Dutch butterflier Inge Dekker has scratched the semi-finals of the 100 fly to focus her efforts on helping the Netherlands defend their title in the 400 free relay. Dekker had an outstanding relay swim in the prelims, splitting a 53.5, and if she can repeat that, the Dutch could be unbeatable.
She was 10th-best in the prelims of the 100 fly, with a 58.30. That’s just a hair off of her best time, but the former European Champion (and defending World Champion in the 50) didn’t have much hope of getting down to the 56’s that it appears will be required to medal.
Dekker was also a part of the gold-medal winning relay in 2008, and the bronze-medal relay from 2004.
This scratch moves Canada’s Katerine Savard into the semi’s, after she swam a 58.76 in prelims. Savard’s best time is a second faster, from November of 2011, but she hasn’t cracked 58 seconds yet this year. The first day of this meet has had emotional ups-and-downs for the Canadians. Savard earned a reprieve, however, teammate Ryan Cochrane lost his spot in the men’s 400 free final when Tae Hwan Park’s DQ was overturned.
The revised heat sheet for tonight’s final can be seen here.
