German world record caps European day
By Derek Parr
BUDAPEST (Reuters) – Germany set a world relay record to
give the European swimming championships a rousing finish to
the opening day of the main pool action on Monday.
The day began with Laure Manaudou fading way off the pace
in the heats of the women’s 400 meters individual medley, an
event the 19-year-old Frenchwoman had been strong favorite to
win in the absence of title-holder Yana Klochkova, Ukraine’s
Olympic champion.
It ended with a German quartet breaking the women’s 4×100
meters freestyle world record set by Australia at the Athens
Olympics and with Italy bagging their second title of the
evening in the concluding men’s 4×100 freestyle relay.
Petra Dallmann, Daniela Goetz, Britta Steffen and Annika
Liebs clocked three minutes 35.22 seconds to beat the women’s
relay mark of 3:35.94 set by Australians Alice Mills, Libby
Lenton, Petria Thomas and Jodie Henry on August 14, 2004.
Alessia Filippi profited from Manaudou’s failure to win the
400 individual medley and claim the first of Italy’s two
titles, while Russia’s Yuri Prilukov produced a powerful late
surge to win the men’s 400 meters freestyle and take the first
pool gold.
The German women crowned the evening with their world
record, with third swimmer Steffen producing the fastest split
of 52.66 seconds.
“It can’t have been me — I still can’t grasp and believe
that I clocked 52.66,” she said.
“I didn’t feel well before the race but after the heats
this morning we set our eyes on the world record.”
The Netherlands took silver in 3:37.04 and France bronze in
3:38.83.
PRILUKOV CONFIDENCE
Italian Massimiliano Rosolino set a fierce pace in the
men’s 400 and led by nearly three seconds at the halfway mark
but world short-course champion Prilukov reeled him in,
charging past on the final length in the 50-meter Alfred Hajos
outdoor pool to claim the title in a championship record
3:45.73.
Rosolino, 28, Olympic silver medallist in 2000, clung on to
take his third European 400 freestyle silver medal in 3:46.87
and fast-finishing Nicolas Rostoucher of France came through
for the bronze in 3:47.04.
“It was a good race,” Prilukov, silver medallist in the
event at the 2004 European championships, said. “I was prepared
for Rosolino setting the pace but he could not threaten me. It
was clear that I would catch him on the last lap.”
Rosolino’s Italian compatriot Emiliano Brembilla, winner of
the event at four of the last five European championships,
failed to qualify for the final after finishing 13th overall in
the heats.
Filippi, silver medallist at the world-short-course
championships in Shanghai in April, took the lead in the 400
individual medley on the second leg, the backstroke, after
Russia’s Yana Martynova had led through the opening butterfly.
The 19-year-old Italian stretched away to win in 4:35.80,
with Germany’s Nicole Hetzer taking the silver in 4:37.97 and
Katarzyna Baranowska of Poland the bronze in 4:40.02.
“I want to improve my time at the world championships in
Melbourne (next year). My dream is the gold medal at the 2008
Olympics in Beijing,” Filippi said.
Italy retained their men’s 4×100 freestyle relay title
thanks to a blistering split of 47.62 on the anchor leg by
Filippo Magnini, who overhauled Frenchman Amaury Leveaux and
brought his team home in a championship record 3:15.23. Russia
were second (3:16.47) and France third (3:16.53) in a repeat of
the 2004 order.
Magnini, world 100 freestyle champion, said: “I knew I was
capable of overtaking Leveaux and I know I have a very fast
finish. We wanted that gold medal badly and we won it.”