World record holder Paul Biedermann of Germany and Katinka Hosszu of hosts Hungary claimed the first individual golds on Monday on the opening night of a European Swimming Championships lacking in star quality.
Biedermann charged from behind in the final lap to win the 400m freestyle, while Hosszu took the title in the grueling 400m individual medley.
Also, France dominated the men’s 4x100m freestyle relay and two-time Olympic champion Britta Steffen set up Germany for gold in the women’s race.
Photo: EPA
Before the session, a tribute was held to remember Alex Dale Oen, the 100m breaststroke world champion from Norway, who died suddenly from cardiac arrest three weeks ago. The video tribute brought tears to the eyes of many of the 16 Norwegian athletes competing, who are wearing black swim caps featuring Dale Oen’s initials on one side — “A.D.O.”
In the 400m freestyle, Biedermann clocked 3 minutes, 47.84 seconds, with Gergo Kis of Hungary second in 3:48.09 and Samuel Pizzetti of Italy third in 3:48.66.
Defending champion Yannick Agnel of France was one of several title holders skipping the event to avoid interrupting their Olympic preparations.
Biedermann was nearly eight seconds off his world record of 3:40.07 set with the now banned rubberized bodysuits at the 2009 worlds in Rome. He did not celebrate at the finish.
“I got into the race much too slowly,” Biedermann said. “I still have to work on that [before] the Olympics. I’m really happy with this European title, but unfortunately I once again missed the national Olympic qualifying time. Now I’ll probably have to accept a free ticket, as I’m qualified after my [world] bronze medal last year.”
Kis said his main races are the 800m and 1,500m, so this medal was a bonus.
Hosszu won the 400m individual medley in 4:33.76. Fellow Hungarian Zsussana Jakabos took silver in 4:35.68 and Barbora Zavadova of the Czech Republic took bronze in 4:38.07.
Defending champion Hannah Miley of Britain was also absent.
Completing her senior year at Southern California, Hosszu has had a busy season of races in the US.
“I had only two or three days of rest before the championships,” Hosszu said. “The 400 IM is an event that hurts. I didn’t expect to swim below 4:35.”
Jakabos said she would aim “for revenge” and to catch her teammate in London, while Zavadova celebrated her first ever international medal.
In the men’s relay, the French team of Amaury Leveaux, Alain Bernard, Fred Bousquet and Jeremy Stravius touched in 3:13.55, with Italy second in 3:14.71 and Russia third in 3:15.13.
Bernard will not defend his Olympic title in the 100m freestyle after failing to qualify for the event at the French trials.
In the women’s relay, the German squad of Steffen, Silke Lippok, Lisa Vitting and Daniela Schreiber clocked 3:37.98. Sweden — featuring 2009 100m butterfly world champion Sarah Sjoestroem — took silver in 3:37.98 and Italy — with Olympic and world 200m freestyle champion Federica Pellegrini — took bronze in 3:39.84.
Steffen swept gold in the 50m and 100m freestyle at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, but withdrew from last year’s worlds in Shanghai.
Shohei Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw on Friday joined their Los Angeles Dodgers teammates in sticking their fists out to show off their glittering World Series rings at a ceremony. “There’s just a lot of excitement, probably more than I can ever recall with the Dodger fan base and our players,” manager Dave Roberts said before Los Angeles rallied to beat the Detroit Tigers 8-5 in 10 innings. “What a way to cap off the first two days of celebrations,” Roberts said afterward. “By far the best opening week I’ve ever experienced. I just couldn’t have scripted it any better.” A choir in the
After fleeing Sudan when civil war erupted, Al-Hilal captain Mohamed Abdelrahman and his teammates have defied the odds to reach the CAF Champions League quarter-finals. They are today to face title-holders Al-Ahly of Egypt in Cairo, with the return match in the Mauritanian capital, Nouakchott, on Tuesday next week. Al-Hilal and biggest domestic rivals Al-Merrikh relocated to Mauritania after a power struggle broke out in April 2023 between the Sudanese army and a paramilitary force. The civil war has claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced more than 12 million people, according to the UN. The Democratic Republic of the Congo-born Al-Hilal
Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez and Tommy Edman on Thursday smashed home runs to give the reigning World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-4 victory over Detroit on the MLB’s opening day in the US. The Dodgers, who won two season-opening games in Tokyo last week, raised their championship banner on a day when 28 clubs launched the season in the US. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts shuffled his batting lineup with all four leadoff hitters finally healthy as Ohtani was followed by Mookie Betts, then Hernandez and Freddie Freeman in the cleanup spot, switching places with Hernandez. “There’s a Teoscar tax to
Matvei Michkov did not score on Monday, but the Philadelphia rookie had a hand in both goals as hosts the Flyers earned a 2-1 victory over the Nashville Predators. Ryan Poehling and Jamie Drysdale got the goals for the Flyers (31-36-9, 71 points), who won their third straight. Michkov and Travis Konecny assisted on both. Ivan Fedotov stopped 28 shots to earn his first win since March 1, ending a personal six-game losing streak. Zachary L’Heureux got the lone goal for Nashville. Michael McCarron and Brady Skjei got the assists for the Predators (27-39-8, 62 points), who have just four goals in their