European Championships, Budapest, day 7 heats:
Federica Pellegrini (ITA) announced a short while ago that she has pulled out of the 400m freestyle. The world champion and record holder is feeling under the weather. After winning the 200m free crown yesterday, in 1:55.45, a championship record, the defending 400m European champion, who set the world record at the 2008 championships in Eindhoven, said that she had suffered a 38C fever and had thrown up on the day of the 200m semis. She had woken up yesterday feeling better but today decided, after warming up and then consulted a doctor, that the 400m was a race too far and not worth the risk. Pellegrini told reporters that she had had a high temperature when racing to bronze in the 800m freestyle at the start of the week. All of which leaves the Italian with a debut schedule of racing the 200m, 400m and 800m at a major championship ahead of her.
The last morning heats of the championships are underway at the Alfred Hajos pool here on Margaret Island, the day muggy, overcast. Will the storm hold off? Probably not. The rain is falling in large drops, a cool breeze picking up. Thunder rumbles along the silty, fast-flowing Danube. Plenty of turbulence ahead in the water within walls too, with eight finals due to close the 2010 continental summer showcase.
- Men - 50m freestyle; 400m medley; 4x100m medley.
- Women - 50m freestyle; 50m breaststroke; 200m butterfly; 400m freestyle; 4x100m medley
Finals start at 5pm.
Meantime, Dutch reports are rife with rumours of a comeback for Inge de Bruijn, the 2000 triple Olympic champion who quit the race pool after retaining one of her titles, the 50m freestyle, at Athens 2004 but did not retire officially until March 2007. When asked about a possible comeback, De Bruijn, seen of late covering 4km on a training camp in Tenerife, said that she had no firm plans - but was fit, wondering and had not ruled out a comeback (Dara-Torres style). When swimmers lodge their comeback papers they must then wait a year before being allowed to compete again, so that there is a period in which anti-doping agents may call if they wish to, the athlete back on the list of those who must provide their whereabouts.
Inky would come back to a change and competitive sprint scene in Holland, her legacy and the work of Jacco Verhaeren having led to an Orange force capable of taking on the world and winning. Marleen Veldhuis will start to make her way back to the pool in the autumn after having become a mum, while Ranomi Kromowidjojo is already on the road to recovery in the pool after meningitis kept her out of the European Championships.
Morning summaries
Women 400m freestyle
Olympic champion Rebecca Adlington (GBR) looked sharper this morning than she did over 800m earlier in the week at a time when she is training through on the way to her priority event, the Commonwealth Games in Delhi in October.
Adlington claimed lane 4 for the final in 4:07.35 by taking the last heat ahead of teammate Joanne Jackson, silver ahead of bronze for Adlington when Pellegrini won the crown in Rome last summmer. With an empty lane in between her and Adlington (Pellegrini would have been there), Jackson clocked 4:10.09 for 4th overall.
Heat three went to Patricia Castro (ESP), in 4:09.35, the second heat to Lotte Friis (DEN), 800m and 1,500m champion here in Budapest and one of the busiest (and most successful) athletes of the week, in 4:09.56. The only swimmer to be dropped courtesy of the two-per-nation rule was Britain's Jaz Carlin, on 4:10.23 for 6th but 0.14sec slower than Jackson. Camille Muffat (FRA) would have been the one to move up to the top eight for the final but she too was third-best of France, so the cut, at 4:11.62, included Erika Villaecija (ESP), in 10th.
Men 400m medley
Precipitation for a precipitous moment: Laszlo Cseh heads for a final in which he could match the record four crowns won by his legendary compatriot Tamas Darnyi. To get to this point he had to make sure he kept teammate David Verraszto at bay in the last heat this morning, Gergo Kis having won the third heat in 4:14.76.
Verraszto benefitted enormously from Cseh's presence: the defending champion booked lane 4 in 4:14.01, the man in the next lane to him Verraszto, on 4:14.73, 0.03sec ahead of Kis, who had inflicted a first domestic defeat on Cseh at Hungarian nationals. How cruel the two-per-nation cut can seem at such times, but it would be so (and will be so in Irvine next week) for US, Australian and other teams around the world and has been so for France, Britain, Russia, Italy and others at these championships, and adds a great dimension and edge to prelims.
Kis and Verraszto hardly ever race the 400m together, their domestic rivalry a paper exercise. Kis's mistake this morning was to race in his heat, and with 100m remaining, he was 2.5sec down on the pace at which Cseh and Verraszto would set on their way to qualification. Kis realised it all too late: he split 27.52 for his last 50m free to leave Ioannis Drymonakos, the Greek swimmer back from a two-year doping ban, for dead. But to no avail. All far too late, a place in the final, and probably a medal, lost.
Next through after the Hungarians, Gal Nevo (ISRL, winner of heat 2 in 4:16.15. The cut: 4:18.01 for Pellegrini's beau, Luca Marin (ITA).
Women 4x100m medley
Britain's second four looked superb on their way to a 4:02.00 lead in the last of three heats. The final draw is not yet out but Elizabeth Simmonds, Stacey Tadd and Amy Smith look set to be replaced this evening by Gemma Spofforth on backstroke, Kate Haywood on breaststroke and Fran Halsall on freestyle as Britain seeks to defend a crown it won in 2006 and 2008.
Replacements will be made in all main teams. Next through to the final were Sweden and Denmark, on 4:03.43 and 4:03.80, with Russia and Germany in 4:04.75 and 4:04.90. Germany claimed back the European record at the shiny circus in Rome last summer and it will be interesting to see how close the teams of 2010 can get, Germany, of course, missing its biggest gun, Britta Steffen.
The cut: 4:08.00 for France, locking out the hosts, Hungary, with dq's fof Poland and the Czech Republic.
Men 4x100m medley
The Dutch quartet took lane 4 for the finbal in 3:36.00, with the favourites France on 3:36.03, Britain on 3:37.22 and Germany on 3:37.53. Replacements due all round and the cut went to Hungary in 3:38.77.
That 3:36.00 was a Dutch record by a second, the standard-setters Bastiaan Lijesen (55.18); Lennart Stekelenburg (1:01.07); Joeri Verlinden (51.84) and Sebastiaan Verschuren (47.91). Dutch strength is building for the future.
France put up Jeremy Stravius, Hugues Duboscq, Clement Lefert and William Meynard. Watch for Camille Lacourt on that opening backstroke leg ... where can he go after that 52.11 blast for the solo crown?
