2021 European Championships: Day 5 Finals Live Recap

By James Sutherland on SwimSwam

2021 LEN EUROPEAN AQUATICS CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Swimming: Monday, May 17th – Sunday, May 23rd, 2021
• Budapest, Hungary
• Prelims at 10:00 am local/Finals at 6:00 pm local
• Event Site
• Entry List
• Live Results
• Live Stream

Day 5 finals from the 2021 European Championships will feature six finals and four sets of semi-finals, led off by the women’s 1500 freestyle.

Italian Simona Quadarella is the odds-on favorite to win the women’s mile and defend her title as the reigning world champion, having already won gold in the 800 free.

Kathleen Dawson and Kira Toussaint are set up for an epic battle in the women’s 100 backstroke, as Toussaint tied the European Championship Record of 58.73 in the first semi-final on Wednesday evening before Dawson lowered it in 58.44 from the second heat.

Andrii Govorov has a shot to three-peat in the men’s 50 fly, Great Britain appears to be in line for a potential 1-2 in the women’s 200 breaststroke with Molly Renshaw and Abbie Wood, and the men’s 200 free promises to be an exciting battle with no shortage of gold medal contenders.

Among those in the hunt in the men’s 200 free will be Brits Duncan Scott and Tom Dean, who have both been 1:44 this year, top seed and 400 free winner Martin Malyutin, and another swimmer who has dipped into the 1:44s before, Danas Rapsys. In 2018, Scott won the gold medal with Rapsys earning silver.

Malyutin led off Russia’s victorious 800 free relay earlier in the meet in a PB of 1:45.15, making him the man to beat tonight.

Federica Pellegrini led the Italian women to the top seed this morning in the 800 free relay, though the defending champion Brits are the likely favorites with a strong lineup consisting of Lucy Hope, Tamryn Van Selm, Holly Hibbott and Freya Anderson. The coaches opted to leave off Wood, who swam a best time of 1:57.48 in April, as she already has a daunting double for the session with the 200 IM semis shortly after that 200 breast final.

The swim of this morning’s prelim session came in the men’s 200 back, where Luke Greenbank threw down a new British Record of 1:54.67 to annihilate his previous mark of 1:55.34 and rank third in the world this season. Greenbank heads into the semi-finals ranked first, followed by defending champion and European Record holder Evgeny Rylov (1:55.74).

Women’s 1500 Free Final

• European Record: 15:38.88, Lotte Friis (DEN), 2013
• European Championship Record: 15:50.52, Boglarka Kapas (HUN), 2016
• FINA ‘A’ Cut: 16:32.04

1. Simona Quadarella (ITA), 15:53.59
2. Anastasia Kirpichnikova (RUS), 16:01.06
3. Martina Caramignoli (ITA), 16:05.81

Reigning world champion Simona Quadarella successfully defends her European title in the women’s 1500 free in dominant fashion, opening up an early lead and soaring to victory in a time of 15:53.59. The swim marks Quadarella’s fifth-fastest ever, and improves her season-best of 15:57.03.

Out in Lanes 1 and 2, Italy’s Martina Caramignoli and Russia’s Anastasia Kirpichnikova were locked in a battle for the minor medals, with Kirpichnikova slowly pulling away over the latter half of the race to touch second in 15:XX. Kirpichnikova’s silver marks Russia’s first medal in this event at the European Championships, having only been contested since 2008.

Caramignoli wins bronze for the second time in this event in 16:05.81, having also done so back in 2014. 2018 bronze medalist Ajna Kesely of Hungary took fourth in 16:10.50. Though it is well off her PB of 15:54.48, it still marks Kesely’s fastest swim since the 2019 World Championships.

MEN’S 50 FLY FINAL

• European Record: 22.27, Andrii Govorov (UKR), 2018 – WR
• European Championship Record: 22.48, Andrii Govorov (UKR), 2018

1. Szebasztian Szabo (HUN), 23.00
2. Andrii Govorov (UKR), 23.01
3. Andrey Zhilkin (RUS), 23.08

As expected it was a razor-thin final in the men’s 50 fly, with just 18 one hundredths of a second separating the top six swimmers.

Hungary’s Szebasztian Szabo executed the finish better than anyone to get his hands on the wall first, edging two-time defending champion Andrii Govorov by .01 in 23.00. Szabo holds the Hungarian Record at 22.90.

Despite losing the title, Govorov wins a medal for the fourth straight Championships with the silver, while Russia’s Andrey Zhilkin snagged the bronze in 23.08 over Poland’s Konrad Czerniak (23.09), Dutchman Nyls Korstanje (23.14) and Russian teammate Andrei Minakov (23.18).

WOMEN’S 100 BACK FINAL

• European Record: 58.12, Gemma Spofforth (GBR), 2009
• European Championship Record: 58.44, Kathleen Dawson (GBR), 2021
• FINA ‘A’ Cut: 1:00.25

1. Kathleen Dawson (GBR), 58.18
2. Kira Toussaint (NED), 59.02
3. Maria Kameneva (RUS), 59.13

After setting a Championship Record in the semis, Kathleen Dawson would not be denied tonight, winning the women’s 100 backstroke in decisive fashion in a new personal best and meet record of 58.18.

The time lowers Dawson’s previous best of 58.24, set last month, and improves on her 58.44 CR set last night. Dawson thoroughly dominated the field, out-splitting everyone on both 50s (27.99/30.19).

Dawson was the bronze medalist in 2016, and wins Britain’s first gold in the event since Gemma Spofforth in 2010. Dawson also missed Spofforth’s super-suited European and British Record of 58.12 by just .06.

Kira Toussaint, who had tied the initial CR of 58.73 in last night’s first semi, was never close to Dawson and takes the silver in 59.02, her first Euro LC medal in this event.

Maria Kameneva, who scratched out of the 100 free semis to put all of her focus on this race, wins the bronze in 59.13, just .03 off of her Russian Record set in April.

Defending champion Anastasia Fesikova was a distant sixth (tie) in 1:00.33

UPDATE: The women’s 100 backstroke final result has been cancelled due to a failure of the timing system. The final will be re-contested tonight.

Men’s 200 Back Semi-Finals

• European Record: 1:53.23, Evgeny Rylov (RUS), 2021
• European Championship Record: 1:53.36, Evgeny Rylov (RUS), 2018
• FINA ‘A’ Cut: 1:57.50

1. Luke Greenbank (GBR), 1:54.43
2. Evgeny Rylov (RUS), 1:55.11
3. Adam Telegdy (HUN), 1:56.17
4. Roman Mityukov (SUI), 1:56.37
5. Antoine Herlem (FRA), 1:56.63
6. Yohann Ndoye Brouard (FRA), 1:57.06
7. Jakub Skierka (POL), 1:57.08
8. Radoslaw Kawecki (POL), 1:57.10

Defending champion Evgeny Rylov rolled to victory in the first semi-final of the men’s 200 back, improving his prelim swim by over half a second in 1:55.11. Rylov leads the world rankings after setting a European Record of 1:53.23 at the Russian Olympic Trials in early April.

Taking second to Rylov in the first heat was Switzerland’s breakout star Roman Mityukov, who lowered his Swiss National Record by over a second in 1:56.37. Mityukov held the previous record at 1:57.39, set in January.

In the second semi it was all Luke Greenbank, who follows up his British Record of 1:54.67 from the prelims in a blazing 1:54.43, narrowly missing the world’s #2 time this season (1:54.38, Mitch Larkin).

Hungarian Adam Telegdy took second in the heat in 1:56.17, giving him a new personal best time and the third seed for the final.

Frenchmen Antoine Herlem (1:56.63) and Yohann Ndoye Brouard (1:57.06) qualified fifth and sixth, both within striking distance of France’s National Record of 1:56.10. Herlem was also just off of his personal best (1:56.42) set in the heats.

Poland’s Jakub Skierka set a new best time to qualify seventh in 1:57.08, and his countryman, three-time winner Radoslaw Kawecki (2012, 2014, 2016) eked into the final in eighth.

Women’s 100 Free Semi-Finals

• European Record: 51.71, Sarah Sjostrom (SWE), 2017
• European Championship Record: 52.67, Sarah Sjostrom (SWE), 2014
• FINA ‘A’ Cut: 54.38

1. Marie Wattel (FRA), 53.34
2. Femke Heemskerk (NED), 53.49
3. Ranomi Kromowidjojo (NED), 53.59
4. Barbora Seemanova (CZE), 53.68
5. Signe Bro (DEN), 53.70
6. Anna Hopkin (GBR), 53.74
7. Freya Anderson (GBR), 53.93
8. Michelle Coleman (SWE), 54.12