European Championships, Budapest, day 4 semi-finals:
Scandinavian women claimed two of the top spots through to two finals.
Men 100m freestyle
Evgeny Lagunov (RUS) started the day at the helm and lays his head on a pillow plumped with a 48.38 lead 100m free effort, off a 23.14 split. The defending champion and Olympic champion Alain Bernard went through on 22.87 but a 48.71 close made his crown look vulnerable. Russia placed another podium chance in the final in the from of Andrey Grechin, 23.31 and 48.72, with Dutchman Sebastiaan Verschuren capable of upset on that way home tomorrow, on 24.00 and 48.72 in semis. William Meynard ensured a second place for Gaul, on 48.82, Italy also with two through, Luca Dotto, 48.94, and last man inside 49sec, world 2005 and 2007 champion Filippo Magnini on 48.97. Stefan Nystrand (SWE) closed the door at 49.14, 0.02sec ahead of Britain's Simon Burnett.
The best two times in the world this year belong to the two men at the helm for the final in Budapest, the Russian on 48.23 leading off the winning relay on day 1, the Frenchman who let the relay crown slip from Gaul's grasp, on 48.32 back in April.
Women 100m butterfly
World champ and record holder Sarah Sjostrom and world 50m record holder Therese Alshammar gave Sweden lanes 4 and 5, on 57.36 and 57.55, with Jeannett Ottensen (DEN) completing a Scnadinavian centre to the battle of tomorrow, on 57.94 and last inside 58, Fran Halsall (GBR), 100m free champ yesterday, next through in 58.35. The cut: 58.99.
The likes of Laure Manaudou came, conquered and fizzled out in less than half the lifetime of Therese Alshammar's epic journey. And here she was again, on a mission to win what would be a 61st international medal at Olympic, world and European levels. Each swimmer takes a different river, though many flow down a similar stream. Few manage to keep their Catherine wheel spinning with quite the same sparkle as Alshammar has, not forgetting the odd rockets she has sent skyward along the way. There are towering examples of the same thing and more, of course: Mssrs Phelps and Peirsol, for instance, were there in Sydney, one a finalist at 15 and the other a medallist at 17, when the Swedish sprinter was celebrating her own places on the biggest of podiums.
Women 200m breaststroke
Lane four went to Anastasia Chaun (RUS) in a controlled 2:25.66, with Rikke Moeller Pedersen (DEN) on 2:26.08 and Sara Nordenstam (NOR) on 2:26.14. A national record fell: Stacey Tadd clocked 2:28.11 to break the English mark, while the final closed off in 2:28.28, world champion Nadja Higl (SRB) last in.
