Franzi Rolls, Sets German Record of 59.15 in 100m Fly, World’s Fastest Time in ’02

WARENDORF, GERMANY, May 26. QUEEN Franzi ascended to her throne once again on the final evening of competition at the German Nationals/European
Championship Trials here.

Franziska Van Almsick, the 24-year-old world record-holder in the 200 free (1:56.78), who last night raced to a world-leading 1:57.74 win — fastest in three years) — splashed to another world-leading time this evening. Franzi ripped off a German record 59.15 for the 100 fly, breaking her own record of 59.72 from the Sydney prelims.

(Technically the German record is 59.00 by former East German star Kristin Otto. However, inasmuch as that country no longer exists and Otto has publicly confessed to having taken illegal drugs during her career we'll give the nod — and the record — to Van Almsick.)

Franzi's time is also No. 1 globally for the year, topping the 59.78 by China's Xu Yanwei from her nationals/Pan-Pac Trials in Anshan last month.

Van Almsick was out in 28.47, home in 30.68. She also won the 100 free earlier (55.25) with a yearly best 55.19 in the prelims.

While she may not be quite ready to challenge the Netherlands' world record-holder Inge deBruijn and her 56.61 from Sydney, Van Almsick's time is a milestone of sorts. It demonstrates she's blossoming into a world-class flyer as well as retaining her world-class sprinting abilities at the ripe old age of 24.

But then Inky will be 29 this year (!!!) and former Southern Methodist star Martina Moravcova, Europe's second-best sprint flyer who represents Slovakia
internationally, is 27. So Van Almsick's just a babe in the woods.

Second in the 100 was 50 fly champ Daniela Samulski (pr 59.82, fourth-fastest globally). Third was Annika Mehlhorn, whose 59.98 was just off her pr 59.82. This was the first time Germany has had three women under a minute in the same race.

(The United States has accomplished this feat on several occasions, most recently at the 2000 Olympic Trials in Indianapolis when Jenny Thompson, Dara Torres and Karen Campbell all went 59.2 or better. Torres, incidentally, set the current American record in the prelims there with her 57.58. She finished second to Thompson in the finals, 57.78-57.86. Then
aged 33, Torres is still the oldest female U.S. record-setter ever.)

Flyer Thomas Rupprath, who Friday set a European record in the prelims of the 100 (51.88) then won in history's fourth-fastest performance (51.97), won the 50 fly tonight (23.96). In the prelims he tied Sydney Olympic silver medalist Geoff Huegill for the yearly world lead with his 23.92, not far from his NR of 23.86.

Huegill holds the world record (23.44) from the semi finals of last year's World Championships. He then won the title the following evening in 23.50 — history's second-best 50.

Rupprath also finished second in the 200 IM to 100-200 breast champ Jens Kruppa, and in so doing went a pr 2:02.06 –sixth globally. Kruppa's winning swim was a pr 2:01.62 that improved upon his old career-best of 2:01.72 from the Olympic Trials.

The German record is 2:01.06 by Christian Keller from the '93 Nationals/EC Trials in Potsdam. Keller was third (2:02.71).

Kruppa's time ranks him fourth in the world while Rupprath is sixth. Rupprath usually swims both if not all three flys at the champioonship but this time forsook the 200 fly in favor of the 200 IM. The result was a pr by several seconds. His 200 fly pr is 1:56.82 from the Trials two years ago, not far off the German record of 1:56.24 by Michael Gross. When Gross
did that swim (World Championship Trials 16 years ago) it was also the world record.

The other men's winner was 400 free champ Heiko Hell (3:51.75). His pr is 3:50.80 from the Sydney prelims. Hell also won the 800-1500 frees (8:10+, 15:18+).

In other women's races, Nicole Hetzer went the season's eighth-best 200 back (2:13.60) with Antje Buschschulte in hot pursuit (2:14.08). The 400 free
went to 800 champ Hannah Stockbauer (4:10.54), which is the season's third-fastest clocking behind China's Chen Hua's 4:09.87 and the USA's Diana Munz's 4:10.29.

Stockbauer's pr/NR is 4:06.55 from the Olympic Trials and that time ranks her 13th on the all-time performances' list (sixth-performer).

She didn't swim the 400 free competitively last season as she focused on the 800-1500 frees — and with spectacular results, too — a pair of golds at Fukuoka (8:24.66/16:01.02) a pair of NRs and a Euro record in the mile too. Her mile swim ranks her fifth all-time (performances) and second (performers).

Only America's Janet Evans — with her world-record 15:52+ and three other swims at 16:00.0 or better — ranks ahead of the German distance star. Since the 1500 is not part of the European Championship program two months hence in Berlin, she will concentrate on the 400-800 frees instead.

— Bill Bell

RESULTS

Men's 50m butterfly
1 RUPPRATH, Thomas 00:23,96
2 FRIEDRICH, Fabian 00:24,32
3 THELOKE, Stev 00:24,47
4 WENZEL, Oliver 00:24,60
5 NAGELSCHMIDT, Sven 00:24,85
6 STEINBRECHER, Björn 00:25,09
7 KAHL, Alexander 00:25,19
7 MEEUW, Helge 00:25,19

Women's 100m butterfly
1 VAN ALMSICK, Franziska 00:28,47
00:59,15
2 SAMULSKI, Daniela 00:27,93
00:59,82
3 MEHLHORN, Annika 00:28,31
00:59,98
4 MEIßNER, Katrin 00:28,82
01:00,44
5 PIETSCH, Janine 00:28,58
01:01,87
6 GABRIEL, Heike 00:29,34
01:02,07
7 FRIEDRICH, Catherine 00:29,17
01:02,26
8 SKRUBEL, Franziska 00:28,88
01:02,80

Men's 400m freestyle
1 HELL, Heiko
00:27,33; 00:56,77; 01:55,19; 02:53,22
03:51,75
2 HOFFMANN, Jörg
00:27,09; 00:55,86; 01:55,01; 02:54,84
03:54,25
3 POHL, Stefan
00:27,12; 00:56,60; 01:56,48; 02:56,33
03:54,70
4 KUHLMANN, Jens
00:27,74; 00:57,37; 01:57,37; 02:57,65
03:55,35
5 MÖLLER, Philipp
00:27,45; 00:57,10; 01:56,96; 02:57,29
03:56,00
6 WOLFGARTEN, Jan
00:27,94; 00:57,94; 01:58,72; 02:59,74
03:59,64
7 FRANZ, Toni
00:27,02; 00:56,21; 01:56,22; 02:59,29
04:00,72
8 LOHFINK, Thomas
00:27,60; 00:57,53; 01:58,45; 03:00,01
04:01,13

Women's 200m backstroke
1 HETZER, Nicole 00:32,57; 01:06,54
02:13,60
2 BUSCHSCHULTE, Antje 00:31,66; 01:05,45
02:14,08
3 RUND, Cathleen 00:32,44; 01:06,97
02:14,40
4 ABIRU, Yui 00:32,75; 01:07,48
02:15,97
5 BAUM, Julia 00:32,13; 01:07,13
02:18,24
6 BACKHAUS, Stephanie 00:32,81; 01:08,19
02:18,98
7 MEHLHORN, Saskia 00:32,17; 01:07,11
02:20,15
8 QUACK, Sina-Johanna 00:32,58; 01:08,13
02:22,45

Men's 200m IM
1 KRUPPA, Jens
00:25,91; 00:58,31; 01:31,86
02:01,62
2 RUPPRATH, Thomas
00:25,57; 00:55,92; 01:33,22
02:02,08
3 KELLER, Christian
00:26,25; 00:58,37; 01:33,32
02:02,71
4 MENNICKE, Dirk
00:26,92; 00:59,19; 01:37,04
02:06,17
5 KASPROWICZ, Kamil
00:26,79; 00:59,68; 01:36,39
02:06,88
6 KERNCHEN, Phillip
00:27,01; 00:59,45; 01:36,62
02:07,25
7 OTT, Martin
00:27,77; 01:00,03; 01:37,28
02:07,58
8 WOLFGARTEN, Jan
00:27,89; 01:01,22; 01:37,95
02:08,34

Women's 400m freestyle
1 STOCKBAUER, Hannah
00:29,63; 01:01,57; 02:05,43; 03:08,69
04:10,54
2 HENKE, Jana
00:30,13; 01:01,89; 02:06,56; 03:11,81
04:15,10
3 HARSTICK, Sara
00:29,93; 01:01,88; 02:07,31; 03:12,74
04:16,62
4 RIES, Alessa
00:28,89; 01:01,01; 02:06,56; 03:12,89
04:17,25
5 STEFFEN, Britta
00:29,48; 01:01,29; 02:06,57; 03:14,06
04:19,31
6 VENDEL, Christiane
00:30,82; 01:03,33; 02:10,27; 03:15,73
04:19,36
7 KRAUS, Natascha
00:30,24; 01:02,53; 02:08,06; 03:15,09
04:22,69
8 GÖTZ, Janina-Kristin
00:30,81; 01:03,60; 02:10,30; 03:17,44
04:24,90

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