Youth Olympic Games: Rylov, Sztankovics, Liess and Evans Earn Top Seeds In Day Six Prelims Session
Photo Credit: Xinhua/Yue Yuewei
NANJING, China, August 21. EVGENY Rylov, Anna Sztankovics, Nils Liess and Joanna Evans earned the top seeds in each of the four individual races contested, while China had the fastest time in the mixed 400 medley relay during the last prelims session of the Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing.
Scheduled Events
- Men’s 200 Back
- Women’s 200 Breast
- Men’s 200 Fly
- Women’s 400 Free
- Mixed 400 Medley Relay
Men’s 200 Back
Russia’s Evgeny Rylov edged Great Britain’s Luke Greenbank for the top seed in the men’s 200 back prelims, touching first in 2:00.74 in the fourth and final heat. Greenbank swam a 2:00.83 in heat two to lock up the second seed, while South Africa’s Christopher Reid finished right behind him in 2:00.93. China’s Li Guangyuan will be the fourth seed in the final after posting a time of 2:01.00. Patrick Mulcare of the United States earned the fifth seed in the championship final with a time of 2:01.79. Australia’s Nic Groenewald (2:01.82), Italy’s Simone Sabbioni (2:02.51) and Paraguay’s Matias Lopez Chaparro (2:02.55) will also swim for gold in the 200 back final.
Top Seed Splits:
28.45
30.97 (59.42)
31.09 (1:30.51)
30.23 (2:00.74)
Women’s 200 Breast
Anna Sztankovics’ time of 2:29.89 from heat two of the women’s 200 breast held up as the fastest time, as the Hungarian claimed the top seed for the championship final. Ukraine’s Anastasiya Malyavina qualified second, .22 behind in 2:30.11, while Hungary’s Dalma Sebestyen posted the only other sub-2:31 swim of the day at 2:30.90 for the third seed. Korea’s Jiwon Yang qualified fourth in 2:31.07, followed by Germany’s Julia Willers (2:31.72) and Canada’s Kelsey Wog (2:31.92). Great Britain’s Georgina Evans (2:33.01) and South Africa’s Justine MacFarlane (2:33.14) also made the championship final.
Top Seed Splits:
33.93
38.52 (1:12.45)
38.88 (1:51.33)
38.56 (2:29.89)
Men’s 200 Fly
Switzerland’s Nils Liess secured the top seed time in the men’s 200 fly prelims, turning in a time of 1:58.44 to separate himself from the rest of the pack. Benjamin Gratz of Hungary swam a 1:59.31 to place second, followed by Brazil’s Luiz Altamir Lopes Melo (1:59.41) and Italy’s Giacomo Carini (1:59.83). Justin Wright of the United States earned a spot in the final with his 2:00.04, as did Hungary’s Tamas Kenderesi (2:01.26) and Egypt’s Akram Ahmed (2:01.46). Colombia’s Jonathan Gomez Noriega rounded out the top eight finishers with a 2:01.94.
Top Seed Splits:
25.87
29.75 (55.62)
30.72 (1:26.34)
32.10 (1:58.44)
Women’s 400 Free
Joanna Evans of the Bahamas turned in the best prelim time in the women’s 400 free as she stopped the clock in 4:13.74. Hungary’s Melinda Novoszath led a tightly bunched group of five swimmers in the 4:14 range, claiming second in 4:14.14. Bruna Veronez Primati of Brazil came in third at 4:14.38, followed by Germany’s Kathrin Demler in 4:14.51. Hannah Moore of the United States touched fifth in 4:14.54, while Thailand’s Saris Suwannachet touched sixth in 4:14.65. Italy’s Simona Quadarella (4:15.40) and Austria’s Claudia Hufnagl (4:15.95) also made it into the top eight.
Top Seed Splits:
29.07
31.39 (1:00.46)
32.13 (1:32.59)
32.38 (2:04.97)
32.39 (2:37.36)
32.53 (3:09.89)
32.85 (3:42.74)
31.00 (4:13.74)
Mixed 400 Medley Relay
China’s quartet of Yu Hexin, He Yun, Li Zhuhao and Zhang Yufei led all qualifiers in the mixed 400 medley relay with a time of 3:54.01. Russia came within seven tenths of the leaders, as Evgeny Rylov, Aleksandr Sadovnikov, Rozaliya Nasretdinova and Daria Ustinova posted a 3:54.71 to qualify second for the final. Meanwhile, Grayson Bell, Kyle Chalmers, Amy Forrester and Brianna Throssell gave Australia the third seed for finals with their 3:55.34. South Africa (3:57.44), Great Britain (3:58.80), Spain (3:58.95), Brazil (3:59.91) and the Czech Republic (4:00.27) will also race for the gold. The United States’ team of Patrick Mulcare, Courtney Mykkanen, Clara Smiddy and Justin Wright finished 11th in 4:01.27.
Top Seed Splits:
30.32, 1:02.93
29.43, 1:02.85 (2:05.78)
24.50, 53.46 (2:59.24)
27.03, 54.77 (3:54.01)
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