2020 LUXEMBOURG EURO MEET
- January 24th-26th, 2020
- Centre National Sportif et Culturel d’Coque, Luxembourg
- LCM (50m) Course
- Meet Site
- Start Lists
- Day 1 Recap
- Live Results
- Livestream
WOMEN’S 1500 FREE – FINAL
- GOLD – Giulia Salin (ITA), 16:35.81
- SILVER – Michaella Glenister (GBR), 16:46.46
- BRONZE – Leah Crisp (GBR) 16:58.33
Teenaged Giulia Salin of Italy made it 2-for-2 for her distance races here in Luxembourg, doubling up on her 800m free victory from last night with a win this evening in the 1500m.
Touching in a time of 16:35.81, Salin got to the wall over 10 seconds ahead of the next closest finisher, which was Michaella Glenister of Great Britain. Glenister was the bronze medalist last night in the 400m IM.
Salin took the gold at the European Junior Championships in the 800m free, as well as this 1500m free event, clocking a time of 16:13.59 in the latter. There in Kazan she also snagged silver in the 400m free.
MEN’S 800 FREE – FINAL
- GOLD – Mykhailo Romanchuk (UKR), 7:48.90
- SILVER – Daniel Jervis (GBR), 7:49.05
- BRONZE – Jan Micka (CZE), 8:00.53
The same 3 finishers from last night’s men’s 1500m final stood on the 800m podium tonight in the exact same order, as Ukrainian Mykhailo Romanchuk out-touched runner-up Daniel Jervis of Great Britain to get the gold.
Romanchuk stopped the clock in 7:48.90 to clear a charging Jervis by .15, with the Brit earning silver in 7:49.05.
Rounding the top 3 once again was Czech freestyle ace Jan Micka touching just over the 8:00 mark in 8:00.53.
WOMEN’S 50 BREAST – FINAL
- GOLD – Imogen Clark (GBR), 30.95
- SILVER – Jenna Laukkanen (FIN), 31.25
- BRONZE – Anna Elendt (GER), 31.44
After British teammate Kayla Van Der Merwe took the B-Final of the women’s 50m breast (32.50), Imogen Clark got the job done in the A-final to race her way to gold.
The Winchester City Pengiun notched the only time of the field under the 31-second threshold, grabbing 30.95 to better her 31.08 prelim swim from this morning.
Clark is the British national record holder in this event, owning a personal best of 30.04 from the semi-finals at the 2018 European Championships. She wound up finishing with the silver in 30.34 behind European Champion Yuliya Efimova of Russia.
In tonight’s breast sprint, Finnish national record holder Jenna Laukkanen touched .30 later in 31.25, while bronze went to German age record holder Anna Elendt in 31.44.
MEN’S 50 BREAST – FINAL
- GOLD – Nicolo Martinenghi (ITA), 27.18
- SILVER – Fabio Scozzoli (ITA), 27.33
- BRONZE – Nikola Obrovac (CRO), 27.78
As was the case last weekend at the 2020 Geneva Challenge in Switzerland, Nicolo Martingenghi of Italy got the best of his countryman and rival Fabio Scozzoli in a breaststroke event.
Tonight it was the men’s 50m breast where the battle was fought, with 20-year-old Martinenghi beating 31-year-old Scozzoli by just .15. Martinenghi touched in 27.18 to Scozzoli’s 27.33, while Croatian Nikola Obrovac broke through for bronze in 27.78
Obrovac set a new national record for Croatia in this event with the 27.27 notched in Gwangju at the 2019 World Championships. He added slightly to nab 27.31 in the semi-finals to miss moving on to the final.
WOMEN’S 50 BACK – FINAL
- GOLD – Georgia Davies (GBR), 28.11
- SILVER – Sarah Sjostrom (SWE), 28.21
- BRONZE – Nina Kost (SUI), 29.09
Despite Sweden’s national record holder Sarah Sjostrom taking the top seed this morning in 28.58, it was British champion Georgia Davies who surged to the wall first to nab gold in tonight’s final.
Finishing in 28.11, Davies reaped gold just .10 ahead of her Energy Standard teammate Sjostrom, who settled for silver in 28.21. Also on the podium tonight was Swiss swimmer Nina Kost, who claimed bronze in 29.09, edging out last night’s 100m back winner, Daryna Zevina of Ukraine, by just .01.
Sjostrom owns the Swedish record with the 27.80 she recorded back in 2017. At the 2019 edition of this meet she clocked a time of 28.66. She still has 2 more races to go this evening, with the 100m fly and 50m free on the star’s agenda.
As for Davies, she finished 4th in this event in Gwangju last year but claimed bronze at the 2019 European Short Course Championships in the 100m back event.
Of note, Iron Lady Katinka Hosszu of Hungary was entered in this event but wound up scratching.
MEN’S 50 BACK – FINAL
- GOLD – Yohann N’Doye Brouard (FRA), 25.44
- SILVER – Jan-Philip Glania (GER), 25.56
- BRONZE – Matteo Milli (ITA), 25.71
The 100m backstroke silver medalist from last night, Yohann N’Doye Brouard of France, upgraded to a gold in the 50m back this evening, registering a winning effort of 25.44. That’s well off the man’s personal best of 24.95 logged last December, but good enough to get his hand on the wall ahead of Jan-Philip Glania of Germany.
Glania took silver in 25.56, while Italy’s Matteo Milli rounded out the top 3 in 25.71.
WOMEN’S 200 FREE – FINAL
- GOLD – Charlotte Bonnet (FRA), 1:57.41
- SILVER – Valentine Dumont (BEL), 1:58.94
- BRONZE – Barbora Seemanova (CZE), 1:59.65
The top 3 finishers of this women’s 200m free all cleared the 2:00 threshold, led by Charlotte Bonnet of France. Carrying the momentum from teammate Brouard’s win in the 50m back, Bonnet registered a winning 2free mark of 1:57.41 to easily defeat the final field by over a second and a half tonight.
19-year-old Valentine Dumont of Belgium was the clear silver medalist this evening, touching in 1:58.94 while another teenager, Barbora Seemanova of the Czech Republic finished in 1:59.65.
Bonnet’s effort sits just outside of the top 6 swimmers in the world this season.
MEN’S 200 FREE – FINAL
- GOLD – Velimir Stjepanovic (SRB), 1:47.04
- SILVER – Matthew Richards (GBR), 1:48.83
- BRONZE – Alexandre Marcourt (BEL), 1:49.21
Serbia’s Velimir Stjepanovic maintained his pole position from his 1:47.19 this morning, logging another 1:47-range mark this evening.
The Serb touched in a winning effort of 1:47.04 to come away with a decisive victory, splitting 51.81/55.23 in the process. Veteran Stjepanovic owns his nation’s standard with his lifetime best of 1:45.78 produced back in 2014.
Runner-up tonight was young Matt Richards of Great Britain, with the Welshman checking in with a solid 1:48.83 for silver. Richards, who turned 17 years of age last December, was a little quicker than his morning swim of 1:48.99, which rendered him as the 3rd seed.
In addition to reaping European Junior Championships gold in the 100m freestyle event in Kazan last year, Richards also took the silver in this 200m free, producing a lifetime best and British Age Record of 1:47.23.
WOMEN’S 100 FLY – FINAL
- GOLD – Sarah Sjostrom (SWE), 56.71* Meet Record
- SILVER – Lisa Hopink (GER), 58.75
- BRONZE – Katinka Hosszu (HUN), 58.76
As with her convincing victory last night in the women’s 50m fly, Sjostrom was simply untouchable in tonight’s 100m fly final. Splitting 26.34/30.37, the Olympic champion and World Record holder in this event fired off a world-leading 56.71. That time overtakes the Swede’s own meet record of 56.77 established 2 years ago.
For more perspective, Sjostrom’s AM effort of 57.88 also would have won tonight’s final.
Germany’s Lisa Hopink registered a time of 58.75 to snag silver, while Katinka Hosszu made her day 2 debut with bronze in 57.76.
Sjostrom’s time overtakes Canadian Maggie MacNeil’s 57.26 outing from last month to sit atop the world rankings throne for this season. The pair fought ferociously in Gwangju at the 2019 World Championships, where Michigan Wolverine MacNeil produced the upset to take gold in a new national record of 55.83.
MEN’S 100 FLY – FINAL
- GOLD – Philip Heintz (GER), 52.45
- SILVER – Jeremy Desplancehs (SUI), 52.51
- BRONZE – Louis Croenen (BEL), 52.78
IM maestro Philip Heintz of Germany produced the winning 100m fly time for the men, with the 28-year-old clearing the field in a mark of 52.45. That’s the veteran’s quickest of the season, beating out the 52.32 he earned last November.
Swiss IM ace Jeremy Desplanches also tried this event on for size today, securing silver in 52.51, while Belgian Louis Croenen captured bronze in 52.78.
Although he finished off the podium, Italy’s young 18-year-old Thomas Ceccon made a major move to improve upon his 7th-seeded 53.79 swim from the morning to place 4th in 52.92. That outing sits just .12 outside of his 52.80 lifetime best put up last month.
WOMEN’S 200 BREAST – FINAL
- GOLD – Jessica Steiger (GER), 2:27.28
- SILVER – Kayla Van Der Merwe (GBR), 2:27.32
- BRONZE – Kim Herkle (GER), 2:27.66
European Junior Championships bronze medalist in this 200m breast event, Kayla Van Der Merwe of Great Briain, led the morning heats in a time of 2:29.31. But tonight it was Germany’s Jessica Steiger who sneaked in for the victory.
Steiger nabbed the gold in 2:27.28, touching just .04 ahead of Van Der Merwe, while another German, Kim Herkle got the bronze in 2:27.66.
Van Der Merwe earned her Euro Jrs bronze last year in a time of 2:26.06, a time she improved to 2:25.27 en route to a 4th place finish at the World Junior Championships.
MEN’S 200 BREAST – FINAL
- GOLD – Marco Koch (GER), 2:11.90
- SILVER – Giedrius Titenis (LTU), 2:13.53
- BRONZE – Mykyta Koptyelov (UKR), 2:13.60
The men’s 200m breast was a little on the sluggish side, with no swimmer dipping under the 2:10 threshold, nor the 2:11 barrier for that matter.
Marco Koch, the 2015 World Champion in this event, produced a time of 2:11.90 to turn out the victory, while Lithuanian Giedrius Titenis was next in 2:13.53 for silver.
Ukrainian Mykyta Koptyelov rounded out the top 3 in 2:13.60.
WOMEN’S 50 FREE – FINAL
- GOLD – Sarah Sjostrom (SWE), 24.14
- SILVER – Silvia Di Pietro (ITA), 25.33
- BRONZE – Nina Kost (SUI), 25.53
Another sprint race and another win for Sjostrom, with the Swede putting up her fastest time of the season in 24.14. Racing essentially by herself, Sjostrom beat the field by over a second, with Italy’s Silvia Di Pietro hitting a time of 25.33 for silver. Swiss swimmer Nina Kost also got on the podium in 25.53 to pair with her 50m back bronze.
Sjostrom’s time now ranks her 3rd in the world this season, positioned behind newly-minted Asian Record holder Liu Xiuang who produced 24.03 at the FINA Champions Series in Beijing.
Australian rival Cate Campbell has also been quicker, holding a season-best of 24.08 from the Kazan stop of the FINA World Cup.
MEN’S 50 FREE – FINAL
- GOLD – Florent Manaudou (FRA), 21.56* Meet Record
- SILVER – Bruno Fratus (BRA), 21.77
- BRONZE – Vladyslav Bukhov (UKR), 21.97
The Frenchman is back, busting out a new meet record mark of 21.46 to take the men’s 50m free title here in Luxembourg. This morning, Manaudou set the tone, clocking the only sub-22 second time of the field in 21.91. Brazil’s Bruno Fratus was right behind in 22.01 for the 2nd seed.
This evening, Fratus touched just a hair behind Manaudou, taking silver in 21.77, off his 21.59 from the U.S. Open last month.
17-year-old Ukrainian Vladyslav Bukhov impressed again, following up his 50m fly World Junior Record with a speedy 21.97 here for bronze. Tonight represents Buhkov’s first time ever under the 22-second barrier in the event.
The stacked A-final here also included British beast Ben Proud, who finished 4th in 22.04, while Lithuania’s national record holder Simonas Bilis cleared 5th place in 22.29.
The men’s 50m fly winner from last night, World Record holder Andrii Govorov of Ukraine, finished 6th in this splash n’ dash in 22.41.
With Manaudou’s 21.56, he now sits as the 2nd fastest swimmer in the world behind Russia’s Vlad Morozov.
Men’s Top 5 50m Freestylers Since September 2019
- Vlad Morozov (RUS), 21.50, 10/04/19
- Florent Manaudou (FRA), 21.56, 01/25/20
- Bruno Fratus (BRA), 21.59, 12/05/19
- Zach Apple (USA), 21.81, 12/05/19
- Kristian Gkolomeev (GRE), 21.86, 01/18/20
MIXED 4×100 FREE RELAY – FINAL
Italy took the gold in a new meet record time of 3:32.52. Splits included the following:
Ivano Vendrame (50.41); Silvia Di Pietro (55.87); Manuel Frigo (49.07); Ilaria Bianchi (57.17).
Bukhov had absolutely terrible start but still broke 22. His swimming speed was second to none.
For those who don’t know: he started swimming career just few years ago after being a pentathlete. A true talent.
Yes, magnificent swimming phase, while the start phase (he breaks the surface immediately after an unconvincing dive) was a visible weakness for Bukhov already at Junior level, as watched at EuroJuniors and JuniorWorlds last season.
Bukhov can gain several tenths working on his start, like Sjostrom did, for instance. I agree: Bukhov is a true talent.
He needs to try not breathing too. Everyone ahead of him no-breathes it.
It is always a great pleasure to watch swimmers openly expressing their happiness of winning the race. It brings the excitement no mater how boring the race could be. Philip Heintz was visibly happy in the pool finishing first. It was the same smile of deep satisfaction staying on the top step of podium.
Vladyslav Bukhov looks an absolute star. Potential bolter this Olympic year – Not medal territory but he’ll be a star in 2024. Manaudou has well and truly thrown his challenge down – I am struggling to see him off the podium in Tokyo the way he is progressing.
Brit Eva Okaro one to watch on the junior scene too. She only turned 13 in November (DOB 10/11/2006) and took almost a second off her 50fr PB (26.18s) in her first race of the year. That makes her the second fastest GB 13yo ever, behind Erin Little who set her mark of 26.04 in July 2019.
And 56.60 for Okaro (with a slow RT) in the mixed 400 free relay.
Whoa. Flo not messing around. Great triple from Sarah.
“The stacked big boy final here also included British beast Ben Proud.” Retta: by your alliterative description, I’m assuming that it was a truly glorious display of pecs! A wonderful time was had by all!
This language reminds me the drawing of 5-6 years old child: Sun in bright yellow, bright green grass, bright blue sky …
Does she speak same language at home or with neighbours? Why to treat Swimswam’s readers differently.
Swimswam does have people in staff with very professional style of reporting. Use them as an example.
Misogyny. Consistently.
Not so, Ol’ Longhorn. Retta also often refers to women’s finals as “stacked” as well. I find this to be a titillating image — and that is just fine with me! By the way, I love Retta’s write-ups (with her colorful idiosyncratic style and all), and her overall contribution to SwimSwam! Keep comin’ at us, Retta!
Wasn’t aiming for you.
Thank you
Your language reminds me of Moose and Squirrel.
“The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends is the blanket title for an American animated television series that originally aired from November 19, 1959, to June 27, 1964”
1959!!!! Whose memory you are referring to? 😀
Again. What part of “Ol’” don’t you get?
Listen, as my appreciation of you being my dedicated reader I can give you a nice advice. And it will be free of charge. Can you believe it!? Something free in these days in this country 😀
Just make very minor correction to your name. Replace a “ ‘ ” character with the “ ” ” one. So the name will look like
OL”LONGHORN
It will make you much younger. As the measure of time the ” unit is 60 times lesser than ‘. You see! How smart and how simple.!
But wait a second! It will make you a toddler. Damn it. Nobody remembers already how nasty your were as a child. This is a… Read more »
Hmm. Misogyny. Ageism. Are you going for race or religion next? You’re on a roll.
No it will be about your friends. Stay tuned. (to be continued). 😀
Wow, that seems pretty disrespectful. Colorful and/or flowery language doesn’t make a piece of reporting bad – it makes it interesting. Would you rather SwimSwam reporters write like physicists in a scientific paper? The language, grammar, and tone in such publications are impeccably precise and professional… but are they enjoyable to read? For many, the answer would be ‘no’, even if you enjoy physics very much. Rigorously proper “professional” language often sounds quite stilted and dry. I, for one, certainly enjoy Ms. Retta’s colorful writing.
Why is it disrespectful? WOKE STASI gave his/her impression of Mrs. Race style of reporting. I gave mine. Both WOKE STASI and I are her readers. She writes for both of us and for you and for many others. I don’t ask her to change anything and honestly don’t think she can. It isn’t me who can demand anything from her but her boss.
Some people like Rowdy’s comments some don’t. I like. He gets me involved. The technical stuff and names of swimmers in the race I know without him. I also do my homework.
So it will be better for everybody if everybody take it easy.
Very true, I’m sorry I called you disrespectful. I believe I misunderstood the meaning of your comment. The thing I took issue with was you saying that her writing was like a 6 year-old’s. But you were just saying you don’t prefer her writing style. So it’s my bad for misinterpreting that comment. I will do my best to take it easy. 🙂
Thank you.
Also, saying that she shouldn’t write any differently than she speaks at home seems like a fairly specious argument to me. Do you think Charles Dickens, Virginia Wolfe, or Salman Rushdie spoke to their friends and family the same way they wrote? For that matter, do you think Anderson Cooper or Malcom Gladwell speak at home exactly the same way they do in journalism? People express themselves and communicate differently in different aspects of their lives.
Yo made your point. And it is pretty much valid.
Let me speak the language you are using in arguments. I’m pretty sure you are familiar with the six words story of Hemingway. You don’t need big exotic words to tell a drama or even a tragedy. And that is the real art not to use them if you want your story reach and touch readers heart.
But in this particular case we are talking not about literary masterpieces but about simple reporting where we care about accuracy of data but not about language used to deliver it. I just gave my impression of this cacophony of big words taken most likely from vocabulary of synonyms to frequent… Read more »
My poor English doesn’t allow me to judge how these articles are written but, for sure, I thank Loretta Race and the other main authors of Swimswam staff for their incredible daily work that make possible for us, swimming fans, reading and writing about a lot of news on our favourite sport.
Amen.
Thank you. It certainly is not easy.