2018 European Championships: Day 6 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 (Europe w/ English commentary)
• Full Results

The penultimate finals session from Glasgow will be another jam-packed one, with eleven events slated on day 6.

We’ll see finals events in the men’s 800 free, 50 breast and 200 back, and the women’s 100 free, 200 IM, and the mixed 4×100 free relay. Additionally, athletes will contest for spots in tomorrow’s final in the semis of the men’s 50 free and 100 fly, and the women’s 200 back, 50 fly and 50 breast.

Sarah Sjostrom of Sweden will swim both the 100 free final and 50 fly semis tonight, as she hunts down her third individual title of the meet. After Pernille Blume failed to final last night in the semis of the 100, Sjostrom has a clear path to gold, with France’s Charlotte Bonnet likely her biggest challenge.

Adam Peaty will look for his second world record of the meet in the men’s 50 breast after setting the 100m mark earlier in the competition. He set consecutive Championship Records in the heats (26.50) and semis (26.23), and will aim to take down his 25.95 done last year in Budapest.

Also of note, Katinka Hosszu opted not to swim the 200 back this morning, electing to put all of her focus on tonight’s 200 IM final where she seeks a 5th straight gold. Had she done both, she would have had about 45 minutes between the 200 back semis and the IM final.

Men’s 800 Free Final

• World Record (WR): 7:32.12 – Zhang Lin, 2009
• World Junior Record (WJ): 7:45.67 – Target Time
• European Record (ER): 7:40.77 – Gabriele Detti, 2017
• European Junior Record (EJ): 7:51.97 – Target Time
• Championship Record (CR): 7:42.33 – Gregorio Paltrinieri, 2016

1. Mykhailo Romanchuk, UKR, 7:42.96
2. Gregorio Paltrinieri, ITA, 7:45.12
3. Florian Wellbrock, GER, 7:45.60

Mykhailo Romanchuk slowly crept away from defending champion Gregorio Paltrinieri and 1500 gold medalist Florian Wellbrock in the men’s 800 final, pulling away towards the end to win by over two seconds in a time of 7:42.96. That crushes his Ukrainian Record by nearly three seconds, previously standing at 7:45.85 from last year.

Paltrinieri managed to hold off late charge from Wellbrock, taking 2nd in 7:45.12 to slightly improve his season-best, and Wellbrock broke his German Record by over a second in 3rd (7:45.60). Henrik Christiansen of Norway took 4th in 7:46.75.

Women’s 100 Free Final

• World Record (WR): 51.71 – Sarah Sjöström, 2017
• World Junior Record (WJ): 52.70 – Penny Oleksiak, 2016
• European Record (ER): 51.71 – Sarah Sjöström, 2017
• European Junior Record (EJ): 53.88 – Freya Anderson, 2017
• Championship Record (CR): 52.67 – Sarah Sjöström, 2014/2018

1. Sarah Sjostrom, SWE, 52.93
2. Femke Heemskerk, NED, 53.23
3. Charlotte Bonnet, FRA, 53.35

Sarah Sjostrom opened up a bit of a lead on the opening 50 of the women’s 100 free, flipping in 25.17, and held the field at bay coming home to win gold in a time of 52.93. She was much faster in the semis, going 52.67.

Femke Heemskerk out-split Charlotte Bonnet by a slim margin on both 50s to snag silver in 53.23, with Bonnet back for bronze in 53.35. Great Britain’s Freya Anderson, who has been outstanding all meet, took 4th in 53.61, lowering her own European Junior Record of 53.88. Anderson was the fastest swimmer on the back-half in 27.32.

Men’s 50 Breast Final

• World Record (WR): 25.95 – Adam Peaty, 2017
• World Junior Record (WJ): 26.97 – Nicolo Martinenghi, 2017
• European Record (ER): 25.95 – Adam Peaty, 2017
• European Junior Record (EJ): 26.97 – Nicolo Martinenghi, 2017
• Championship Record (CR): 26.23 – Adam Peaty, 2018

1. Adam Peaty, GBR, 26.09
2. Fabio Scozzoli, ITA, 26.79
3. Peter John Stevens, SLO, 27.06

Adam Peaty unleashed the 3rd fastest swim in history to win gold in the men’s 50 breast, clocking 26.09 to win by a whopping seven-tenths of a second. He breaks his Championship Record of 26.23 from the semis, and now has three straight European titles in the event.

Italian Fabio Scozzoli was just .06 off his National Record for silver, dropping his semi-final swim by .01 in 26.79, and Slovenian Peter John Stevens edged past his best time for the bronze in 27.06. Russian Kirill Prigoda finished 4th in 27.18, now having narrowly missed medals in all three breaststroke events with 4th place finishes in the 50 and 100 and a 5th in the 200.

Women’s 200 Back Semi-Finals

• World Record (WR): 2:04.06, Missy Franklin, 2012
• World Junior Record (WJ): 2:06.43, Regan Smith, 2018
• European Record (ER): 2:04.94 Anastasiia Fesikova, 2009
• European Junior Record (EJ): 2:06.62, Target Time
• Championship Record (CR): 2:06.62, Krisztina Egerszegi, 1991

1. Margherita Panziera, ITA, 2:07.27
2. Katalin Burian, HUN, 2:07.65
3. Daria Ustinova, RUS, 2:08.19
4. Jenny Mensing, GER, 2:08.92
5. Lisa Graf, GER, 2:09.32
6. Anastasiia Avdeeva, RUS, 2:09.54
7. Daryna Zevina, UKR, 2:11.17
8. Africa Zamorano Sanz, ESP, 2:11.69

Margherita Panziera of Italy and Katalin Burian of Hungary dominated the first semi in the women’s 200 back, throwing down times of 2:07.27 and 2:07.65 to clear the field by four seconds. Panziera was just off her National Record of 2:07.16, while Burian recorded a new best time.

The second semi was much more competitive, led by Daria Ustinova (2:08.19) of Russia and Jenny Mensing (2:08.92) of Germany who advance 3rd and 4th overall. The 3rd through 7th fastest qualifiers all came from semi 2, with Africa Zamorano Sanz of Spain squeaking in from the first semi in 8th.

Men’s 50 Free Semi-Finals

• World Record (WR): 20.91, Cesar Cielo, 2009
• World Junior Record (WJ): 21.75, Michael Andrew, 2017
• European Record (ER): 20.94, Frederick Bousquet, 2009
• European Junior Record (EJ): 21.98, Target Time
• Championship Record (CR): 21.32, Florent Manaudou, 2014

1. Ben Proud, GBR, 21.11
2. Andrea Vergani, ITA, 21.37
3. Vlad Morozov, RUS, 21.44
4. Kristian Gkolomeev, GRE, 21.52
5. Pawel Juraszek, POL, 21.67
6. Ari-Pekka Liukkonen, FIN, 21.96
7. Jesse Puts, NED, 22.02
8. Simonas Bilis, LTU / Andrii Govorov, UKR, 22.04

Ben Proud came into the competition sitting atop the world rankings in the 50 free in 21.16, and brought that down another five-one-hundredths in tonight’s semi-finals to break his British Record in 21.11. That also demolished the Championship Record of 21.32, set by Florent Manaudou in 2014. Only Pawel Juraszek of Poland joined him under 22 seconds in the first semi (21.67).

Proud also lowers Caeleb Dressel‘s textile world record of 21.15, set at the 2017 World Championships.

Andrea Vergani blasted a new Italian Record in the second semi, taking out Luca Dotto‘s 21.64 in 21.37 for the second seed overall. Vlad Morozov equalled his Russian Record for 2nd in the semi in 21.44, and Kristian Gkolomeev and Ari-Pekka Liukkonen also cracked 22. Gkolomeev’s 21.52 broke his Greek Record.

Simonas Bilis and Andrii Govorov tied for 8th in 22.04, setting up a swim-off.

Women’s 50 Fly Semi-Finals

• World Record (WR): 24.43, Sarah Sjöström, 2014
• World Junior Record (WJ): 25.46, Rikako Ikee, 2017
• European Record (ER): 24.43, Sarah Sjöström, 2014
• European Junior Record (EJ): 25.66, Target Time
• Championship Record (CR): 24.87, Sarah Sjöström, 2014

1. Sarah Sjostrom, SWE, 25.51
2. Melanie Henique, FRA, 25.68
3. Kimberly Buys, BEL, 25.76
4. Emilie Beckmann, DEN, 25.86
5. Ranomi Kromowidjojo, NED, 25.95
6. Aliena Schmidtke, GER, 26.09
7. Anna Dowgiert, POL, 26.14
8. Anna Ntountounaki, GRE, 26.22

Sarah Sjostrom did what she had to do to cruise through the semis of the women’s 50 fly and post the top time in 25.51. Melanie Henique was just .05 off her French Record for 2nd (25.68), and Kimberly Buys missed the Belgian Record by .06 for 3rd (25.76).

Anna Ntountounaki broke the Greek Record to qualify 8th in 26.22.

Men’s 100 Fly Semi-Finals

• World Record (WR): 49.82, Michael Phelps, 2009
• World Junior Record (WJ): 50.62, Kristof Milak, 2017
• European Record (ER): 49.95, Milorad Cavic, 2009
• European Junior Record (EJ): 50.62, Kristof Milak, 2017
• Championship Record (CR): 50.86, Laszlo Cseh, 2016

1. Laszlo Cseh, HUN, 51.65
2. Aleksandr Sadovnikov, RUS, 51.67
3. Konrad Czerniak, POL, 51.74
4. Kristof Milak, HUN, 51.76
5. James Guy, GBR, 51.78
6. Egor Kuimov, RUS, 51.95
7. Mehdy Metella, FRA, 51.97
8. Piero Codia, ITA, 52.02

Laszlo Cseh will advance through to his first final of the competition in the men’s 100 fly after winning the first semi-final in 51.65, a new season-best. Cseh out-touched James Guy at the wall, as the Brit was 2nd in the heat in 51.78.

Aleksandr Sadovnikov led a quick second semi that featured five of the eight qualifiers for finals, as Sadovnikov (51.67) edged Konrad Czerniak (51.74) of Poland and Kristof Milak (51.76) who all jumped past Guy for 2nd, 3rd and 4th overall.

Women’s 50 Breast Semi-Finals

• World Record (WR): 29.40, Lilly King, 2017
• World Junior Record (WJ): 29.86, Ruta Meilutyte, 2013
• European Record (ER): 29.48, Ruta Meilutyte, 2013
• European Junior Record (EJ): 29.48, Target Time
• Championship Record (CR): 29.88, Ruta Meilutyte, 2014

1. Yuliya Efimova, RUS, 29.66
2. Imogen Clark, GBR, 30.04
3. Ruta Meilutyte, LTU, 30.38
4. Arianna Castiglioni, ITA, 30.40
5. Ida Hulkko, FIN, 30.53
6. Natalia Ivaneeva, RUS, 30.56
7. Martina Carraro, ITA, 30.70
8. Sophie Hansson, SWE, 30.72

Ruta Meilutyte took the first semi in the women’s 50 breast in 30.38, edging out Arianna Castiglioni who was just a tenth off her Italian Record in 30.40.

Yuliya Efimova took out Meilutyte’s Championship Record in the second semi, clocking 29.66, and Imogen Clark broke her British Record for 2nd in 30.04. Finland’s Ida Hulkko broke her Finnish Record to qualify 5th in 30.53.

Men’s 200 Back Final

• World Record (WR): 1:51.92 – Aaron Peirsol, 2009
• World Junior Record (WJ): 1:55.14 – Kliment Kolesnikov, 2017
• European Record (ER): 1:53.61 – Evgeny Rylov, 2017
• European Junior Record (EJ): 1:55.14 – Kliment Kolesnikov, 2017
• Championship Record (CR): 1:55.28 – Radoslaw Kawecki, 2012

1. Evgeny Rylov, RUS, 1:53.36
2. Radoslaw Kawecki, POL, 1:56.07
3. Matteo Restivo, ITA, 1:56.29

Reigning World Champion used the same strategy in the men’s 200 back that he did in Budapest last summer, blasting out to the early lead with a 100m split of 54.78. He held his 3rd and 4th 50s at 29.3 and 29.2, and broke his own European Record in a time of 1:53.36, lowering his 1:53.61 from that gold medal swim at Worlds.

Radoslaw Kawecki of Poland was seeking a 4th straight title tonight, but has to settle for silver in 1:56.07, moving up from 4th at the 150 with a final 50 of 29.00. Matteo Restivo broke his own Italian Record by a few tenths to take bronze in 1:56.29.

Women’s 200 IM Final

• World Record (WR): 2:06.12 – Katinka Hosszu, 2015
• World Junior Record (WJ): 2:09.98 – Rikako Ikee, 2017
• European Record (ER): 2:06.12 – Katinka Hosszu, 2015
• European Junior Record (EJ): 2:11.03 – Target Time
• Championship Record (CR): 2:07.30 – Katinka Hosszu, 2016

1. Katinka Hosszu, HUN, 2:10.17
2. Ilaria Cusinato, ITA, 2:10.25
3. Maria Ugolkova, SUI, 2:10.83

In what was expected to be a dual between Katinka Hosszu and Siobhan-Marie O’Connor, the women’s 200 IM final turned into a crazy four-way scrap with Ilaria Cusinato and Maria Ugolkova throwing down Italian and Swiss National Records in the fight for the medals.

Hosszu fell to 4th at the 150, but closed with the fastest free leg in the field (30.95) to overtake Cusinato, O’Connor and Ugolkova to win in 2:10.17. The Hungarian becomes the first woman to ever win five straight European titles.

Cusinato knocked off her Italian mark from the semis for silver in 2:10.25, giving Hosszu all she could handle, and Ugolkova was 2:10.83 for bronze to take out her 2:11.41 Swiss Record from last night. O’Connor was 2:09.8 last night, but only managed a 2:10.85 and got edged out of the medals.

Mixed 4×100 Free Relay Final

• World Record (WR): 3:19.60, USA, 2017
• World Junior Record (WJ): 3:26.65, Canada, 2017
• European Record (ER): 3:21.81, Netherlands, 2017
• European Junior Record (EJ): 3:28.50, Hungary, 2017
• Championship Record (CR): 3:23.64, Netherlands, 2016

1. France, 3:22.07
2. Netherlands, 3:23.97
3. Russia, 3:24.50

France was dominant in winning the mixed 400 free relay, as Jeremy Stravius had a solid lead-off in 48.81 before Mehdy Metella (47.45), Marie Wattel (53.47) and Charlotte Bonnet (52.34) all threw down massive legs to win in 3:22.07. They break the meet record of 3:23.64 previously held by the Netherlands, and narrowly miss the Dutch European Record of 3:21.81.

The Netherlands did take 2nd in 3:23.97, with Femke Heemskerk (52.62) producing the 2nd-fastest female split in the field, and Russia claimed bronze with Vladislav Grinev splitting 47.69 on thir 2nd leg. The Italians narrowly missed a medal in 4th (3:24.94), as Alessandro Miressi had the field’s top split in 47.38.

Men’s 50 Free Swim-Off

1. Simonas Bilis, LTU, 21.70
2. Andrii Govorov, UKR, 21.74

Simonas Bilis broke his own Lithuanian Record by .01 to win the 50 free swim-off over Andrii Govorov in 21.70, advancing to tomorrow’s final. Govorov was 21.74, his fastest swim since the 2016 Olympics, but won’t make the final.

Had they done those times in the semis, they would have qualified 6th and 7th overall.