The Swedish Championships action today in Sundsvall continued with the men’s 50 breast, 50 back, and 400 free while the women competed in the 400 I.M., 50 free, and 100 back. Full results can be found here. Day 3 finals highlights:
Men’s 50 Breast
Meet record holder Johannes Skagius defended his title in the men’s 50 breast, surging to the wall in 28.61.
Erik Persson added to his medal total after winning the 200 breast and 400 I.M. earlier in the meet, picking up bronze with a 29.16. He was just behind Niklas Tour, who placed 2nd in 29.10.
Women’s 400 I.M.
Former USC Trojan Stina Gardell brought the thunder in the women’s 400 I.M., dominating the event from the start. Gardell is a very versatile swimmer, having already finaled in the women’s 200 free and 100 fly. This was her first medal-winning performance, taking gold in 4:47.25. That marks the 2nd gold medal for a USC-based swimmer at these championships.
Rounding out the top 3, 2 other swimmers finished under 5 minutes. Frida Berggren hit the wall 2nd in 4:55.20, while Christine Ekman grabbed bronze in 4:59.39.
Men’s 50 Back
Niklas Borin nabbed a 1st place finish in the 50 back, touching out Mattias Carlsson 26.11 to 26.19. Carlsson won the 100 back yesterday, and managed to add another backstroke medal with a 2nd place finish in the 50. Alexander Nyström secured the bronze with a 26.27.
Pontus Palmqvist, after joining Carlsson on the podium in the 100 back, finished 4th in this final with a 26.55. Christoffer Carlsen added another top-8 finish in the 50 with a 26.69 for 5th.
Women’s 50 Free
Sarah Sjöström emerged victorious once again in the 50 free with a blazing 24.20. That time rocketed her to 3rd in the world rankings for 2015. This marks the 4th gold medal for the Swede, while she continues to dominate her races. As the defending world champion in the 100 fly, she’ll be looking to be a fierce competitor in this event as well.
Magdalena Kuras raced to 2nd in 25.56. Louise Hansson joined Sjöström in the top 3 once again with a 25.59.
Emma Svensson added another impressive top 8 finish to her accomplishments at the meet. The FGCU-based swimmer finished 4th in a solid time of 26.54.
Men’s 400 Free
Victor Johansson won another medal in the distance events. This time it was gold, as he won the 400 with a 4:00.43.
In a tight race for 2nd, Robin Andreasson grabbed silver in 4:02.36. He came back on the last 100 to pass Christopher Jedel, who finished 3rd in 4:02.46.
Women’s 100 Back
Just a couple of tenths off the meet record, Ida Lindborg raced to the finish to earn gold in the 100 back in a time of 1:01.58. She captured her first gold of the meet after finishing 2nd in the 50 back and 3rd in the 100 fly.
2nd place went to Anna Ahlin in 1:03.84. She’s done well in the backstroke events, having already won bronze in the 200 back. Sandra Hafström picked up her first medal, placing 3rd in 1:04.29.
USC senior Henriette Stenkvist was 4th in 1:05.01, after winning gold in the 200 back yesterday. Stenkvist and Gardell are putting up impressive performances to represent USC well at these championships.
Also notable: In the women’s 4×200 free relay, Sarah Sjostrom recorded a split of 1:54.96.
Also worth noting – Sjostrom split a 1:54.96 in the 4x200m relay.
Thanks. Had only covered individuals but added that bit about her split in at the bottom
Did she lead off the relay?
She was the 3rd leg