SWE’s Sophie Hansson and FIN’s Ida Hulkko Notch 100 BR National Marks in Tokyo

2020 TOKYO SUMMER OLYMPIC GAMES

• When: Pool swimming: Saturday, July 24 – Sunday, August 1, 2021
  • Open Water swimming: Wednesday, August 4 – Thursday, August 5, 2021
• Where: Olympic Aquatics Centre / Tokyo, Japan
• Heats: 7 PM / Semifinals & Finals: 10:30 AM (Local time)
• Full aquatics schedule
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• Entry Lists
• Live Results
• Day 2 Prelims Live Recap

Swimming together in the last heat of the women’s 100 breast Olympic preliminaries, Sweden’s Sophie Hansson and Finland’s Ida Hulkko successfully advanced to semifinals by both breaking their respective national records. Hansson took second place behind American Lilly King (1:05.55) at 1:05.66, qualifying 4th into semifinals, while Hulkko’s 5th-place heat effort of 1:06.19 qualified 7th into semis.

Hulkko was leading the first 50 at 30.55 to Hansson’s 3rd-fastest opening 50 of the field at 31.01. Yet Hansson had the 2nd-best closing 50 of the field at 34.65 while Hulkko closed in a 35.64.

Hansson’s swim now puts her at No. 14 on the all-time top performers list. On the all-time European rankings list, Hansson jumped Italy’s Arianna Castiglioni for No. 3. Meanwhile, Hulkko’s half-second chomp off her 1:06.73 former mark rockets her from No. 25 to No. 9 in history.

That is now seven of the top-10 European performers who have swum their lifetime bests in the year 2021.

All-Time European Rankings – Women’s 100 BR LCM

1. Ruta Meilutyte (LTU), 1:04.35 – 2013
2. Yulia Efimova (RUS), 1:04.36 – 2017
3. Sophie Hansson (SWE), 1:05.66 – 2021*
4. Arianna Castiglioni (ITA), 1:05.67 – 2021
5. Benedetta Pilato (ITA), 1:05.84 – 2021
6. Martina Carraro (ITA), 1:05.86 – 2021
7. Rikke Pederson (DEN), 1:05.93 – 2013
8. Evgenia Chikunova (RUS), 1:06.06 – 2021
9. Ida Hulkko (FIN), 1:06.19 – 2021*
10. Molly Renshaw (GBR), 1:06.21 – 2021

Originally reported by James Sutherland.

WOMEN’S 100 BREASTSTROKE – PRELIMS

• World Record: Lilly King (USA) – 1:04.13 (2017)
• Olympic Record: Lilly King (USA) – 1:04.93 (2016)
• World Junior Record: Ruta Meilutyte (LTU) – 1:05.21 (2014)
• 2016 Olympic Champion: Lilly King (USA) – 1:04.93
• SwimSwam Event Preview – Women’s 100 Breaststroke

1. Tatjana Schoenmaker (RSA), 1:04.82 OR
2. Lydia Jacoby (USA), 1:05.52
3. Lilly King (USA), 1:05.55
4. Sophie Hansson (SWE), 1:05.66
5. Martina Carraro (ITA), 1:05.85
6. Evgeniia Chikunova (ROC), 1:06.16
7. Ida Hulkko (FIN), 1:06.19
8. Yuliya Efimova (ROC), 1:06.21
9. Mona McSharry (IRL), 1:06.39
10. Tang Qianting (CHN), 1:06.47
11. Sarah Vasey (GBR), 1:06.61
12. Chelsea Hodges (AUS), 1:06.70
13. Lisa Mamie (SUI), 1:06.76
14. Eneli Jefimova (EST), 1:06.79
15. Kotryna Teterevkova (LTU), 1:06.82
16. Anna Elendt (GER), 1:06.96

South Africa’s Tatjana Schoenmaker absolutely destroyed the African Record to lead the women’s 100 breaststroke heats by seven tenths of a second, clocking 1:04.82 in what was also a new Olympic Record.

Schoenmaker, 24, takes down her previous Continental and National Records of 1:05.74, set earlier this year, and lowers Lilly King‘s Olympic Record of 1:04.93 set in 2016.

Known more her prowess in the 200 breast, Schoenmaker rockets up the all-time rankings from 17th to fifth in the 100 with her swim.

King won a tightly-contested final heat in 1:05.55, looking around throughout the heat, while her American teammate Lydia Jacoby led the first circle-seeded heat in 1:05.52 as they qualify 2-3 for the semis.

Jacoby was just off her best time of 1:05.28, set at the U.S. Olympic Trials in June.

Sophie Hansson chopped .03 off her Swedish Record in 1:05.66, and Ida Hulkko broke her Finnish Record in 1:06.19.

The sixth seed coming in, Italy’s 16-year-old standout Benedetta Pilato was disqualified.