European S/C Championships: Day 1 Prelims, Men: Caspar Corbeau Rattles 100 Breaststroke WR, Daniel Wiffen Enjoys Emphatic Return
Caspar Corbeau rattled the 100 breaststroke world record and Daniel Wiffen made his return to international waters as the European Short Course Championships got underway in Lublin, Poland.
Corbeau has had a record-breaking short-course season and he posted 55.54 to shave 0.01 from his previous Dutch record and in the process, rattled Ilya Shymanovich’s WR.
Wiffen hasn’t competed since he pulled out of the World Championships with appendicitis before undergoing surgery at the start of September. The Irishman was in the seventh and final heat of the 400 free in which he’s the defending champion and set the fastest time of 3:37.04 to book lane four for the final.
- Link to Eurovision/live coverage
- Results
- Entry Lists
- Day 1, Prelims: Women
- Daniel Wiffen On Singapore Agony As He Eyes Lublin Prize
- Filip Nowacki On Golden Summer & ‘Iconic’ Adam Peaty Ahead Of Senior GB Debut
Men’s 400 Freestyle
Jack McMillan set the pace in the penultimate heat in 3:37.57 ahead of the final prelim which featured Olympic and world champion Lukas Märtens, defending champion Wiffen and Duncan Scott.
Märtens was under WR pace at the 100m mark and still led at halfway with Wiffen for company down in lane nine. The pair were tied with before the Irishman went ahead at 350 before coming home in 3:37.04 to book lane four alongside McMillan. Victor Johansson was third through in 3:37.73 ahead of Zalan Sarkany (3:38.07). Märtens was seventh in 3:38.38 with Scott claiming the final spot in 3:38.43 and Roman Fuchs locked out in 3:38.88.
50m Butterfly
Noè Ponti very much set the pace in pursuit of the defence of the title he claimed two years ago in Otopeni. The Swiss was the only man inside 22 as he scorched to 21.86, 0.21 off his ranking topper from the national championships weeks ago. Denis-Laurean Popescu was next through in 22.19 ahead of Szebasztian Szabo (22.25) and Maxime Grousset (22.32).
100m Breaststroke
Caspar Corbeau has been on record-breaking form throughout the World Cup season and beyond where he became the first man through 2min for the 200. The Netherlands swimmer headed the final prelim in 55.54, 0.27 off the WR of 55.28 set by Ilya Shymanovich in 2021. It was a national record for Corbeau, who shaved 0.01 off his previous standard of 55.55 set at the World Cup stop in Canada. It’s also the second fastest in the world this year.
The fifth of seven prelims had featured three speedy Italians including Olympic champion Nicolo Martinenghi. Just 0.11 separated the trio headed by Martinenghi (57.08) and with the two-per-nation rule – where only two swimmers per nation can advance – it meant a nervous wait for Ludovico Viberti (57.15) and Gabriele Mancini (57.19). Simone Cerasuolu came through in the next heat in 56.28 to progress with Martinenghi and claim second spot.
Carles Coll Marti (56.28) and Luka Mladenovic (56.96) were the other men to progress on 56. Double Olympic silver medallist Arno Kamminga was joint 18th in 57.73 on his return to international competition following his move to Hong Kong.
200m Backstroke
Mewen Tomac dominated the final prelim to lead the way in 1:50.19 ahead of Luke Greenbank (1:50.39) and fellow Frenchman Yohann Ndoye Brouard (1:50.41). Hugo Gonzales and John Shortt were next with both men on 1:50.65. There was a surprise for the British with the two-per-nation rule when Jack Skerry beat Oli Morgan to the second spot in 1:51.56 to 1:51.58. Top seed Thomas Ceccon withdrew from the race.
4x50m Freestyle Relay
The Netherlands (1:35.42) and Germany (1:35.69) booked the top two slots for Tuesday’s final. Vladyslav Bukhov produced the fastest split of 20.70 to guide Ukraine to sixth.
