Concerns Mounting Over Croatian Swimming Federation Irregularities

By Steven V. Selthoffer, Chief European Columnist

KRANJ, Slovenia, June 26. THERE is more news surfacing from the Mednarodno Prvenstovo Kranja 2012 swimming meet held June 2-3, in Kranj, Slovenia, regarding FINA A and B Olympic qualification times with yet another Croatian swimmer posting a FINA Olympic Selection Time, this time for a 200 free “split” from an individual 400 freestyle event.

Now, Mr. Dominik Straga, CRO, in Event 21, men's 400m freestyle has a 200 free “split” of 1:50.94, a FINA B / Olympic Selection Time. Mr. Straga then finished the race in a time of 4:22.94 for 5th place.

In the prelims, Mr. Straga, CRO, qualified for the 400 free finals with a 4:12.75, and his 200 split was a 2:02.33.

However, it appears that he did not choose to swim in the individual event of the men's 200m freestyle in the same meet and the 400 free/200 free “split” time does not appear on the rear of the official results of the meet with the other Olympic qualifying times.

FINA SW Rule 11.6 states that only 50 and 100 split times from lead-off swimmers from relays are admitted as official results.

Mr. Dominik Straga's time of 1:50.94 then appears in the FINA World Rankings as an individual 200 free swim, as an Olympic Selection Time, MM Kranj 2012, SLO, 02/06/12.

There are also no asterisk, no marks or any indication in the FINA rankings that the time was achieved as a 200 free “split” and not as a legitimate individual 200m freestyle event or a time trial.

That is the second Croatian FINA World Ranking irregularity from two different swimmers from “splits” at the same meet.

The first was from Mario Todorovic, CRO, with an OST (Olympic Selection Time) of 22.50, Kranj, SLO, 02/06/12, (from the 100 free “split” time) finishing the 100m free in a time of 1:01.97 for 8th place, that placed him 0.01 of a second directly in front of Athens 2004 Olympic silver medalist, Duje Draganja, CRO, and his legitimate 50m free invdividual swim qualifying time of 22.51 in Eindhoven.

And now the second “split” FINA World Ranking and Olympic Selection Time is with Dominik Straga's 200 “split” of 1:50.94 in a 400 free, when each swimmer could have swum individual races at the meet, but, apparently did not.

We will continue to update this story as it develops.

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