2019 Mare Nostrum Series Canet Day 2: Yuliya Efimova Sweeps Breaststroke Events, Proud Swims 23.0 50 Fly (QUOTES)

yuliya-efimova-rus-breast-2017-world-champs

Photo Courtesy: SIPA USA

The 2019 Mare Nostrum Series wrapped up its second stop in Canet-en-Roussillon with a full slate of events, showcasing some of the best international talent the swim community has seen this year. The World Championships teaser continues to draw impressive times from its participants, boasting some of the biggest names in the sport all vying for prize money.

Yuliya Efimova was one of the more notable this evening, sweeping both the 50 and 200 breaststroke to further her winning streak. Likewise, Adam Peaty has also yet to concede a breaststroke race, finishing his lap tonight in record fashion.

Katinka Hosszu closed out the homestand in Canet with her seventh win of the series in the 400 free, proving herself the true Iron Lady time and time again.

Quotes from some of Great Britain’s best swimmers via British Swimming can be viewed below.

Live Results

Swimming World’s Mare Nostrum Series Page

Women’s 50 Breast

Russia’s Yuliya Efimova (30.60) was in no mood to snap her winning streak, managing to get a fingertip on the wall ahead of Brazil’s Jhennifer Alves da Conceicao (30.64) in a photo finish. Having swept all the breaststroke events in Monaco, Efimova has yet to concede a race in the series and appears in good form for next month’s World Championships in South Korea.

Sweden’s Sophie Hansen clocked in at 31.13 to secure the bronze, as the youngster continues to be the face of women’s breaststroke for her country.

50 Breaststroke – Final A (Wednesday, June 12, 2019 – 18:00)

1.	EFIMOVA Yuliya	1992	RUS	RUSSIA	00: 30.60
2.	ALVES DA CONCEICAO Jhennifer	1997	BRA	ESPORTE CLUBE PINHEIROS	00: 30.64
3.	HANSSON Sophie	1998	SWE	HELSINGBORGS SIMSALLSKAP	00: 31.13
4.	SEBASTIAN Julia	1993	ARG	ARGENTINA	00: 31.33
5.	TEMNIKOVA Mariia	1995	RUS	RUSSIA	00: 32.24
6.	DEBERGHES Fanny	1994	FRA	ASPTT MONTPELLIER	00: 32.30
7.	COYNE Niamh	2001	IRL	IRELAND	00: 32.46
8.	SZTANKOVICS Anna	1996	HUN	HUNGARY	00: 32.48

Men’s 50 Breast

The men’s 50 breast also brought no surprises, as Britain’s Adam Peaty has made record-breaking a habit. Turning in a 26.71 for the meet record, Peaty took down Brazils’s Felipe Lima (26.85) once again for the title. Yet to be defeated in the series thus far, Peaty has become a household name while revolutionizing the stroke due to his utter dominance in his specialty. He will be looking to come home with the World Championships gold come July.

Nic Fink is continuing to force his name on the international scene, as he nabbed a bronze for the United States with a time of 27.59.

50 Breaststroke Men – Final A (Wednesday, June 12, 2019 – 18h02)

1.	PEATY Adam	1994	GBR	BRITAIN	00: 26.71	RMEET
2.	LIMA Felipe	1985	BRA	BRAZIL	00: 26.85
3.	FINK Nic	1993	USA	ATHENS BULLDOGS	00: 27.59
4.	KOSEKI Yasuhiro	1992	JPN	JAPAN	00: 27.65
5.	GREENE Darragh	1995	IRL	IRELAND	00: 27.69
6.	WHITLEY Reece	2000	USA	UNITED STATES	00: 27.76
7.	BUSSIERE Theo	1995	FRA	CN MARSEILLE	00: 27.99
8.	PRIGODA Kirill	1995	RUS	RUSSIA	00: 28.05

Women’s 50 Fly

Canada’s Penny Oleksiak has been quite relentless thus far in the series, proving her resilience and versatility with unmatched consistency. Today was no exception, as she surged to a 26.05 finish to take the women’s 50 fly, fending off France’s Beryl Gastaldello (26.15) for top honors.

Russia’s Arina Surkova touched out her compatriot Mariia Kameneva (26.26) to reserve her spot at the medal ceremony, posting a 26.17 for third.

50 Butterfly Ladies – Final A (Wednesday, June 12, 2019 – 18:04)

1.	OLEKSIAK Penny	2000	CAN	CANADA	00: 26.05
2.	GASTALDELLO Beryl	1995	FRA	LA FRANCE	00: 26.15
3.	SURKOVA Arina	1998	RUS	RUSSIA	00: 26.17
4.	KAMENEVA Mariia	1999	RUS	RUSSIA	00: 26.26
5.	HENIQUE Mélanie	1992	FRA	CN MARSEILLE	00: 26.34
6.	HINDS Nathalie	1993	USA	ATHENS BULLDOGS	00: 26.42
7.	WATTEL Marie	1997	FRA	LA FRANCE	00: 26.46
8.	HOPKIN Anna	1996	GBR	BRITAIN	00: 26.72

Men’s 50 Fly

Benjamin Proud continues to be Britain’s sprinting specimen. Today, Proud nabbed yet another gold with a 23.09 50 fly, muscling out America’s USRPT poster child, Michael Andrew (23.12). The two men sprinted to a nearly identical finish, with Proud seizing the imperceptible victory in true form.

Russia’s Andrey Zhilkin was not far behind, as his 23.43 was good enough for the bronze.

Proud upgraded the silver he won in the freestyle last night to gold in the Men’s 50m Butterfly final, producing a season’s best time, which was a full second quicker than his heat swim, to take the title. A strong start set him up well as he beat a quality field, afterwards reflecting:

“I changed my mind-set this afternoon and tried to execute my race plan as best as I could. I spoke to my coach James and he said to execute my start as I’m supposed to and that was the only thing to focus on. I did that and then found my rhythm.”

50 Butterfly Gentlemen – Final A (Wednesday, June 12, 2019 – 18:06)

1.	PROUD Benjamin	1994	GBR	BRITAIN	00: 23.09
2.	ANDREW Micheal	1999	USA	RACE PACE CLUB	00: 23.12
3.	ZHILKIN Andrey	1995	RUS	RUSSIA	00: 23.43
4.	GKOLOMEEV Kristian	1993	GRE	GREECE	00: 23.62
5.	GRASSI Santiago	1996	ARG	ARGENTINA	00: 23.65
6.	HVAS Tomoe-Zenimoto	2000	NOR	NORWAY	00: 23.79
7.	STRAVIUS Jeremy	1988	FRA	LA FRANCE	00: 23.91
8.	VEKOVISHCHEV Mikhail	1998	RUS	RUSSIA	00: 24.22

Men’s 800 Free

Norway’s Henrik Christiansen shattered the Mare Nostrum series record with one of the cleanest races of the meet, setting an ambitious initial pace only to carry it throughout the race. Throwing down a time of 7:48.19, Christiansen ran away from his closest opponent, Britain’s Daniel Jervis (7:50.65) in the final meters.

Hungary’s Gergely Gyurta (7:59.82) continues to represent the country well, helping Hungary gain leverage as a threat in international competition with another bronze.

Afterwards Jervis commented:

“I was nervous for that as I’m in a tough block of swimming at the moment and that was a really good time. I’m really looking forward to Worlds in a few weeks now – to do that time, when I’m nowhere near tapered, is really good. In fact before I came out here I was saying to my coach how nervous I was, because I knew how hard this competition was going to be because I knew how much training we had done. I’m looking forward to swimming my main event in Barcelona now.”

800 Men’s Freestyle – Final A (Wednesday, June 12, 2019 – 18:14)

1.	CHRISTIANSEN Henrik	1996	NOR	NORWAY	07: 48.19	MNR
2.	JERVIS Daniel	1996	GBR	BRITAIN	07: 50.65
3.	GYURTA Gergely	1991	HUN	HUNGARY	07: 59.82
4.	BOUCHAUT Joris	1995	FRA	STAGE OF VANVES	08: 02.71
5.	JOHANSSON Victor	1998	SWE	JONKOPINGS SIMSALLSKAP	08: 03.74
6.	ESCORTS MANOSA Albert	1998	ESP	CLUB NATACIO SANT ANDREU	08: 05.27
7.	MICKA Jan	1995	CZE	CZECH REPUBLIC	08: 10.55
8.	VALENTE Miguel	1993	BRA	BRAZIL	08: 14.80

Women’s 400 Free

Hungary struck again, this time with a gold, as Kesely Ajna finished with renewed vigor in the final lap of the 400 free. Engaging in a tight stroke race with Argentina’s Delfina Pignatiello (4:06.61), Ajna found a way to force herself on top, turning in a 4:06.55 for the victory. With only six hundredths separating them, the women were in a race all their own, bettering the rest of the field by close to three seconds.

It was Anna Egorova who headed the second wave, crashing the pads with a 4:09.53 to break into the top three while holding off Japan’s Miyu Namba (4:09.73).

400 Ladies Freestyle – Final A (Wednesday, June 12, 2019 – 18:24)

1.	KESELY Ajna	2001	HUN	HUNGARY	04: 06.55
2.	PIGNATIELLO Delfina	2000	ARG	ARGENTINA	04: 06.61
3.	EGOROVA Anna	1998	RUS	RUSSIA	04: 09.53
4.	NAMBA Miyu	2002	JPN	JAPAN	04: 09.73
5.	HAUGHEY Siobhan-Bernadette	1997	HKG	HONG KONG	04: 11.90
6.	FOOS Reva	1993	GER	SG FRANKFURT	04: 12.02
7.	HIBBOTT Holly	1999	GBR	BRITAIN	04: 12.59
8.	IGARASHI Chihiro	1995	JPN	JAPAN	04: 13.25

Women’s 100 Back

Phoebe Bacon was not about to let the States depart Canet empty-handed, as she secured America’s first gold of this finals session with a 59.92 100 back. The only woman under 1:00 in the field, the teen proved that age is but a number when it comes to elite competition, as she singlehandedly placed herself on the international radar heading into World’s.

The Czech Republic’s Simona Kubova kept Bacon honest throughout, clocking in soon after with a time of 1:00.18. Canada’s Taylor Ruck proved Gen Z’s dominance with a third place finish of her own, dropping a 1:00.18 to round out a tightly packed top three.

100 Ladies Back – Final A (Wednesday, June 12, 2019 – 6:36 pm)

1.	BACON Phoebe	2002	USA	UNITED STATES	00: 59.92
2.	KUBOVA Simona	1991	CZE	CZECH REPUBLIC	01: 00.01
3.	RUCK Taylor	2000	CAN	CANADA	01: 00.18
4.	SANCHEZ Kayla	2001	CAN	CANADA	01: 00.68
5.	DAVIES Georgia	1990	GBR	BRITAIN	01: 01.37
6.	BERRINO Andrea	1994	ARG	ARGENTINA	01: 01.94
7.	AU Hoi Shun Stephanie	1992	HKG	HONG KONG	01: 02.42
8.	WALSH Gretchen	2003	USA	UNITED STATES	01: 02.85

Men’s 100 Back

Michael Andrew and Shane Casas followed Bacon’s lead, tallying two more medals for the U.S. in the men’s 100 back. As per usual, Andrew’s uncanny ability to maintain speed proved valuable, as he surged ahead of the pack in the final 10 meters to post a 54.11. Bettering his compatriot’s time by a little over half a second, Andrew reclaimed his title as one of the world’s most versatile sprinters. Casas was not to be ignored, with his time of 54.69 proving well enough to beat Brazil’s Guilherme Guido (54.78) for the silver.

100 Dos Messieurs – Final A (Wednesday, June 12, 2019 – 18h39)

1.	ANDREW Micheal	1999	USA	RACE PACE CLUB	00: 54.11
2.	CASAS Shaine	1999	USA	UNITED STATES	00: 54.69
3.	GUIDO Guilherme	1987	BRA	BRAZIL	00: 54.78
4.	TELEGDY Adam	1995	HUN	HUNGARY	00: 55.11
5.	GREENBANK Luke	1997	GBR	BRITAIN	00: 55.37
6.	CHRISTOU Apostolos	1996	GRE	GREECE	00: 55.42
7.	BEDEL Paul-Gabriel	1994	FRA	CN MARSEILLE	00: 55.97
8.	FERGUSON Conor	1999	IRL	IRELAND	00: 56.36

Women’s 200 Breast

It was a clean sweep for Efimova in Canet, as she made her second victorious appearance of the day in the women’s 200 breast. Throwing up a time of 2:23.41 for the win, Efimova rounded out her individual schedule in France flawlessly, giving spectators a peek of what’s to come.

Canada’s Kierra Smith gave the champion a decent run, riding her hip throughout the race to a 2:24.92 finish. Spain’s Jessica Vall took the last spot on the podium with an impressive time of 2:25.54.

200 Breaststroke – Final A (Wednesday, June 12, 2019 – 18:48)

1.	EFIMOVA Yuliya	1992	RUS	RUSSIA	02: 23.41
2.	SMITH Kierra	1994	CAN	CANADA	02: 24.92
3.	VALL Jessica	1988	ESP	CLUB NATACIO SANT ANDREU	02: 25.54
4.	GARCIA URZAINQUI Marina	1994	ESP	CLUB NATACIO SABADELL	02: 25.56
5.	RENSHAW Molly	1996	GBR	BRITAIN	02: 26.23
6.	SEBASTIAN Julia	1993	ARG	ARGENTINA	02: 26.98
7.	O’CONNOR Siobhan	1995	GBR	BRITAIN	02: 30.21
8.	TEMNIKOVA Mariia	1995	RUS	RUSSIA	02: 31.21

Men’s 200 Breast

Britain continued to flaunt its dominance in the men’s breaststroke events, as James Wilby cruised to a 2:09.55 in the men’s 200 breast to nail down the win. Picking up his stroke rate in the final lap, Wilby still managed to create a perfect finish for himself, crashing the pads with a sound, clean race behind him.

Compatriots Yasuhiro Koseki (2:09.84) and Shoma Sato (2:10.00) of Japan surged down the middle of the pool alongside him, taking second and third, respectively.

Pleased with his efforts over the two days, Wilby said:

“It’s been a tough couple of days of racing, but I’m really happy with the results, especially considering the training work load that has been going on in the lead up to the meet. I feel like I’m in a good place and am looking forward to Barcelona now at the weekend and the rest of the cycle.”

200 Breaststroke Men – Final A (Wednesday, June 12, 2019 – 18h52)

1.	WILBY James	1993	GBR	BRITAIN	02: 09.55
2.	KOSEKI Yasuhiro	1992	JPN	JAPAN	02: 09.84
3.	SATO Shoma	2001	JPN	JAPAN	02: 10.00
4.	KOCH Marco	1990	GER	SG FRANKFURT	02: 10.53
5.	PERSSON Erik	1994	SWE	KUNGSBACKA SIMSALLSKAP	02: 11.27
6.	PRIGODA Kirill	1995	RUS	RUSSIA	02: 11.45
7.	FINK Nic	1993	USA	ATHENS BULLDOGS	02: 12.38
8.	ARAI Yuta	2002	JPN	JAPAN	02: 16.71

Women’s 200 Fly

Alys Thomas furthered the British winning streak with an epic 2:07.92 200 fly, leaving the rest of the pack to partake in a race all her own. Russia’s Svetlana Chimrova made a salient attempt to chase her in the event’s final lap, but it proved too little too late. Chimrova’s final time of 2:09.17 landed her at second, while Zsuzsanna Jakabos from Hungary tallied another bronze for her country with a time of 2:09.27.

Afterwards she confessed:

“That felt a lot better – much more like my swim. I wanted to have a bit more attack and a bit more bite tonight, especially down the last 50. It was always going to hurt and you’ve just got to fight it!”

200 Butterfly Ladies – Final A (Wednesday, June 12, 2019 – 19h02)

1.	THOMAS Alys	1990	GBR	BRITAIN	02: 07.92
2.	CHIMROVA Svetlana	1996	RUS	RUSSIA	02: 09.17
3.	JAKABOS Zsuzsanna	1989	HUN	HUNGARY	02: 09.27
4.	STEPHENS Laura	1999	GBR	BRITAIN	02: 09.41
5.	HOSSZU Katinka	1989	HUN	HUNGARY	02: 09.54
6.	MONTEIRO Ana-Catarina	1993	POR	PORTUGAL	02: 10.13
7.	HUFNAGL Claudia	1996	AUT	AUSTRIA	02: 10.54
8.	BERECZ Blanka	2002	HUN	HUNGARY	02: 10.76

Men’s 200 Fly

Japan’s Daiya Seto sprinted to a decisive victory with a 1:56.25 200 fly, earning top honors for Japan for the first time this evening. Fueled by Canada’s Mack Darragh (1:57.89) at his shoulder, Seto was forced to set an aggressive initial pace, but found a way to close in strong fashion.

Luis-Altamir Melo of Brazil nabbed third with a time of 1:58.85, boxing American Carson Foster (1:59.30) out of the top three in the final lap.

200 Butterfly Gentlemen – Final A (Wednesday, June 12, 2019 – 7:06 pm)

1.	SETO Daiya	1994	JPN	JAPAN	01: 56.25
2.	DARRAGH Mack	1993	CAN	CANADA	01: 57.89
3.	MELO Luiz-Altamir	1996	BRA	BRAZIL	01: 58.85
4.	FOSTER Carson	2001	USA	UNITED STATES	01: 59.30
5.	ROCH Nans	1996	FRA	CN ANTIBES	01: 59.54
6.	HONDA Tomoru	2001	JPN	JAPAN	02: 01.07
7.	GSCHWENTNER Xaver	1999	AUT	AUSTRIA	02: 01.17
8.	MATHIAS Van	2000	USA	UNITED STATES	02: 02.62

Women’s 100 Free

France’s Béryl Gastaldello defended the homeland with a stellar showing in the women’s 100 free, going stroke for stroke with Sweden’s Michell Coleman before cinching the win. In a climactic sprint to the finish, the women surged down their lanes in almost identical fashion, sending murmurs throughout the bleachers as to whom would be declared victor.

Boasting a time of 54.17, Gastaldello was merely a tenth removed from the bronze medal, which went to compatriot Charlotte Bonnet (54.27).

100 Freestyle Women – Finale A (Mercredi 12 Juin 2019 – 19h15)

1.	GASTALDELLO Béryl	1995	FRA	FRANCE	00:54.17
2.	COLEMAN Michelle	1993	SWE	SPARVAGEN SIMFORENING	00:54.23
3.	BONNET Charlotte	1995	FRA	FRANCE	00:54.27
4.	ANDERSON Freya	2001	GBR	GRANDE-BRETAGNE	00:54.31
5.	KAMENEVA Mariia	1999	RUS	RUSSIE	00:54.35
6.	SANCHEZ Kayla	2001	CAN	CANADA	00:54.65
7.	HOPKIN Anna	1996	GBR	GRANDE-BRETAGNE	00:54.77
8.	WALSH Gretchen	2003	USA	ETATS-UNIS	00:54.91

Men’s 100 Free

Britain’s Duncan Scott (49.43) seized an even narrower victory in the men’s 100 free, out-touching Russia’s Andrey Zhilkin (49.43) by a hundredth of a second. With the entire heat posting times sub-50.00, the race appeared much like a white-water frenzy, with half a second separating first from eighth.

Britain continued to collect medals with another top-three placement from James Guy, whose 49.53 edged out France’s Jérémy Stravius (49.59) for the bronze.

Speaking post-race Stirling based Scott said:

“It was a really close race in the end, which was good as it’s going to be like that at all major internationals, so it was good to have that sort of race. I wasn’t really aware of my position as I was breathing away from everyone – I could see the boy inside me and just lanes seven and eight, which was quite good as Jimmy [Guy] came back strong.

“Getting an opportunity to race world class athletes quite a few weeks from Worlds is always really good and if anything it just puts you in your place – it’s good I’m learning some lessons here rather than in five or six weeks’ time.”

100 Freestyle Men – Finale A (Mercredi 12 Juin 2019 – 19h18)

1.	SCOTT Duncan	1997	GBR	GRANDE-BRETAGNE	00:49.43
2.	ZHILKIN Andrey	1995	RUS	RUSSIE	00:49.44
3.	GUY James	1995	GBR	GRANDE-BRETAGNE	00:49.53
4.	STRAVIUS Jérémy	1988	FRA	FRANCE	00:49.59
5.	MIGNON Clément	1993	FRA	FRANCE	00:49.69
6.	GROUSSET Maxime	1999	FRA	FRANCE	00:49.71
7.	DE LUCCA Joao	1990	BRA	BRÉSIL	00:49.74
8.	KISIL Yuri	1995	CAN	CANADA	00:49.95

Men’s 200 IM

As predicted by the heat sheets, Jeremy Desplanches of Switzerland manhandled the competition in the men’s 200 IM. Seizing an early lead, Desplanches seemingly elongated his lead with each passing lap, cruising to a 1:58.14 finish for the win.

British compatriots Tom Dean (1:59.55) and Max Litchfield (2:01.34) managed to tally two more medals for good measure, rounding out Britain’s men’s schedule on a high.

200 Medley Men – Final A (Wednesday, June 12, 2019 – 19:27)

1.	DESPLANCHES Jeremy	1994	SUI	OLYMPIC NICE SWIMMING	01: 58.14
2.	DEAN Tom	2000	GBR	BRITAIN	01: 59.55
3.	LITCHFIELD Max	1995	GBR	BRITAIN	02: 01.34
4.	SMITH Kieran	2000	USA	UNITED STATES	02: 01.64
5.	MANACAS SANTOS Alexis	1992	POR	PORTUGAL	02: 01.87
6.	FOSTER Jake	2000	USA	UNITED STATES	02: 02.31
7.	CARVALHO Diogo-Filipe	1988	POR	PORTUGAL	02: 02.34
8.	LITCHFIELD Joe	1998	GBR	BRITAIN	02: 02.36

Women’s 400 IM

Katinka Hosszu defended her honor as reigning short course champion, snatching her seventh silver with a time of 4:33.77 in the women’s 400 IM. Just shy of the Canet record, Iron Lady Hosszu nevertheless proved herself as one of the top female IMers in the world.

American Madisyn Cox put forth an impressive showing of her own, clocking in at 4:37.23 to add yet another medal to her collection. France’s Fantine Lesaffre chased her to the end, but conceded second by a narrow margin, posting a 4:37.40 for third.

400 4 Nages Dames – Finale A (Mercredi 12 Juin 2019 – 19h31)

1.	HOSSZU Katinka	1989	HUN	HONGRIE	04:33.77
2.	COX Madisyn Lynn	1995	USA	TEXAS AQUATICS	04:37.23
3.	LESAFFRE Fantine	1994	FRA	FRANCE	04:37.40
4.	WILLMOTT Aimée	1993	GBR	GRANDE-BRETAGNE	04:39.29
5.	WEYANT Emma	2001	USA	ETATS-UNIS	04:42.85
6.	CREVAR Anja	2000	SRB	SC DINAMO	04:43.48
7.	WOOD Abbie	1999	GBR	GRANDE-BRETAGNE	04:44.31
8.	JAKABOS Zsuzsanna	1989	HUN	HONGRIE	04:49.23

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Coach Wayne McCauley

4 years ago

. WHITLEY Reece 2000 USA UNITED STATES 00: 27.76

Surprised at his time I think that is a PR. He needs to get even faster to be able to go under 57.5 in the 100 brasse in 2020.