Mare Nostrum, Monaco: Australia Rules Pool; Austria’s Dinko Jukic Sets National Record

MONTE CARLO, Monaco, June 9. THE Australians had a field day during the first stop of the Mare Nostrum series held in Monte Carlo. Meanwhile, Austrian Dinko Jukic posted a national record on top of a few wins.

Brenton Rickard of Australia opened the two-day meet with a triumph in the men's 200 breast. He clocked a time of 2:13.94, while Canada's Mathieu Bois placed second in 2:15.07. France's Christophe Richard finished third in 2:18.25.

Tarnee White of Australia followed with a meet-record time of 1:07.09 in the women's 100 breast. Austria's Mirna Jukic took second in 1:08.37, while Australian Sally Foster finished third in 1:08.40.

The men's 100 free title went to Kirk Palmer of Australia in 50.25 with compatriot Patrick Murphy close behind in 50.45. Germany's Benjamin Starke placed third in 50.52.

France's Camille Muffat claimed the women's 200 free title in 1:58.74, while Australia's Angie Bainbridge touched just shy with a second-place 1:58.95. Australia's Felicity Galvez took third in 1:59.32.

Austria's Dinko Jukic crushed his national record in the men's 200 fly with a time of 1:56.37. His previous top time had been a 1:58.85 set in 2007. Canada's Adam Sioui placed second in 1:58.40, while Belgium's Mathieu Fonteyn finished third in 1:59.19.

In a close call, Australia's Alice Mills touched out Belgium's Kimberly Buys, 59.32 to 59.58, in the women's 100 fly. Buys just missed her national record of 59.49. Germany's Antje Buschschulte finished third in 1:00.19.

Ashley Delaney of Australia picked off the meet record in the men's 100 back with a time of 54.18, while Germany's Helge Meeuw clocked a second-place 54.69. Spain's Aschwin Wildeboer wound up third in 55.12.

Belinda Hocking of Australia walked away with the women's 200 back crown in 2:10.27, while France's Alexiane Castel finished second in 2:11.08. Spain's Lydia Morant took third in 2:12.40.

Dinko Jukic was at it again with a triumph in the men's 200 IM. He clocked a time of 2:01.41, while France's Clement Lefert placed second in 2:04.60. Austria's Dominik Dur finished third in 2:06.30.

In the men's 400 free, Paul Biedermann of Germany held off Australia's Patrick Murphy, 3:50.17 to 3:50.67, for the title, while Canada's Andrew Hurd placed third in 3:52.02.

Nicole Hetzer of Germany then claimed the women's 400 IM in 4:43.30. Mirna Jukic of Austria (4:49.05) and Katharina Schiller of Germany (4:56.67) rounded out the podium.

The Monaco-style shootouts followed with some extremely quick swims:

Men's 50 fly
Australia's Adam Pine: 24.00
Ukraine's Andriy Serdinov: 24.09

Women's 50 fly
Australia's Felicity Galvez: 26.57
France's Diane Bui Duyet: 27.06

Men's 50 back
Australia's Ashley Delaney: 25.41
Spain's Aschwin Wildeboer: 25.83
Note: Delaney clocked a meet-record 25.28 during the semifinals.

Women's 50 back
Australia's Sophie Edington: 27.95
Spain's Nina Zhivanevskaya: 28.31
Note: Edington finished just off her world-record time of 27.67, while Zhivanevskaya nearly broke her national record with a 28.16 during quarterfinals.

Men's 50 breast
Australia's Brenton Rickard: 27.75
Ukraine's Oleg Lisogor: 28.23

Women's 50 breast
Australia's Tarnee White: 30.80
Germany's Janne Schaefer: 31.00

Men's 50 free
Germany's Refed El Masri: 22.11
Spain's Eduard Lorente: 22.63
Note: El Masri tied the German record of 22.11 set by Steffen Deibler in April.

Women's 50 free
Germany's Britta Steffen: 24.61
Australia's Alice Mills: 24.95

Dinko Jukic captured his third title of the meet with a time of 4:19.81 in the men's 400 IM. Teammate Dominik Dur finished second in 4:26.55, while China's Xiaofeng He took third in 4:29.85.

France's Ophelie Cyrielle Etienne followed with a victory in the women's 400 free when she set the meet record with a 4:08.15. Australia's Linda Mackenzie took second in 4:09.27, while Germany's Nicole Hetzer finished third in 4:13.55.

Andriy Serdinov of Ukraine posted a meet record in the men's 100 fly with a time of 52.11, while Australia's Adam Pine took second in 52.94. Canada's Adam Sioui placed third in 53.14.

The women's 200 fly title went to Felicity Galvez as she led an Australian 1-2 with a meet-record time of 2:07.66. Teammate Lara Davenport finished second in 2:13.08, while Belgium's Griet Buelens took third in 2:13.28, breaking her national record of 2:13.34 set back in 2005.

Ashley Delaney won another title, this time with a 1:58.30 in the men's 200 back. Canada's Charles Francis (2:02.82) and Spain's Aschwin Wildeboer (2:03.91) touched second and third, respectively.

Australia's Belinda Hocking and Spain's Nina Zhivanevskaya went head-to-head in the women's 100 back with Hocking surfacing triumphant, 1:00.45 to 1:00.61, along with the meet record. Germany's Antje Buschschulte placed third in 1:01.06.

Another meet record fell in the men's 100 breast with Australia's Brenton Rickard checking in with a 1:00.87. Norway's Alexander Dale Oen finished second in 1:01.42, while Canada's Mathieu Bois placed third in 1:02.28.

Australia won another gold, this time when Sally Foster touched out Austria's Mirna Jukic, 2:24.81 to 2:24.88, in the women's 200 breast for the meet record. China's Liping Ji completed the podium with a time of 2:28.38.

Germany's Paul Biedermann hit the wall in 1:48.62 in the men's 200 free to beat a pair of Australians as Patrick Murphy (1:49.02) and Kirk Palmer (1:49.13) placed second and third.

Germany won again, this time with Britta Steffen touching first in the women's 100 free with a time of 54.29. Australia's Alice Mills took second in 54.48, while Finland's Hanna Marie Seppala took third in 54.54.

The final gold of the meet went to France's Camille Muffat when she stopped the clock in 2:13.09 in the women's 200 IM. Australia's Alicia Coutts took second in 2:14.42, while Austria's Mirna Jukic placed third in 2:16.92.

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