50 butterfly
Many of the women who are the top entrants in this field have had tremendous success on the international stage starting with world record holder Sarah Sjostrom of Sweden who posted a 24.43 earlier this year. For Sjostrom is was an unbelievable improvement entering the year with a lifetime best of 25.64, which she posted in 2012. She also took gold at the 2012 European Championships and finished fourth at the 2011 World Championships.
It will be a major upset if the Swede was to lose this race as her best time is almost eight tenths of a second faster than the next closest competitor.
Speaking of improvement Great Britain’s Fran Halsall has made an extraordinary amount as well going from a lifetime best of 26.45 which she recorded in 2011 to a 25.20 to finish with gold at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. Halsall finished fourth at the World Championships last year in Barcelona.
Jeanette Ottesen of Denmark took this event at the 2013 World Championships and collected the silver at the 2010 European Championships. Ottesen has a season and lifetime best of 25.51 improving on the 25.57 which she recorded in 2011.
With Ranomi Kromowidjojo not participating in the event Inge Dekker of the Netherlands will take the torch for the Netherlands, something that she has been successful doing in the past. Dekker won the 2011 World Championships in the event and finished fifth in Barcelona last year.
Sjostrom’s teammate Terese Alshammar won the 2010 European Championships and finished second to Dekker at the 2011 World Championships. Alshammar has a season’s best of 26.06 and a lifetime best of 25.50 which she posted in 2010.
Melanie Henique of France has a tendency to perform at her best at major competitions. Henique won the bronze at both the 2010 European Championships and the 2011 World Championships. Last year in Barcelona she finished sixth.
Henique comes into Berlin with a season’s best of 26.18 and a lifetime best of 25.86 which she recorded in 2011.
Aliaksandra Hereasimenia of Belarus comes into the championships with a season’s best of 26.27 and a lifetime best of 25.84 which she swam en route to taking the gold in the Universiade last summer.
My top six:
- Sarah Sjostrom (SWE) – 24.43 (2014)
- Jeanette Ottesen (DEN) – 25.27
- Fran Halsall (GBR) – 25.20 (2014)
- Inge Dekker (NED) – 25.51 (2014)
- Melanie Henique (FRA) – 25.86 (2011)
- Aliaksandra Hereasimenia (BLR) – 25.84 (2013)
100 butterfly
In 2008 Sarah Sjostrom won the European Championships at the age of 14, she went on to win the 2009 World Championships, setting a new world record in the process. She then defended her European title in 2010. After that point the Swede suffered tremendous heart break finishing fourth at the 2011 World Championships and the 2012 Olympic Games.
In 2013 she made her triumphant return to the top of the medal podium winning the 2013 World Championships.
Sjostrom comes into the event with a season and textile best of 56.50.
Jeanette Ottesen finished fourth in Barcelona last summer and finished sixth at the Olympic Games in London. Ottesen has lowered her lifetime best this season posting a 56.96.
Inge Dekker comes into Berlin with a season and lifetime best of 57.32. Dekker has always had more success in the 50 than the 100 butterfly, but she looks primed to have a legitimate shot at the medal podium.
Fran Halsall and Jemma Lowe of Great Britain are both long shots for the podium, but definitely have a chance. Lowe has a season’s best of 58.13 and a lifetime best of 57.43 while Halsall has a season’s best of 58.21 and a lifetime best of 57.40.
Italian Elena Di Liddo heads into Berlin with a season and lifetime best of 57.73.
Di Liddo’s teammate Ilaria Bianchi enters the competition with a season best of 58.27. Bianchi made the final in this event at both the 2013 World Championships and 2012 Olympic games and has a lifetime best of 57.27, which she posted in London.
My top six:
- Sarah Sjostrom (SWE) – 56.06 (2009)
- Jeanette Ottesen (DEN) – 56.96 (2014)
- Ilaria Bianchi (ITA) – 58.27 (2012)
- Inge Dekker (NED) – 57.32 (2014)
- Jemma Lowe (GBR) – 57.43 (2011)
- Fran Halsall (GBR) – 57.40
200 butterfly
Half of the competitors in the 200 butterfly final at the 2013 World Championships were from Europe and included; Mireia Belmonte Garcia, Katinka Hosszu, Zsuzsanna Jakabos and Judit Ignacio Sorribes.
Spaniards Belmonte and Ignacio come in with the top two ranked times. Belmonte took the silver in Barcelona just as she did at the 2012 Olympic Games in London. She heads into Berlin with a time of 2:06.33 which she posted in April and has a lifetime best of 2:04.78 which she recorded in Barcelona last summer.
Ignacio comes into the competition with a season and lifetime best of 2:06.79.
Hosszu has a season’s best of 2:07.53 and a textile best of 2:05.59, which she posted in 2013. Hosszu will be looking for a three peat as European champion. She took this event at both the 2010 and 2012 championships.
Her Hungarian teammate Zuzsanna Jakabos will look to return to the podium after winning silver at both the last two European Championships. This will be a tough task for Jakabos who had shoulder surgery in October and has been slowly working herself back into shape. She did show promising signs in June when she posted a 2:10.26.
She has a lifetime best of 2:06.35.
German Franziska Hentke enters the competition with a season and lifetime best of 2:07.67. Hentke finished one one-hundredth of a second outside of the final in Barcelona last summer.
Italian Stefania Pirozzi heads into Berlin with a season and lifetime best of 2:07.82.
Aimee Willmott of Great Britain comes in with a season and lifetime best of 2:07.97 which she posted at the British National Championships in April. Willmott took home the silver from the Commonwealth Games recording a 2:08.07.
There will be two other Hungarian women vying for a spot in the final Evelyn Verraszto, who has posted a season’s best of 2:08.33 and Liliana Szilagyi, who has recorded a 2:08.37.
My top six:
- Mireia Belmonte Garcia (ESP) – 2:04.78 (2012)
- Katinka Hosszu (HUN) – 2:04.27 (2009)
- Judit Ignacio Sorribes – 2:06.79 (2014)
- Zuzsanna Jakabos – 2:06.35 (HUN) (2011)
- Aimee Willmott (GBR) – 2:07.97 (2014)
- Franziska Hentke (GER) – 2:07.67 (2014)
Is Sarah Sjöström signed up to swim 50m fly for sure?
As far as I know her original plan was not to swim 50m fly at the European Championships but to concentrate on 100m fly, 100m free and 200m free instead, which, as Sarah put it herself, are more of queen events than 50m fly.
Probably her record time at the Swedish Championships in 50m fly made her feel compelled to swim it.
Yeah, she added it. Kinda had to, who doesn’t like gold medals!?
Liliána Szilágyi of Hungary will not race in Berlin, because she is in China, at the Youth Olympics. Like Tamás Kenderesi, who is the leader of the junior world rankings in 200 m butterfly.
Does anyone know if Ottesen and Halsall is swimming the 100 free at these championships? If they aren´t they will have a big advantage over Sjöström who will have to swim the 100 free semifinal just 10 minutes or so before the 50 fly final.
Jeanette is swimming the 50 and 100 fly and 50 free.
I hope that someone records these races and puts them up so that we can see them. She is an amazing swimmer
I can never forget watching the sight of her as a 15 yo girl running down the best butterflyer from 2005-2009, Jessicah Schipper, in the last 15 metres of 2009 Rome 100 fly final.
Just incredible.
When was the last time a 15 yo girl win power events of 100 free or fly at worlds/olympics? It must have been a while.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qs5Nf9iQ4LE
She even breathed on her second to the last stroke into the wall and still won with a new world record! Her acceleration at the end of fly races is incredible.
Didn’t they say O’Connor is out?
Sarah is not going to lose. Period. End of discussion.