2018 European Championships: Day 2 Finals Live Recap

2018 LEN EUROPEAN AQUATICS CHAMPIONSHIPS

• August 3-9, 2018 (swimming portion)
• Glasgow, Scotland
• Tollcross International Swimming Centre
• Meet Central
• Program
• Psych Sheet
• Live Results
• Live Stream
• Live Stream (Europe w/ English commentary)

Strap in for another high paced session from Glasgow, as day 2 finals will feature six finals and four sets of semi-finals all within an hour and a half.

The men will contest the 100 breast and 50 back finals, along with semis in the 100 free and 200 fly, and the women will have finals in the 800 free, 100 fly and 50 free, as well as semis in the 100 breast and 50 back. The session will then wrap with the mixed 800 free relay, where Russia (7:33.16) set what now has to be considered the world record in this morning’s prelims as it was raced for the first time.

There will be several records on watch tonight. Adam Peaty will aim to lower his Championship Record in the 100 breast (57.89) that he set in the prelims, Sarah Sjostrom has a good shot at her 2016 mark of 55.89 in the women’s 100 fly, and perhaps her 55.48 world record is in play. Later in the session Sjostrom will battle Pernille Blume in the 50 free, with Blume coming in as the top seed after breaking the meet record (23.85) in the semis. Sjostrom’s world record is less than two tenths faster at 23.67.

Perhaps the best chance of an individual world record falling tonight comes in the men’s 50 back, where Robert Glinta (24.12) was just .08 off in the semis and Kliment Kolesnikov (24.25) and Vlad Morozov (24.29) were also within striking distance. Liam Tancock holds the super-suited mark from 2009 in 24.04.

Two important notes from this morning’s prelims: Georgia Davies broke the European Record in the women’s 50 back in 27.21, putting her just .15 off the world record, and Morozov whiffed on making the men’s 100 free semis. Morozov was actually the 5th fastest overall in the prelims (48.78), but as the 3rd fastest Russian gets locked out of the semis. He came in as the top seed, and now the favorite has to be Italian Alessandro Miressi who split 46.99 in the 400 free relay on day 1. He was 2nd this morning in 48.53, trailing only Vladislav Grinev (48.38) of Russia.

The other two semis will feature Yuliya Efimova (women’s 100 breast) and Kristof Milak (men’s 200 fly). Similar to Morozov, last year’s World Championship silver medalist (and 2015 World Champion) in the 200 fly Laszlo Cseh missed the semis as the 4th fastest Hungarian (which was still amazingly 5th overall).

The women’s 800 final will kick things off, with Italian Simona Quadarella the top seed after an 8:23.93 prelim. Hungary Ajna Kesely and Russian Polina Egorova were the only other two swimmers sub-8:30 in the heats, while defending champ Boglarka Kapas qualified 5th overall.

Women’s 800 Free Final

• World Record (WR): 8:04.79 – Katie Ledecky, 2016
• World Junior Record (WJ): 8:11.00  – Katie Ledecky, 2014
• European Record (ER): 8:14.10 – Rebecca Adlington, 2008
• European Junior Record (EJ): 8:23.07 –  Target Time
• Championship Record (CR): 8:15.54 – Jazmin Carlin, 2014

1. Simona Quadarella, ITA, 8:16.35
2. Ajna Kesely, HUN, 8:21.91
3. Anna Egorova, RUS, 8:24.61

Italian Simona Quadarella ran away with the title in the women’s 800 freestyle, negative-splitting her way to a new Italian Record in 8:16.35. Out in 4:08.53 and back in 4:07.82, she knocks off Alessia Filippi‘s 8:17.21 from 2009, and crushes her previous personal best of 8:20.54 set at last summer’s World University Games.

Hungarian Ajna Kesely had a strong back-half as well, touching for silver in 8:21.91, getting under the European Junior Record target time of 8:23.07. Her previous best was an 8:25.82 from March.

Russian Anna Egorova moved up from 5th at the 400 to take bronze in 8:24.61, with Sarah Kohler back in 4th and defending champ Boglarka Kapas 5th.

Men’s 100 Breast Final

• World Record (WR): 57.13 – Adam Peaty, 2016
• World Junior Record (WJ): 59.01 – Nicolo Martinenghi, 2017
• European Record (ER): 57.13 – Adam Peaty, 2016
• European Junior Record (EJ): 59.01 – Nicolo Martinenghi, 2017
• Championship Record (CR): 57.89 – Adam Peaty, 2018

1. Adam Peaty, GBR, 57.00
2. James Wilby, GBR, 58.54
3. Anton Chupkov, RUS, 58.96

Adam Peaty unleashed a historic swim in the men’s 100 breast final, torching his world record from the 2016 Olympic Games (57.13) in a time of 57.00. The only man in history to ever go sub-58, he is now on the cusp of breaking into the 56s. He destroyed the field on the first 50, out in 26.65, and was still the fastest coming home by a wide margin in 30.35.

His teammate James Wilby closed in 30.85 to move up from t-4th at the 50 to 2nd at the finish, breaking 59 for the first time in 58.54. That makes him the 3rd fastest performer in history after entering the meet with a personal best of 59.43.

Anton Chupkov was the third swimmer in the field sub-59 and sub-31 coming home, splitting 28.21/30.75 to set a best time of 58.96 and win bronze. His countryman Kirill Prigoda was just off his best time for 4th in 59.10. Chupkov also broke Prigoda’s Russian Record of 59.05 set last summer.

Women’s 100 Fly Final

• World Record (WR): 55.48 – Sarah Sjöström, 2016
• World Junior Record (WJ): 56.46 – Penny Oleksiak, 2016
• European Record (ER): 55.48 – Sarah Sjöström, 2016
• European Junior Record (EJ): 56.06 –  Target Time
• Championship Record (CR): 55.89 – Sarah Sjöström, 2016

1. Sarah Sjostrom, SWE, 56.13
2. Svetlana Chimrova, RUS, 57.30
3. Elena Di Liddo, ITA, 57.58

Sarah Sjostrom was out fast in the women’s 100 fly final, under world record pace, but fell off a bit coming home to fall short of the mark in 56.13. She still won gold by well over a second, and puts up the fastest time in the world this year.

Russia’s Svetlana Chimrova claimed silver in 57.30, just off her PB of 57.17, and Elena Di Liddo (57.58) and Ilaria Bianchi (57.62) gave Italy a solid showing in 3rd and 4th.

Men’s 100 Free Semi-Finals

• World Record (WR): 46.91 – Cesar Cielo, 2009
• World Junior Record (WJ): 47.58 – Kyle Chalmers,2016
• European Record (ER): 47.12 – Alain Bernard, 2009
• European Junior Record (EJ): 48.33 – Ivan Girev, 47,50
• Championship Record (CR): 47.50 – Alain Bernard, 2008

1. Alessandro Miressi, ITA, 48.11
2. Mehdy Metella, FRA, 48.31
3. Nandor Nemeth, HUN / Vladislav Grinev, RUS, 48.48
4. –
5. Duncan Scott, GBR, 48.52
6. Sergii Shvetsov, UKR, 48.62
7. Luca Dotto, ITA, 48.66
8. Bruno Blaskovic, CRO, 48.80

Italian Alessandro Miressi won the first semi-final of the men’s 100 free in 48.11, lowering his personal best by just over a tenth. Top seed coming into the meet Mehdy Metella was 2nd in 48.31, and Hungarian Nandor Nemeth was 3rd (48.48).

Vladislav Grinev of Russia won the second semi in 48.48, tying Nemeth for 3rd overall as Miressi and Metella advance 1-2.

Duncan Scott was only 4th in the first semi but ends up easily moving on 5th overall in 48.52. Danila Izotov was the 2nd fastest Russian this morning, knocking Vlad Morozov out of the event, but ends up missing the final in 9th at 48.82. Croatian Bruno Blaskovic, who goes to Indiana University, had a big best time to grab the 8th final spot in 48.80.

Women’s 100 Breast Semi-Finals

• World Record (WR): 1:04.13 – Lilly King, 2017
• World Junior Record (WJ): 1:05.39 – Ruta Meilutyte, 2014
• European Record (ER): 1:04.35 – Ruta Meilutyte, 2013
• European Junior Record (EJ): 1:04.35 Target Time
• Championship Record (CR): 1:06.16 – Ruta Meilutyte, 2016

1. Yuliya Efimova, RUS, 1:05.77
2. Siobhan-Marie O’Connor, GBR, 1:06.89
3. Arianna Castiglioni, ITA, 1:06.91
4. Jessica Vall Montero, ESP, 1:06.98
5. Ruta Meilutyte, LTU, 1:07.06
6. Marina Garcia, ESP, 1:07.48
7. Sophie Hansson, SWE, 1:07.51
8. Martina Carraro, ITA, 1:07.61

Yuliya Efimova employed similar tactics in the second semi of the women’s 100 breast that she did in the prelims, out very easy in 32.68 before charging back in 33.09 to pick up the heat win and the top seed for finals in 1:05.77. That breaks Ruta Meilutyte‘s Championship Record of 1:06.16 from 2016.

Meilutyte, known for her speed, was out even slower than Efimova in 33.10, but managed to come back strong in 33.96 to take 3rd in that second semi and qualify 5th overall in 1:07.06.

Siobhan-Marie O’Connor (1:06.89) charged back to clip Arianna Castiglioni (1:06.91) at the wall in the first semi, as they advance 2nd and 3rd.

Men’s 200 Fly Semi-Finals

• World Record (WR): 1:51.51 – Michael Phelps, 2009
• World Junior Record (WJ): 1:52.71 – Kristof Milak, 2016
• European Record (ER): 1:52.70 – Laszlo Cseh, 2008
• European Junior Record (EJ): 1:52.71 – Kristof Milak, 2016
• Championship Record (CR): 1:52.91 – Laszlo Cseh, 2016

1. Tamas Kenderesi, HUN, 1:55.16
2. Kristof Milak, HUN, 1:55.38
3. Viktor Bromer, DEN, 1:55.73
4. James Guy, GBR, 1:56.06
5. Maksym Shemberev, AZE, 1:56.11
6. Louis Croenen, BEL, 1:56.48
7. Antani Ivanov, BUL, 1:56.58
8. Jan Switkowski, POL, 1:56.77

Sitting just 5th at the 150 wall, Hungarian Tamas Kenderesi stormed back in 28.55 to win the first semi-final of the men’s 200 fly in 1:55.16. James Guy led the majority of the race, but was overtaken by Kenderesi on the last 50 as he split 31.02 to take 2nd in the heat in 1:56.06. Maksym Shemberev of Azerbaijan broke his own national record to take 3rd in 1:56.11.

Kristof Milak led the second semi wire-to-wire, posting the second fastest time overall in 1:55.38 as the Hungarians will head into the final 1-2. Viktor Bromer of Denmark had a strong swim for 2nd in the heat and 3rd overall (1:55.73), while Italian Federico Burdisso fell from 2nd at the 150 to 5th at the touch, missing out on the final in 9th (1:57.10).

Women’s 50 Back Semi-Finals

• World Record (WR): 27.06 – Jing Zhao, 2009
• World Junior Record (WJ): 27.49 – Minna Atherton, 2016
• European Record (ER): 27.21 – Georgia Davies, 2018
• European Junior Record (EJ): 27.90 – Daria Vaskina, 2018
• Championship Record (CR): 27.21 – Georgia Davies, 2018

1. Georgia Davies, GBR, 27.46
2. Anastasiia Fesikova, RUS, 27.49
3. Mimosa Jallow, FIN, 27.62
4. Alicja Tchorz, POL, 27.72
5. Béryl Gastaldello, FRA, 27.86
6. Simona Baumrtova, CZE, 27.91
7. Kira Toussaint, NED, 27.92
8. Carlotta Zofkova, ITA, 27.94

After a lifetime best 27.23 this morning, tying her for 5th fastest performer in history, Russian Anastasiia Fesikova cruised to the win in semi-final 1 in 27.49. Béryl Gastaldello broke her own French Record to take 2nd in 27.86.

After setting the European Record in the prelims (27.21), Georgia Davies comfortably won the second semi in 27.46 for the top seed heading to the final. Mimosa Jallow took 2nd in 27.62 after breaking her Finnish Record in the heats (27.42) and heads into the final seeded 3rd. Poland’s Alicja Tchorz broke their National Record for 4th overall in 27.72, giving her all three Polish backstroke records.

Men’s 50 Back Finals

• World Record (WR): 24.04 – Liam Tancock, 2009
• World Junior Record (WJ): 24.25 – Kliment Kolesnikov, 2018
• European Record (ER): 24.04 – Liam Tancock, 2009
• European Junior Record (EJ): 24.25 – Kliment Kolesnikov, 2018
• Championship Record (CR): 24.07 – Camille Lacourt, 2010

1. Kliment Kolesnikov, RUS, 24.00
2. Robert Glinta, ROU, 24.55
3. Shane Ryan, IRL, 24.64

18-year-old Kliment Kolesnikov broke one of the vaunted super-suited world records to win the men’s 50 back, clocking 24.00 to slash Liam Tancock‘s 24.04 from 2009 off the books. Kolesnikov set the Junior World and Russian Records in the semi-finals in 24.25, and now takes all the records with this blistering swim. Like Peaty, he’s right on the verge of being the first man to break under a barrier that’s never been touched. We’ve never seen a 56-second 100 breast, and we’ve never seen a 23-second 50 back, but now they’re ever so close.

Robert Glinta was the fastest man in the semis, breaking his Romanian Record in 24.12, but was unable to match that time in the final. However, his 24.55 was still good enough for silver, with Ireland’s Shane Ryan snagging bronze in 24.69. Ryan had set the Irish Record in the prelims (24.32). Vlad Morozov, who was 24.29 in the semi-finals, missed the medals in 4th in 24.69.

Women’s 50 Free Final

• World Record (WR): 23.67 – Sarah Sjöström, 2017
• World Junior Record (WJ): 24.33 – Rikako Ikee, 2017
• European Record (ER): 23.67 – Sarah Sjöström, 2017
• European Junior Record (EJ): 24.88 –  Target Time
• Championship Record (CR): 23.85 – Pernille Blume, 2018

1. Sarah Sjostrom, SWE, 23.74
2. Pernille Blume, DEN, 23.75
3. Ranomi Kromowidjojo, NED, 24.21

In an epic head-to-head battle, Sarah Sjostrom edged out Pernille Blume by .01 to win the women’s 50 free gold in 23.74, her second gold of the night. She takes out Blume’s Championship Record set last night in 23.85, while Blume lowers her National Record and becomes the 3rd fastest performer in history with her 23.75.

Ranomi Kromowidjojo won bronze in 24.21, with Russians Mariia Kameneva (24.40) and Rozaliya Nasretdinova (25.04) 4th and 5th.

Mixed 4×200 Free Relay Final

• European Record (ER): Target Time 7:22.33
• European Junior Record (EJ):
• Championship Record (CR): 7:33.16 – Russia, 2018

1. Germany, 7:28.43
2. Russia, 7:29.37
3. Great Britain, 7:29.72

The Germans pulled off the upset win over Russia in the mixed 800 free relay, with Annika Bruhn (1:56.34) anchoring them past Viktoriia Andreeva (1:58.72) after the Russians led by 1.5 seconds heading into the last leg. Their time of 7:28.43 will be a new Championship Record, lowering Russia’s 7:33.16 from the morning, while the European Record has been given a ‘Target Time’ of 7:22.33. FINA also hasn’t recognized this event and therefore there is no official World Record distinction.

Jacob Heidtmann (1:46.52) was also key in leading off the Germans, and Valeriia Salamatina (1:56.18) had a quick 3rd leg for Russia, who finished just under a second back in 7:29.37.

Freya Anderson made a big push on the anchor leg for Great Britain, splitting 1:55.80 to move past Hungary and push the Russians to the wall. Hungary had a notable 1:46.90 leg from Nandor Nemeth and Katinka Hosszu had her first swim of the meet (1:57.34), but they end up 4th.

Federica Pellegrini (1:56.76) and Femke Heemskerk (1:56.13) also had noteworth splits for the Italians and the Dutch, who placed 5th and 6th.