman of the Japan Swimming Federation.
According to Yahoo Japan, Hirai’s retirement was approved by the Japanese swimming committee on May 10.
Hirai coached Olympic gold medalist Kosuke Kitajima and was named the head coach of the Japan national team after the 2008 Beijing Olympics. He began serving as chairman of the Japanese Swimming Federation in 2015.
The replacement will be announced with the June re-election of Japan Swimming Federation officers, according to the report.
There are multiple candidates who are possible candidates to replace Hirai.
Takayuki Umehara, who has coached Daiya Seto in the past, is a candidate to take over the post, according to Yahoo Japan.
Another emerging candidate is Daichi Suzuki, the former commissioner of the Japan Sports Agency, as well as a member of the International Swimming Hall of Fame Class of 2020.
The Week That Was #5: Ella Eastin Announces Retirement
Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick
Eight-time individual NCAA champion Ella Eastin has officially announced her retirement from the sport of swimming after a successful career at Stanford University and SoCal Swim Club. Eastin shared she developed chronic fatigue and dysautonomia – “a nervous system disorder that affects my cardiovascular health, my energy, my mental stability and so much more,” she wrote on social media.
“Over the past year and a half, I have been battling a seemingly undiagnosable illness that incapacitated me. I lost my ability to manage daily activities and had to be taken care of by family and friends. I couldn’t live a normal life, much less one of a professional athlete,” Ella Eastin wrote on social media.
“I finally decided that for the first time, the health of my body and mind had to take priority. Those that know me are aware that I have previously happily sacrificed my time and wellbeing for this sport. This wasn’t an option this time around as I couldn’t finish a warm up, much less a whole practice. I tried for months, praying that one day I would wake up feeling “normal” again. I was finally assured that my thoughts and feelings were justified when I found a doctor that was able to tell me that I developed chronic fatigue and dysautonomia.”
Eastin received an NCAA postgraduate scholarship where she will pursue a lifelong dream of becoming a registered nurse.
