European Championships Preview – Women’s Distance Freestyle

800 Freestyle

Jazz Carlin of Great Britain has had a sensational 2014 season putting up personal bests in the 200 (1:57.26) and 800 freestyle (8:18.11) along with tying her lifetime best in the 400 freestyle (4:04.03). Carlin has just come off an incredibly successful Commonwealth Games performance where she won the gold in the 800 freestyle and silver in the 400 freestyle.

Carlin’s time of 8:18.11 in the 800 freestyle was a games record and also ranks her second in the world and first in Europe. She will be heading into Berlin with a boat load of confidence after her performances in Glasgow. Last season she finished ninth in the 800 and 1500 freestyle in Barcelona where she swam much slower than she had earlier in the season.

Spanish star Mireia Belmonte Garcia comes into the competition with the second fastest time posted in Europe this year, swimming a 8:23.45 in March. Belmonte has a best time of 8:18.76 from London where she collected the Olympic silver finishing behind American Katie Ledecky. She did have a great amount of success in 2013 winning silver in the 200 butterfly and 400 IM along with a bronze in the 200 IM on home soil at the World Championships. She also broke the short course world records in the 400, 800 and 1500 freestyle.

The one race she did not perform well in 2013 was the long course 800 freestyle where she posted a season’s best of 8:21.99 finishing fifth in Barcelona.

Belmonte has the experience of standing on the medal podium at major international competitions and will be a legitimate threat to do that once again in Berlin.

Italian Aurora Ponsele has recorded the third fastest time in Europe swimming a season and lifetime best of 8:25.86. Ponsele is most accomplished in the realm of open water swimming where last summer she took home the silver medal in the 10 km from the Universiade in Kazan. Ponsele is a new comer in the pool events at major international competition.

Lotte Friis of Denmark comes into Berlin with the fourth ranked time in Europe having recorded an 8:26.16 in May. Friis has had a very impressive international career in the 800 freestyle having won bronze at the 2008 Olympics, gold at the 2009 World Championships, gold at the 2010 European Championships, silver at the 2011 World Championships and silver at the 2013 World Championships.

Friis comes in with the fastest textile best of 8:16.32, which she recorded in Barcelona last summer. Although her season’s best is not very quick history shows that she experiences a considerable amount of improvement at her peak competitions.

Hannah Miley of Great Britain is coming off a Commonwealth Games where she had an incredible win on the first evening of competition taking the 400 IM on home soil in a new games record time. Although she did not have that kind of success in the 800 freestyle, finishing fifth, she did post a lifetime best of 8:28.15 shaving more than five seconds off her previous best of 8:33.98.

Hungarian Boglarka Kapas made her first major international in 2008 competing at the Olympic Games in Beijing. Four years later Kapas made the Olympic final in the 800 freestyle, finishing sixth and went on to win the European Championships in the event later that summer. She finished fourth at last year’s World Championships posting a lifetime best and national record time of 8:21.21.

She comes into the championships with a season’s best of 8:28.54.

My top six:

1. Lotte Friis (DEN) – 8:15.92 (2009)
2. Jazz Carlin (GBR) – 8:18.11 (2014)
3. Mireia Belmoonte Garcia (ESP) – 8:18.76 (2012)
4. Boglarka Kapas (HUN) – 8:21.21 (2013)
5. Aurora Ponele (ITA) – 8:25.86 (2014)
6. Hannah Miley (GBR) – 8:28.15 (2014)

1500 freestyle

Mireia Belmonte Garcia comes into the event with the fastest time posted by a European of 15:58.03, which she recorded in July. That was a slight improvement on her previous season’s best of 15:58.07 and the 15:58.83 which she recorded last year at the World Championships. Belmonte is the defending European champion having taken the event at the 2012 championships.

Lotte Friis has posted the second fastest time in Europe of 16:00.35. Friis’ lifetime best is a 15:38.88, which she recorded at the 2013 World Championships finishing second to Katie Ledecky. Friis won this event at the 2010 European Championships and the 2011 World Championships. It will be a tough challenge for anyone to beat her in Berlin.

Jazz Carlin comes in with a season best of 16:07.41. Carlin, who did not swim this event between 2008 and 2013, put up an impressive 15:47.26 in June last year. In Barcelona Carlin failed to make the final in the event posting a 16:06.46 in the prelims. It is hard to see her putting up that type of performance this year after the consistency she has shown in the 800 freestyle.

Italian Martina Rita Caramignoli has recorded a season’s best of 16:11.70, which is only two one-hundredths of a seconds away from her lifetime best which she put up last June. Caramignoli finished 10th at the World Championships, but picked up a bronze at the Universiade in Kazan earlier in the summer.

Maria Vilas Vidal of Spain enters the competition with the fifth ranked time of 16:15.97. The 18 year old Vilas has dropped close to 12 seconds of her lifetime best this year. She does not have much experience on international stage as a senior swimmer, but did take the gold in the 800 freestyle and bronze in the 1500 freestyle at the 2012 European Junior Swimming Championships.

The next two spots in the European rankings are held by German teammates Isabelle Haerle (16:18.02) and Sarah Kohler (16:18.54). The two Germans will have the opportunity to finish in the top eight on home soil.

Although Boglarka Kapas comes in with a season’s best of 16:19.47 she has the fourth fastest lifetime best of 16:02.58 which she posted last year in Barcelona. Kapas will have an outside chance at a medal in Berlin.

My top six:

1. Lotte Friis (DEN) – 15:38.88 (2013)
2. Jazz Carlin (GBR) – 15:47.26 (2013)
3. Mireia Belmonte Garcia (ESP) – 15:58.07 (2014)
4. Boglarka Kapas (HUN) – 16:02.58
5. Maria Vilas Vidal (ESP) – 16:15.97 (2014)
6. Martina Rita Caramignoli (ITA) – 16:11.68 (2013)