European Championships, Budapest, day 3 semi-finals
Women 200m medley
Camille Muffat (FRA) swam a smooth and confident 2:10.92 championship record to book lane 4 for the final of the short medley. Either side of her were home hopes, world 400m champion Katinka Hosszu, on 2:11.84 and Evelyn Verraszto, just 0.02sec away, with 400m champion here in Budapest Hannah Miley (GBR) on 2:11.90 and Mireia Belmonte (ESP) on 2:12.23. A great final in prospect. The cut: 2:15.04.
Where the battlelines are drawn - semi splits:
- Muffat: 28.25 1:01.72 1:39.76 2:10.92
- Hosszu: 28.26 1:01.50 1:40.75 2:11.84
- Verraszto: 28.11 1:00.94 1:40.70 2:11.86
- Miley: 29.27 1:02.30 1:40.61 2:11.90 (the entire deficit to the leader on butterfly...)
Men 200m breaststroke
Daniel Gyurta (HUN) had a packed home-crowd stand leaping up and down, fit to burst, a couple of vuvuzelas on the wind, as he swept into lane 4 in 2:10.11. Closest man in the race and through: Marco Koch (GER), on 2:11.47. The first semi went to Loughborough University's Laurent Carnol (LUX) in 2:11.50 in a tight tussle split by 0.4sec, with 100m champion Alex Dale Oen (NOR). Edoardo Giorgetti (ITA) split those two on time, in 2:11.74. The cut: 2:12.11.
Men 200m butterfly
World champion in 2005 and defending champion Pawel Korzeniowski (POL) claimed lane four for the final in 1:57.24, time-served and forgiveness setting up a repeat battle of events in 2008 (though hopefully not with the same outcome). In 1:57.38, Ioannis Drymonakos claimed lane 5 for the deciding bout. The Greek swimmer stopped the clock first in 2008 but was subsequently deprived of the 2008 title, which was handed to Korzeniowski, after he tested positive for a banned substance a couple of months later, in May 2008. The fly swimmer got caught out on March 6 - before Eindhoven and before the world s/c titles where he took a bronze medal, also stripped from him later on - in a domestic out-of-competition control: methyltrienolone - described by experts as a "highly toxic oral steroid" - was the choice of deception and Drymonakos served two years out, returning in late spring this year. Some nerve to come back and face the folk you sought to cheat. Third through in Budapest 2010 was Dinko Jukic (AUT), on 1:57.81. The cut, Greece's Stefanos Dimitriadis, on 1:59.27.
Women 100m backstroke
The 200m champion Elizabeth Simmonds (GBR) claimed lane four for the 100m final in a comfortable 1:00.52, off a 29.40 split, compared to 28.97 and 1:00.54 for Daniela Samulski (GER) and Gemma Spofforth (GBR), on 29.36 and 1:00.73. Mercedes Peris (ESP) was the last below 1:01, ON 1:00.85, with Norwegian 'fly ace Ingvild Snildal on 1:01.33. The cut: 1:01.72.
Men 50m backstroke
The championship record had stood to Thomas Rupprath (GER), up here in the media gods four seats along from me gracing German TV viewers with his expertise this championship, at 25.00 since Berlin 2002. It now stands at 24.30 and nothing shiny about it: Camille Lacourt (FRA), on 52.11 for the 100m crown yesterday, was a rolling storm. Next through, world champion and record holder from 2009, Liam Tancock (GBR), matching Rupprath's 25.00, with the third 100m podium placer in the 100m here in Budapest, Frenchman Jeremy Stravius, on 25.02. The cut: 25.34.
