European Championships, Budapest, Day 6 finals:
Men 100m butterfly
Evgeny Korotyshkin (RUS), coached by Andrea di Nino at the ADN Project, took down his own championship record to retain the crown in 51.73. The Russian won it with a confident effort from the front, turning in 23.91, the only sub-24sec in the field. The silver had Orange flags flying, Joeri Verlinden (NED) just 0.09sec away from the crown, on 51.82, with bronze going to Konrad Czerniak (POL) on 52.16. That locked out a four-times winner of the title, and Olympic champion of 2000, Lars Frolander, at 36 still on a sizzling 52.24, a hand off his best back in Sydney.
Korotyshkin said: "My plan was to swim a fast first lap, about 24 flat. I finished in whatever way I could because I was completely exhausted in the last 10 metres."
Verlinden said: Usually I swim all three 'fly events but here I focussed on just the 100m. I raced the 50m too and after that [dash] I knew I had good speed for the 100." His was the first medal over 100m butterfly for a Dutch man since the event was introduced to the championships in 1970.
History unfolding:
Effect on race on all-time top 10: 0
Euro podiums:
- 2010: 51.73 - 52.16
- 2008: 51.89 - 52.09
- 2006: 51.95 - 52.96
Euro finals:
- 2010: 51.73 - 52.67
- 2008: 51.89 - 53.21
- 2006: 51.95 - 53.32
- Most Euro wins: Lars Frolander (SWE), 3
- Most Titles/Nation: GER, 4
- Tightest Podium: 1989 - gold to bronze - 0.07sec
From the archive: Germans (FRG and GDR) have the biggest historic tally of titles, on 6, while Sweden has half that number but all three of those crowns were won by one man, Lars Frolander. In the build-up to winning the 100m butterfly at the 2000 Olympic Games, the European battle helped shape the bigger result. In 1997 in Seville, Frolander clocked 52.85, in 1999 52.61, then in 2000 a few months out from Sydney the Swede fired a shot across the bows of his Aussie rivals world champion Michael Klim and Geoff Huegill with a 52.23 blast. That run led to him becoming the first Swedish man in 20 years to win an Olympic title. Between 1997, when he won the world short-course crown, and the eve of the Sydney Olympic Games in 2000, Frolander won those three European long-course titles, retained his 100m world short-course crown twice and won the world short-course title over 100m freestyle in both 1999 and 2000. He also split Klim and Huegill to take silver at the 1998 world long-course championships. Ready for action in Sydney, he claimed the crown in 52.00sec, 0.18sec ahead of Klim, Huegill a further 0.04sec away.
Records
Shiny suit era
- WR: 49.82 Michael Phelps (USA) Jul 2009
- ER: 49.95 Milorad Cavic (SRB) Jul 2009
February 1 2008
- WR: 50.40 Ian Crocker (USA) Jul 2005
- ER: 51.36 Andriy Serdinov (UKR) Aug 2004
