Day one of the 2013 Eindhoven Cup in the Netherlands saw a lineup of many of Europe’s best swimmers, with an especially strong lineup in the women’s events.
The 50 (long course) meter finals were the big show of the day, and there the Netherlands’ own Ranomi Kromowidjojo, the Olympic champion in this race, won in 24.30. That gives her the fastest time in the world thus far in 2013 .
Sweden’s Sarah Sjostrom was 2nd in 24.70, followed by two more Dutch swimmers Femke Heemskerk (24.90) and Inge Dekker (25.16.)
The 5th place finisher was Germany’s Dorothea Brandt in 25.37.
The big revelation, perhaps, will be the next big young Dutch sprinter. 18-year old Tamara van Vliet was a 25.53 for 6th place in this deep race; that’s her best time by three-tenths of a second.
The men’s race was a 50 meter butterfly, and there Andrei Govorov of the Ukraine won in 23.75, followed by Dutch swimmer Mike Marissen in 23.89. Six out of the top seven finishers are a part of the high-profile ADN Swim Project, including Evgeny Korotyshkin (23.96), Sergey Fesikov (24.18), and Brazilian Henrique Martins (24.20).
Govorov’s time ranks 3rd-best in the world this year.
In the women’s 100 fly, Sarah Sjostrom won in 57.66. She was already the #1-ranked swimmer in the world in this event, but that knocks another quarter-of-a-second off of her 2013 best time.
Great Britain’s Jemma Lowe was 2nd in 58.57, and Hungary’s Eszter Dara took 3rd in 59.91. Dara was a 2008 Olympian at just 18 years old, but tough years in 2011 and 2012, along with an increase in domestic competition, led her to all-but-disappear from the Hungarian swimming scene. Now, this is the third time she’s been under a minute this year.
Zsu Jakabos, who along with fellow Hungarian Katinka Hosszu was a World Cup warrior in the fall, is reaping the rewards from a strenuous 2012 of racing. She took first in the 200 IM in 2:10.27. Not only does that rank her as the second-best swimmer in the world this year, but it’s a lifetime best for her. That, in fact, is the second lifetime-best in this race for her in the last two weeks. In total, she’s knocked a second-and-a-half from her roster in the event.
Britain’s Hannah Miley took 2nd in 2:12.04; that’s a solid time for her so far out of Great Britain’s Olympic Trials, but it also highlighted just how much Jakabos has improved. The Hungarian’s breaststroke split (37.82) was actually better than Miley’s (37.96), and that’s with Miley being one of the bes breaststroking-IM’ers in the world.
Wendy van der Zanden was 3rd in 2:14.01.
The 200 backstrokes each produced some strong swims as well; Sharon van Rouwendaal, a dutch swimmer, won the women’s race in 2:10.94. For the 18-year old that’s a pretty standard April swim for her, though she’ll be hoping to recapture her 2011 year-end success in Barcelona.
Evelyn Verraszto was 2nd in 2:11.33, and Georgia Davies from the UK was 3rd in 2:13.01.
In the men’s race, only one swimmer was really able to get his times down into a noteworthy range, but the 22-year old University of Stirling trainee swam a 2:00.95.
Full, live meet results available here.
Correct, at the NC SwimMAC Tarheel Swim Meet on March 22nd, Madison Kennedy apparently swam a 24.30. This is a great sign for US women sprinting. Hopefully she can replicate that at WC Trials.
usSwimFan – that was apparently an error in the FINA database. That was actually the opening split on a 100 yard freestyle, confirmed by Madison herself.
Thanks for clarifying…looks like US swimming has to correct their info. too…hence, the ‘apparently’ comment.
Madison Kennedy swam 24.30 50 free LCM??
This is a huge news for american women sprint, Can’t think of an american who swam faster than that, outside of the 2008-2009 or whose names not torres or coughlin.
Huh?
Look at them choppers!