2023 Swiss Open
- December 15-17, 2023
- Sursee, Switzerland
- LCM (50 meters)
- Results (swimrankings)
Switzerland’s best converged with a sprinkling of swimmers from other nations for a year-ending long course showcase over the weekend in Sursee, with some of the athletes coming directly off the European Short Course Championships in Otopeni.
A number of Switzerland’s big names came away with multiple victories, but the highlight of the competition came from Reef Levet, a rapidly-rising breaststroker who stormed to a new Swiss Record in the men’s 50 breast.
Levet, 20, put up a time of 27.63 in the 50 breast prelims to lower the previous National Record of 27.77 set by Martin Schweizer at the 2015 World University Games.
View this post on Instagram
Levet came into the meet with a lifetime best of 27.96 from July, and went on to win the final in 28.23, with Egyptian Record holder Youssef El-Kamash (28.28) a close runner-up.
At last month’s Swiss Short Course Championships, Levet came within a tenth of Schweizer’s National Record in the SCM 50 breast (26.80), clocking a PB of 26.86.
The men’s 100 and 200 breast were dominated by Frenchman Antoine Marc, who put up respective times of 1:02.38 and 2:11.77.
A member of the French team at the 2023 World Championships where he placed 13th in the 200 breast, Marc owns respective best times of 1:01.51 and 2:09.68.
Levet set a new PB of 1:03.60 in the 100 breast prelims (28.70/34.90 splits) before falling to fifth in the final (1:04.02).
Well-known Swiss stars Roman Mityukov and Jeremy Desplanches were the other top performers on the men’s side, with Mityukov booking three wins and Desplanches claiming two while also playing a role on a record-setting relay.
Mityukov, the 2023 World Championship bronze medalist in the men’s 200 back, won that event in a time of 1:56.45, just over a second shy of his lifetime best and Swiss Record set in Fukuoka (1:55.34) and moving him into #5 in the world rankings for the 2023-24 season.
Also the National Record holder in the 100 back at 53.32, the 23-year-old was just over half a second back of that in 53.89, and he added a third win in the 200 free (1:49.02).
Desplanches, the Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist in the 200 IM, topped the field in that event in a time of 1:59.35, having gone 1:58.86 in the prelims to rank 14th in the world this season. The 29-year-old also won the 100 fly in 53.24.
On the women’s side, the only two members of the Swiss team at the 2023 World Championships, Nina Kost and Lisa Mamie, highlighted the action, as did French native Lilou Ressencourt.
Kost booked four victories, putting up times in the 50 free (25.68), 50 back (28.65) and 100 back (1:01.85) that were all faster than what she went at the 2023 Worlds—her personal bests sit at 25.07, 28.09 and 1:00.35, respectively. The 28-year-old also won the 200 back (2:14.52).
Mamie, a semi-finalist in the 100 and 200 breast in Fukuoka, cruised to a female breaststroke sweep with times of 31.44 in the 50, 1:08.85 in the 100 and 2:31.77 in the 200, and she added a fourth victory in the 400 IM (4:51.24).
Ressencourt, who is slated to join the Cal Golden Bears in the fall of 2024, won the 50 fly (27.12), 100 fly (59.70), 200 fly (2:09.65) and 200 free (2:04.52). The only event she seriously challenged her lifetime best was the 50 fly, where she’s been as fast as 27.04.
OTHER NOTABLE PERFORMANCES
- In the men’s 200 medley relay, the Lausanne Aquatics quartet of Thierry Bollin (25.27), Desplanches (28.10), Lennox Rutishauser (25.08) and Julien Niederberger (23.87) combined for a time of 1:42.32 which is a new club National Record.
- Lausanne Aquatics also set a new club National Record in the women’s 200 medley relay, as Maayana Wagner (30.27), Marlene Schmid (32.48), Ines Laurent (27.32) and Angelique Brugger (26.06) combined for a time of 1:56.43.
- On the age group side, Colin Umegbolu set a trio of Swiss National Age Group Records for 11 & under boys, clocking 1:04.25 in the 100 free, 36.32 in the 50 breast and 5:36.90 in the 400 IM.
- Another NAG record fell for 12-year-old boys in the 200 breast, where Gian Filippo Cangemi clocked 2:44.27.