IMPERIA - Swimmers from 33 countries took part on the first day of the 12th and final World Cup at Imperia's Felice Cascione swimming pool, in Italy's Riviera Ligure, between Monte Carlo and Genoa.
With two of the fastest times in the world Agnes Kovacs (HUN) completed her sweep of the breaststroker events and extended her streak to six. Kovacs won the 50 breast in 31.42 followed closely by Han Xue (CHN) in 31.46. Kovacs then added the 200 breaststroke with 2:23.79, the fastest to date this season.
The successful Hungarians and Ukrainians topped the gold medal table with five.
Ukraine will be celebrating, as two of their swimmers will be returning triumphant, and compared to local earnings, very rich.
Yana Klochkova (UKR) won the 400 IM in 4:34.56 her sixth World Cup win in this event and her 12th IM victory, giving her 117 points in the IM points category.
| Country | G | S | B | TOTAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HUN | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| ITA | 4 | 4 | 6 | 14 |
| GER | 4 | 4 | 3 | 11 |
| UKR | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| RUS | 3 | 6 | 5 | 14 |
| CHN | 2 | 3 | 1 | 6 |
| SWE | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
| CRO | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| NED | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| DEN | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| JPN | 1 | 3 | 2 | 6 |
| USA | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| BRA | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| CZE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| SLO | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| GBR | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| ESP | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| RSA | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| AUS | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| CAN | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| FRA | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 34 | 34 | 34 | 102 |
Denis Silantiev (UKR) completed his successful fly sweep with a win in the 100 fly in 52.66. and added to his 200 fly win the previous day, it gave him 10 wins in the World Cup series and 114 points.
Dimitri Komornikov (RUS) won the men's 200 breaststroke in 2:08.99, a personal best and the fastest World Cup winning time of the current series. The 17-year-old newcomer to the international spotlight shows a lot of promise and impressed with his classic technique. Domenico Fioravanti (ITA) won the 50 breaststroke in 28.05 over Patrik Isaksson (SWE) with 28.41 and Kevin Kling (USA) in 28.42.
Mette Jacobsen (DEN) won the 200 freestyle in 1:57.81 the fastest World Cup winning time this season.
Han Xue (CHN) had the single best performance of this final World Cup in the 100 IM with a 1:01.10 win.
| Top Performances World Cup 12 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1) | 1003 | 1:01.10 | FIM0100S | Xue Han, 81,CHN |
| 2) | 994 | 1:07.06 | FBR0100S | Agnes Kovacs, 81,HUN |
| 3) | 992 | 4:34.56 | FIM0400S | Yana Klochkova, 82,UKR |
| 4) | 991 | 26.87 | FBU0050S | Johanna Sjoberg, 78,SWE |
| 5) | 991 | 23.77 | MBU0050S | Milos Milosevic, 72,CRO |
Italian swimmers were successful in the men's freestyle. Lorenzo Vismara won the 50 with 22.30 in the closest of finishes with Fernando Scherer (BRA) in 22.32. Vismara said; "This is my second consecutive win here in Imperia (he also won last year), and I am happy because this proves that I have fully recovered from an illness that kept me away from the swimming pool for over three months. I have only got back to training mid-January."
Massimiliano Rosolino and Emiliano Brembilla took top spots in the 200 freestyle with 1:47.80 amd 1:47.95. Brembilla added the 400 free in 3:45.08, but finished second in the 1500 free.
Luiz Lima (BRA) won the 1500 free with a 14:55.44, a national record, beating his own previous record of 14:57.87 from the first World Cup in Rio last November.
This was the final World Cup of 12 with competition in the Americas, China, Australia, and Europe over a four-month period. Four world records and 10 World Cup meet records were bettered.
That will not come next year as 12 World Cup have been scheduled for 1999-2000 in addition to Short Course European and World Championships, a long course European Championships in the early summer and the Olympics in September.