COMPETITION INSIGHTS
arena swimmers continued their domination at the European SC Championships in Netanya, Israel, as it drew to a close on 6th December. All told, an incredible 80% of gold medal winners wore arena suits, while 74% of all podium finishers came from the arena camp. The final arena counts were 32 gold, 29 silver, and 30 bronze for a total of 91 medals overall.
Gregorio Paltrinieri produced the performance of the Championships as he took down the oldest existing world record, breaking Grant Hackett’s 1500 free mark from 2001 with a stunning time of 14:08.06. The Italian led from start to finish, surging to his victory almost 10 seconds ahead of compatriot Gabriele Detti in second.
Top of the heap on the women’s side was Iron Lady Katinka Hosszú, whose phenomenal performance yielded 6 golds and a silver from 7 starts, along with 2 world and 6 championship records. Following her 400 IM WR on Day 1, Katinka nabbed her second in 100 IM on Day 3 with a time of 56.67, eclipsing the mark she set a year ago in Doha. Earlier on Day 3’s finals session she set a new 200 back CR (1:59.84), snagging another in 200 IM (2:02.53) on Day 4, along with the 50 back title. In her only second-place finish in 400 free on Day 5, she was pipped at the post by just 0.03s in a thrilling race, which produced her first sub-4min swim and a PB of 3:58.84.
Another Hungarian excelling on the men’s side was the evergreen László Cseh, who added two more titles – both in new European record times – to his 100 fly gold from Day 2. His 200 IM time of 1:51.36 is the third fastest of all time, while his 200 fly victory in 1:49.00 was less than half a second off the WR. Germany’s Philip Heintz and Denmark’s Viktor Bromer picked up the 200 IM and 200 fly silver medals behind László.
The women’s freestyle sprints these days seem to be developing into an all-arena rivalry, and it was no different in Netanya, as Elite Team swimmers Ranomi Kromowidjojo and Sarah Sjöström took the first two podium positions in 50 & 100 free, Ranomi winning the super dash and Sarah the 100. The Swede also claimed her second CR in Netanya on Day 5 as she comfortably defended her 100 fly title in 55.03.
Poland’s Radosław Kawęcki and Germany’s Marco Koch both completed impressive 100-200 doubles in their respective specialties, with Radek producing a strong performance to keep out Russia’s Stanislav Donets in 100 backstroke, and Marco swimming a blistering second half to beat Great Britain’s Adam Peaty to the wall in the 100 breaststroke.
Among the remaining medal winners, Russia’s Daria Ustinova picked up a silver in 200 backstroke on Day 3.
THE BEST PRESS CLIPS
NETHERLANDS
De Volkskrant | Kromowidjojo zwemt naar twee keer goud
ED.nl | Goud voor Ranomi Kromowidjojo op 50 vrij
GERMANY
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung | Koch schwimmt allen davon
ITALY
La Repubblica | Da Paltrinieri alle ragazze della staffetta, che giornata per il nuoto azzurro
La Stampa | La Lady di ferro evita la sfida con la Pellegrini
Swimbiz | E il tris arrivò, Sabbioni Record Italiano 50 dorso
La Gazzetta dello Sport | Greg-mania istituzionale
SWEDEN
Dagens Nyheter | Sjöström tog ett guld och två silver
Aftonbladet | Sjöström tog tre medaljer på 73 minuter
SVT Sport | Sjöström tog guld på favoritdistansen
HUNGARY
MNO | Hosszú Katinka először kapott ki a kontinensviadalon
SWIMMING
SwimVortex | Laszlo Cseh goes longer on longevity with S/C 1:49 euro mark & WR-rattler 200 ‘fly
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Gazzetta dello Sport – Download PDF
Corriere della Sera – Download PDF
German press on Marco Koch – Download PDF
German press on Franziska Hentke – Download PDF
MEDAL COUNT
RESULTS DAY 3
W 100m FREESTYLE
GOLD – Sjöström SWE 51.37 arena
SILVER – Kromowidjojo NED 51.59 arena
BRONZE – Popova RUS 52.02 arena
W 200m BACKSTROKE
GOLD – Hosszú HUN 1:59.84 CR arena
SILVER – Ustinova RUS 2:01.57 arena
BRONZE – Gustafdottir ISL 2:03.53 tyr
M 200m INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY
GOLD – Cseh HUN 1:51.36 ER arena
SILVER – Heintz GER 1:53.21 arena
BRONZE – Carvalho POR 1:53.45 speedo
W 200m BUTTERFLY
GOLD – Hentke GER 2:03.01 arena
SILVER – Grangeon FRA 2:03.85 tyr
BRONZE – Polieri ITA 2:04.37 tyr
M 100m BACKSTROKE
GOLD – Kawęcki POL 49.64 arena
SILVER – Donets RUS 50.30 arena
BRONZE – Walker-Hebborn GBR 50.35 adidas
W 100m INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY
GOLD – Hosszú HUN 56.67 WR arena
SILVER – O’Connor GBR 58.65 speedo
BRONZE – Steenbergen NED 59.00 arena
M 1500m FREESTYLE
GOLD – Paltrinieri ITA 14:08.06 WR arena
SILVER – Detti ITA 14:18.00 arena
BRONZE – Christiansen NOR 14:23.60 arena
M 50m FREESTYLE
GOLD – Sedov RUS 20.87 arena
SILVER – Orsi ITA 20.92 akron
BRONZE – Szczepański POL 21.21 arena
W 4x50m FREESTYLE
GOLD – ITALY 1:36.05 arena
SILVER – NETHERLAND 1:36.20 arena
BRONZE – RUSSIA 1:36.62 arena
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RESULTS DAY 4
W 100m BREASTSTROKE
GOLD – Laukkanen FIN 1:04.56 arena
SILVER – Nijhuis NED 1:05.21 arena
BRONZE – Gunes TUR 1:05.32 arena
W 200m INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY
GOLD – Hosszú HUN 2:02.53 CR arena
SILVER – O’Connor GBR 2:05.13 speedo
BRONZE – Hansson SWE 2:07.96 arena
W 200m FREESTYLE
GOLD – Pellegrini ITA 1:51.89 jaked
SILVER – Popova RUS 1:52.46 arena
BRONZE – Heemskerk NED 1:52.81 speedo
M 100m BREASTSTROKE
GOLD – Koch GER 57.78 arena
SILVER – Peaty 57.96 arena
BRONZE – Titenis LTU 57.02 arena
M 50m BUTTERFLY
GOLD – Govorov UKR 22.36 head
SILVER – Tsurkin BLR 22.56 arena
BRONZE – Popkov RUS 22.69 arena
W 50m BACKSTROKE
GOLD – Hosszú HUN 26.13 arena
SILVER – Urbanczyk POL 26.27 arena
BRONZE – Jovanovic CRO 26.45 arena
MIXED 4x50m FREESTYLE
GOLD – ITALY 1:29.26 mixed
SILVER – RUSSIA 1:29.59 arena
BRONZE – NETHERLANDS 1:30.03 arena
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RESULTS DAY 5
W 200m BREASTSTROKE
GOLD – Lecluyse BEL 2:18.49 arena
SILVER – Ashaskina RUS 2:19.69 arena
BRONZE – Gunes TUR 2:19.73 arena
M 100m FREESTYLE
GOLD – Orsi ITA 46.05 akron
SILVER – Timmers BEL 46.61 speedo
BRONZE – Szczepański POL 47.87 arena
W 100m BUTTERFLY
GOLD – Sjöström SWE 55.03 CR arena
SILVER – Ottesen DEN 55.68 tyr
BRONZE – Wenk GER 56.45 arena
M 100m INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY
GOLD – Fesikov RUS 52.00 arena
SILVER – Toumarkin ISR 52.62 speedo
BRONZE – Vazaios GRE 52.67 arena
W 400m FREESTYLE
GOLD – Carlin GBR 3:58.81 speedo
SILVER – Hosszú HUN 3:58.84 arena
BRONZE – Kapas HUN 3:59.02 arena
M 200m BUTTERFLY
GOLD – Cseh HUN 1:49.00 ER arena
SILVER – Bromer DEN 1:51.62 arena
BRONZE – Sjodin TYR 1:52.89 arena
W 50m FREESTYLE
GOLD – Kromowidjojo NED 23.56 arena
SILVER – Sjöström SWE 23.63 arena
BRONZE – Ottesen DEN 23.94 tyr
M 50m BACKSTROKE
GOLD – Polewska POL 22.96 arena
SILVER – Sabbioni ITA 23.09 arena
BRONZE – Walker-Hebborn GBR 23.09 adidas
W 4×50 MEDLEY RELAY
GOLD – NETHERLAND 1:44.85 arena
SILVER – SWEDEN 1:45.34 arena
BRONZE – ITALY 1:45.73 arena
M 4×50 MEDLEY RELAY
GOLD – ITALY 1:31.71 CR mixed
SILVER – RUSSIA 1:32.17 arena
BRONZE – BELARUS 1:33.21 arena
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