On this penultimate day of the Antwerp 2012 European Junior Swimming Championships, Russia jumped even more ahead in the medal race, now at 11 gold medals, 4 silver and 1 bronze, Germany in second with 5 gold, 7 silver and 5 bronze, and Italy in third with 5 gold, 3 silver and 2 bronze. The Russian relays have now won 3 gold and 1 bronze, Russia’s Mariya Baklakova joining double gold medal winners Gabriele Detti (ITA) and Iuliia Larina (RUS).
(Attendees at the Antwerp 2012 European Juniors should know this song by now)
Boys 200 backstroke
After having won the prelims in 2:02.17 and the semifinal in 2:00.22, Great Britain’s Joseph Patching in the final clipped also Italy’s Luca Mencarini 1:59.45 to 1:59.66, Lithuania’s Danas Rapsys taking bronze in 2:00.12, Italy’s on paper favorite Fabio Laugeni fading to a 2:00.69 and fourth in the final.
Girls 200 freestyle
Russia’s Mariya Baklakova posted a stellar 1:58.59, erasing Camille Radou’s (FRA) championship record of 1:59.19 from Prague 2009. Italy’s Diletta Carli took the silver in 1:59.75 and Denmark’s Mie Ø. Nielsen the bronze in 1:59.91, Nielsen’s time still good enough to post a Danish junior record.
Girls 100 butterfly
Russia’s Svetlana Chimrova raced to a 59.07 and 854 FINA points win ahead of Hungary’s Liliana Szilagyi in 59.91 (819 FINA points) and Denmark’s Christina Munkholm’s 1:00.24 (805 FINA points). Winner time coincidentally the same as favorite Szilagyi’s entry time, France’s Marie Wattel taking the prelims in 1:00.81 and Russia’s Valeriia Kolotushkina the semifinal in 1:00.53.
Boys 800 freestyle
Germany’s Rob Muffels won in 7:59.43 ahead of Spain’s Antonio Arroyo Perez in 8:01.65 and Poland’s Marcin Kaczmarski in 8:02.13, Arroyo Perez on paper the favorite with an entry time of 8:03.58, Kaczmarski in 8:04.70 and then Muffels in 8:04.68.
Girls 50 freestyle
Germany’s Anna-Stephanie Dietterle added a gold medal to her two silver medals with a winning time of 25.40 ahead of Russia’s Rozaliya Nasretdinova in 25.65 and Slovenia’s Nastja Govosjek in 25.68. Interestingly, all three medal winners are among the younger at these championships, eligible for competition again next year.
Boys 50 backstroke
Italy’s Niccolo’ Bonacchi took the gold in 25.46, only 0.06 from Christian Diener’s championships record from Belgrade 2011. Israel’s Tomer Zamir won the first medal for his country in 25.76 and Viktar Staselovich similarly for Belarus in 25.88. Bonacchi the favorite all the way through with an entry time of 25.46 (exactly the same as his eventual winning time), a prelims result of 25.97 and a semifinal time of 25.89.
Girls 4×100 medley
Russia took gold in 4:07.61 ahead of Great Britain in 4:08.40 and Germany in 4:08.80, Denmark in fourth in 4:09.73 after having ‘won’ the prelims in 4:11.27, only without the luxury of replacement swimmers for the final. Mie Ø. Nielsen’s (DEN) first 100 backstroke split of 1:00.69 was a scorching new championships record, erasing Elizabeth Simmonds (GBR) 1:01.33 from Antwerp 2007.
