Jul - Aug 2002 View the PDF - Swimnews Online

44German star Thomas RupprathSweden were tied with 8.Marco ChiesaDAY 6, Saturday, Aug 3If it was a movie, the obligatory happy ending was reachedtonight. After setting her first world record for the 200freestyle in 1994, she went through many ups and mostlydowns. Now, achieving the ultimate in front of an adoringcrowd and fawning media, Franziska van Almsick deservedall the accolades she is getting.It was apparent we were witnessing a collective loveaffair between an adoring German public and their greatestswimming star. When introduced prior to her race, therewas a huge roar from the capacity crowd of 4,000 (including,spectators, athletes, and media). She blew them a kiss inacknowledgement.Then came the record swim. Sheer perfection. She wasahead of her own record pace for the entire race andtouched in 1:56.64, bettering the eight-year-old mark of1:56.78.A comparison:van Almsick 1994 27.21 56.86 1:27.12 1:56.78van Almsick 2002 27.14 56.27 1:26.33 1:56.64The pressure had been intense all day. “I was feelingvery bad the whole day,” Franzi said. “Everybody talkedabout the world record, except me. But now everything isright. I wouldn’t be standing here today if those dreadfulyears in between record swims hadn’t happened.”Of note were the swims for second and third—greatperformances that would have won the last two Olympicsand World Championships. Camelia Potec (ROM) placedsecond with 1:57.80, and Elena Popchenko (BLR) was thirdwith 1:57.91.“This is a fantastic personal best for me,” Potec said.“I knew Franziska wanted to swim a world record, I tried tokeep as close as possible, but I never expected such a goodtime.” Her previous best was 1:58.79.More of a 100 free specialist, Popchenko was amazedat her time. “I don’t know what to say. It is by far my bestever time. I haven’t really concentrated on the 200 for sixyears.” In 1996, her best was 2:04.38.The men’s 200 backstroke was a close three-way race.Gordan Kozulj (CRO) had the slightest of leads throughoutand was able to finish best in 1:58.70. Markus Rogan (AUT)was second with 1:58.83 and Marko Strahija (CRO) thirdwith 1:58.89. The next four also bettered 2 minutes for avery fast final.For Kozulj, the Berlin pool is special:“This is my lucky pool. I set a short courseworld record two years ago here. Today wasa very hard race. I have a headache.”Rogan will not complete the silver andbronze with the hoped-for gold. “I wouldrather win once than be on the podiumthree times. It is a bit annoying to miss thegold twice.” A tired Strahija was satisfied:“There was too little rest between yesterday’sprelims and semis and today’s final. I wasslower today than in the semis yesterday.”We had a veteran’s day earlier in thechampionships. Another new trend is forwinners from the European Juniors (threeweeks prior in Linz, AUT) moving up andwinning championships here in Berlin. OnDay 5 it was Yuri Prilukov in the 1500 freeand Stanislava Komarova in the 100 and200 backstrokes. On this day it was MirnaJukic (AUT) in the 200 breaststroke.Leading from the start, Jukic madesure that she would end up on top. Splitting33.06, 1:10.01, 1:47.72 for a time of 2:25.83(she won the Juniors three weeks prior in2:26.42). “I didn’t do well in the 100breaststroke, finishing sixth. Today I didthe perfect race.”Anne Poleska (GER), in fourth at the150, rallied in the final 50 to move intosecond with 2:27.37. “The atmosphere herehas been fantastic; just by standing on the starting block,everybody in the stands goes crazy. I’ve learned a lot aboutmental training in the USA (she attends the University ofAlabama). I think we’re also picking up on that here inGermany.” Emma Igelstrom (SWE), winner of the 50 and100 breaststrokes, was third in 2:26.71. “My only chancewas to start fast. But I was dead at the 175 metre mark. Idon’t have competition in Sweden, so it’s hard to train torace fast.” Olympic and world champion Agnes Kovacs(HUN) was fourth with 2:28.16, four seconds off her best.After a blazing qualifying swim of 52.03, ThomasRupprath (GER) aimed for a much faster final in the 100Mirna Jukic (AUT) won 200 breaststrokeItaly’s winning 4x200 free relayMarco ChiesaMarco Chiesabutterfly. He won with superior speed throughout and afaster turnover. With two strokes left, he hit a lane numberand perhaps missed an even faster final time. He did 51.94.“The competition was a lot tougher than expected,”Rupparth said. “I was quite excited and nervous as neverbefore. I could hardly stand it.”With five more under 53 seconds, the race for themedals was close. Andriy Serdinov (UKR) finished secondwith 52.17 and Denis Sylantyev (UKR) was third with 52.36.Said Serdinov about his first Championships, “I’m feelingsuper and the results couldn’t have been better.” Sylantyevsaid, “Not too satisfied with the place and time. I’m stilltired from the two rounds yesterday and the 200 fly finalearlier.”The last final was the men’s 4x200 freestyle relay, withItaly favoured to win handily. They did it in easy fashion by10 metres with 7:12.18. Germany was second with 7:17.59and Greece third with 7:20.67, picking up their first-everEuropean Championships medal.Rosolino, speaking on behalf of the winning team,said, “The gold was assured right from the start. That’s whywe gave priority to careful changes. We did not want to riska disqualification.”DAY 7, Sunday, Aug 4The final day of the 2002 European Championships endedwith another world-record performance, in the women’s200 butterfly by Otylia Jedrzejczak with a stunning 2:05.78,followed in the next event by an inspired Bart Kizierowski inthe 50 free for a Polish double.Highlights:First up was women’s 50 back. Sandra Volker (GER) wasfavoured, but Nina Zhivanevskaya (ESP) won the prelimsand semis. After Volker took the lead to the mid point,Zhivaneskaya was just too strong and moved ahead totouch in 28.58 to Volker’s 28.81. Alexandra HerasimeniaSWIMNEWS / JULY-AUGUST 2002