European Championships, Budapest, finals, day 5
Women 100m butterfly
Swedish Sarah Sjostrom (SWE), world champion, claimed the European crown by 0.08sec in 57.32 ahead of Fran Halsall (GBR), bronze going to Therese Alshammar (SWE), on 57.80. That's international medal No 61 for Alshammar.
The 50m world record holder showed her speed with a sizzling 26.26 split at the turn, a pace that had Halsall noting post-race: "... she went out like a train and it was great to have Therese there because when you're not rested you feel a bit groggy, so it's good to have someone to pull you along". Groggy?! 26.53 was the Brit's split, with Sjostrom on 26.75.
The world champion's great ability to return harder than all others kicked in: 30.57 on the way home for Sjostrom (just about all of the deficit sustained by Alshammar's first lap blast recovered in the first 15m off the wall), with Halsall, who will taper fully for Commonwealth Games in October, one of only three sub 31sec second-length racers on the day, on 30.87. Alshammar came home in 31.54 but was rewarded for taking it out, neither Jeannette Ottesen (DEN) nor Amit Ivri (ISR) able to get to her as they finished 4th and 5th in 58.21 and 58.73, the latter 0.06sec ahead of Aurore Mongel (FRA), who came home in 30.98.
Sjostrom, who celebrated her 17th birthday four days early, set a world record of 56.06 at the helm of eight women below 57sec at the height of the shiny circus in Rome. Most around the world are slower this year. Not Halsall - the first British swimmer to break a national record in textile, a lifetime best by 0.4sec in her first season of focus on fly in her first big international fly final. Ellen Gandy had held the national mark at 57.49, from March 2009, while Halsall's best had been 57.83.
A delighted Sjostrom, coached by Carl Jenner, said: "My whole season before the championships was poor, so this result is all the more surprising to me."
Halsall added: "What a close race! Maybe I could have done a bit better if I'd have been more rested. But I'll take that. I knew Therese would go out fast ... she went out like a train ... but I knew if I could stick with her my strength was on the second lap. It was great to catch her in the closing metres. But 0.08 off the win. Ouch!"
"I wanted the gold very much but I've got to be happy," said Halsall, "It was a personal best, a British Record and a really good swim but I still feel I could have taken the gold - maybe next time. Losing by 0.08sec - I'll feel that for the next year's training, that'll be a lot of motivation. Just missing the gold is annoying."
Alshammar, 33 at the end of the month, noted that she had swum the 100m for the first time in a major international final. "You always have to test something new. That was great in so far as I was a newcomer within this experienced field." A newcomer compared to the tale below too...
The European 100m butterfly final has particular significance in swimming history. It was the first major international title ever raced for on butterfly after the birth of the stroke in a split from breaststroke. The first two Olympic butterfly titles were not contested until 1956, even though the chrysalis from which butterfly emerged was formed in the early years of the 20th century. References to a dolphin action related by David Armbruster, coaching mentor to the legendary James “Doc” Counsilman, in homage to the ubiquitous aquatic pioneer George Corsan appeared in the late 1920s.
In 1911, Armbruster recalled, Corsan, a Canadian who was chief instructor and pool designer for the YMCA, introduced him to the fishtail action. Armed with what Corson had shown him, as well as pictures of Johnny Weissmuller eeling through the water out of his dive at Silver Springs in the mid 1920s, his own observations of Walter Spence (CAN), sixth over 200m breaststroke at the 1928 Olympic Games, using butterfly arms into his turns, and film of Japanese swimmers dominating the 1932 Olympic Games, Armbruster, coach at the University of Iowa, asked his swimmers to bring their arms out of the water and over their heads in a parallel motion. The result, times some 6sec faster than breaststroke over 100 metres. The gain would grow later when the glide and pause was eliminated from the front of the stroke. In 1933, Jack Sieg, one of Armbruster's swimmers, developed a type of sideways kick, beating his legs together like a fish tail. Armbruster called it the "dolphin fishtail kick" and in 1934 overhead arm and dolphin kick were placed together for the first time.
At its 1952 Congress, FINA decided on two distinct strokes: “Orthodox Breaststroke” and “Butterfly Breaststroke”. The timing of the decision favoured Europe: at the 1954 European Championships in Turin, Italy, an event dominated by a squad from Hungary, Gyorgy Tumpek claimed the 200m butterfly crown in 2:32.2 for the men of Magyar, while the 100m butterfly crown for women was historic not only for being the first international pure butterfly race but for producing the first world record on the stroke, the pioneer Jutta Langenau (GDR) in 1:16.6, a time inside the 1:16.9 in which Eva Skzekely (HUN), 1952 Olympic 200m breaststroke champion, had set the world breaststroke record while swimming butterfly (May 9, 1951), before the split of strokes.
A footnote on the man who started it all: In the mid 60s, Corson demonstrated dolphin in person, with his arms and legs tied together, by fishtailing down the length of the 55-yard Casino Pool at the Fort Lauderdale Swim Forum. He was 90 years old. Now there's something for Alshammar to aim for.
History unfolding:
Effect on race on all-time top 10: 0
Euro podiums:
- 2010: 57.32 - 57.80
- 2008: 58.44 - 58.54
- 2006: 58.35 - 59.06
Euro finals:
- 2010: 57.32 - 59.04
- 2008: 58.44 - 59.30
- 2006: 58.35 - 59.86
- Most Euro wins: Catherine Plewinski (FRA); Martina Moravcova (SVK), 3 each
- Most Titles/Nation: GDR, 7
- Tightest Podium: 2008 - gold to bronze - 0.10sec
From the archive: There was no 200m crown to chase in the days of Ada Kok (NED). Had there been, the Dutchwoman would surely have clobbered her opponents. In the 100m, she claimed the crown twice, in 1962 and 1966. After upset in 1964, Kok, of Amsterdam, went on to be the popular winner of the 200m Olympic crown at Mexico in 1968. Her lowest and highest moments unfolded at those Games. Kok entered the final of the 100m butterfly as world record holder on 1:04.5 but emerged with the same time, 1:06.2, as bronze medal winner Susan Shields (USA), insult added to injury when officials placed her 4th. Kok was no quitter. Three days later, she battled her way to gold over 200m 0.1sec ahead of Helga Lindner (GDR) - and then at a reception at the Dutch Embassy in Mexico she accepted a bet to go and bounce on the ambassador's bed - and guess who caught her bouncing on his bed.
Records
Shiny suit era
- WR/ER: 56.06 Sarah Sjostrom (SWE) Jul 2009
February 1 2008
- WR/ER: 56.61 Inge de Bruijn (NED) Sep 2000
