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German world record caps European day

Posted on: Monday, 31 July 2006, 14:06 CDT

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 4x100 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 4x100 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 4x100 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."

Source: REUTERS

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