Debrecen: European s/c Championships - day 4: European records for Daniel Gyurta and Yulia Efimova and a European best for Sweden's men over 4x50m freestyle added to the tally of new standards set in Hungary over the past four days. By the close, four world, nine European (all of the latter in Olympic events barring the women's 50m back) and two world and one European best time in the 4x50m relays had fallen. Europeans will claim Sweden's relay as a world record but it is not a world-record event and it is not the best time in the world: that stands at 1:23.75 to Auburn University since 2004. Germany and Russia each ended with five gold medals, Germany gaining the edge on the count of spoils (medals table at the end of the file).
200M BREASTSTROKE: Olympic silver medallist Daniel Gyurta (HUN) set a home pool alight at the European s/c Championships in Debrecen with a European record of 2:05.49 over 200m breaststroke, ahead of Paolo Bossini (ITA) in an Italian record of 2:05.82 and Mihail Alexandrov (BUL), in a national record of 2:06.91. The Hungarian was almost a second down on the Italian at half-way but clawed his way back to a deficit of 0.4sec with 50m to go before ploughing on a pressure that Bossini could not withstand.
100m BREASTSTROKE: The world record of 1:03.86 to Leisel Jones (AUS) is safe (a slight understatement perhaps) yet, but Yulia Efimova (RUS) is getting closer. In 1:04.95 (off a 31.08 split), she became the first European inside 1:05 s/c and lifted the Debrecen crown ahead of Mirna Jukic (AUT) on 1:06.57, with bronze going to the champion's teammate Elena Bogomizova, in 1:06.72. The European record had stood at 1:05.11 to Emma Igelstrom (SWE) since March 2003, while the championship record had been the 1:05.73 of Anna Khlistunova (UKR) from last year. Efimova said: 'I didn't really reckon with the two gold medals and two European records in the 100 and 200 metres here before the event. I now want to attack the World records next year during the Olympics in Beijing.' Lethal Leisel - you have been warned! Efimova is now third fastest all-time behind Jones and the 1:04.79 of Tara Kirk (USA), having rose from 7th best at 1:05.41. The Russian's new speed places her 9th on a top 10 performances list that includes eight swims from Jones, seven of those faster than Efimova.
200m FREESTYLE: in one of the upsets of the meet, Josefin Lillhage (SWE) trounced (a very relative word, of course) Laure Manaudou (FRA) and came close to taking the world record off Libby Lenton (AUS): the latter stands at 1:53.29, while the Swede came home in 1:53.55, to the French world l/c champion's 1:54.15 and a sensational 1:54.43 from her teammate Coralie Balmy (that French relay gets ever stronger). Manaudou held on to the European record by 0.07sec, while the championship record of Alena Popchanka (FRA) was confined to history by 0.7sec. Manaudou led the race until the final lap, when Lillhage raged past.
200m FREESTYLE: No records came under threat, the crown going to Filippo Magnini (ITA) just 0.1sec ahead of Paul Biedermann (GER) in 1:43.50. Pawel Korzeniowski (POL) claimed bronze in 1:44.05.
100m BUTTERFLY: Inge Dekker (NED) popped a 56.82 (off a 26.56 split) victory ahead of Alena Pochanka (FRA), in a national record of 57.55 and Otylia Jedrzejczak (POL), on 58.40. The winning time shaved 0.06sec off the Dutch record and left Dekker in the same spot on the all-time fastest list, at 6th. Dekker said simply: 'That?s a personal best for me. That was a great race', while Popchanka recalled last year's packed programme, saying: 'Last year in Helsinki this final was just after the final of the 200 free. Today this wasn't the case and that's why I was not so tired. I could concentrate on the technique and my power. The result is a personal best and French record.'
50m FREESTYLE: Marleen Veldhuis (NED) could not quite match the world-record speed of 23.58 that she mustered in Berlin last month but 23.77 was enough to take the title 0.03sec ahead of Britta Steffen (GER), world l/c 100m record holder. The bronze went to the champ's teammate Hinkelien Schreuder in 24.29.
400m MEDLEY: Alessia Filippi (ITA), the European l/c champion, added the 400m medley s/c title to her treasury in 4:30.46, a stroke shy of her Italian record but a stroke ahead of the 4:31.06 Spanish record of former European junior champion Mireia Belmonte, whose best had been 4:38.33, and Camille Muffat (FRA) in a national record of 4:31.38. The Italian's strength on backstroke could be seen in a 2:08.88 split at half-way off a butterfly leg of 1:03.27, compared to the world-record splits of Olympic champion Yana Klochkova (UKR) of 1:01.71 and 2:09.20 on the way to 4:27.83 in 2002. The European s/c championship record stands yet at 4:29.46 to Nicole Hetzer (GER). Filippi said: 'After my mistake in the 800m freestyle when I miscounted the laps and gave gold away, I am now relieved that I got my gold medal in the end.' Belmonte said: 'After I swam a personal best in the heats, I was again four seconds faster in the final. That's incredible, and I'm very happy with this first European medal.' Muffat's thoughts: 'I wanted to be in a good position at mid-race, because I counted on my breaststroke and freestyle to come from behin. I saw that Filippi was out of reach. I clocked a PB, a national record and got the bronze medal.'
100m MEDLEY: Peter Mankoc (SLO) struck again - in 52.88 he felled Thomas Rupprath (GER), on 53.46, and Sergey Fesikov (RUS), on 54.12, to claim the crown for the eighth successive year. Said the policeman: 'The eighth title in a row is quite good, but I wanted to break the European record ... but I messed up all three turns. But I was surprised that I even gained on Rupprath at the bad turns'. Ouch! Come on Tommy, get those turns tightened!
100m BACKSTROKE: The world record of 49.99 to Ryan Lochte (USA) was safe, Rupprath's European record of 50.58 held still by just 0.03sec but the German's championship record succumbed to the advances of Stanislav Donets (RUS), champion in 50.61 (off a 24.29 split). A stroke adrift were Markus Rogan (AUT), 0.32sec outside his national record, on 51.12, and Helge Meeuw (GER) on 51.56. Donets, now fourth fastest ever behind Lochte, Peter Marshall (USA) and Rupprath, also cracked his national record, which had stood at 51.11 to absent European l/c champion Arkady Vyatchanin, back home building for Beijing.
Donets: 'I fully prepared for these championships here, because they are very important to me. Now I?m hoping to be able to transfer my performance onto the long course. We have many good backstrokers in Russia, and I first have to qualify for Beijing...?.
Rogan: 'I had reckoned with Donets and knew I had to watch him. But it really surprised me how fast he was. The 100 metre event is too short for me - by 100 metres.'
Meeuw: 'I would have gained silver with my time of 51.06 in the heats. No question, I wanted to remain clearly below 51 seconds, about in the area where Donets was today. Donets is a great surprise for me.'
200m BACKSTROKE: Anja Carman (SLO) took the crown in a solid 2:05.20, a national record that catapults the new champion up to 10th on the all-time fastest list, from 58th on 2:07.84 from a year ago. The silver went to Esther Baron (FRA), on 2:05.57, well shy of her 2:04.08 French record, with bronze going to Iryna Amshennikova (UKR) in 2:05.98, shy of her best of 2:04.57.
50m BUTTERFLY: The title to Milorad Cavic (SRB) in 22.89, just 0.01 ahead of Evgeny Korotyshkin (RUS), with bronze going to Johannes Dietrich (GER), in 22.94.
4x50m FREESTYLE: The European best had been Sweden's in 1:24.89. Now, it's 1:24.19, courtesy of Petter Stymne (21.41), Marcus Piehl (20.97), Per Nylin (21.15) and Stefan Nystrand (20.66). France took silver on 1:24.98, and Germany bronze on 1:26.46. The world best over 4x50m is held at 1:23.75 by Auburn University in 2004 (George Bovell, 21.40; Derek Squibb, 20.76; Ryan Wochomurka, 21.04; and Fred Bousquet, 20.55). An international team that last one - but then there are no rules covering world best times, only world records, and the 4x50m is not recognised by FINA as a world-record event.
The MedalsAnd the records:
WorldAnd on that note, Europe should be looking forward to a speedy and successful 2008. Many thanks to the PPS crew for the collating, counting, quotes and good humour.