Danish Open: Pal Joensen, Mie Nielsen, Jeanette Ottesen Gray Shine

BRONSHOJ, Denmark, March 25. THE Danish Open, which served as the launching pad for two young Nordic stars in Pal Joensen and Mie Nielsen, came to a close with a final day of competition in Bronshoj.

Pal Joensen secured his second Olympic spot, after the Faroese superstar made the team in the 400 free on day one. Today, Joensen turned in a 15:04.39 in the men's 1500 free, bettering the FINA A cut of 15:11.83. That swim pushed him to sixth in the event this year. Mads Glaesner took a distant second in 15:20.49, while Anders Lie finished third in 15:43.49. Lotte Friis won the other distance free swim of the day with a 16:16.74 in the women's 1500 free. Ireland's Grainne Murphy (16:30.84) and Mathilde Huss-Hansen (17:13.10) placed second and third.

A day after being the first Nordic female to clear 1:00 in the women's 100 back, Mie Nielsen, 15, returned with a Danish junior record in the women's 200 back with a 2:11.97. That time smashed the previous record of 2:13.61 set by Louise Ornstedt back in 2000. Alexandra Papusha placed second in 2:15.24, while Pernille Larsen took third in 2:20.11.

Jeanette Ottesen Gray won the women's 100 fly in 58.72. She just missed the FINA A cut of 58.70 with the swim, but had already put herself in position to make the Olympics with a 58.24 from the 2011 World Championships. Christina Munkholm finished second in 1:00.98, while Pernille Juel touched third in 1:02.51. Gray doubled up with a 24.78 to win the women's 50 free, moving to 10th in the world this year with the swim. Pernille Blume (25.09) and Nathalie Lindborg (25.57) finished second and third.

Yuri Smoilich claimed the men's 200 back title in 2:03.85, while Andreas Schiellerup placed second in 2:04.89. Marcus Bak touched third in 2:05.41. Chris Christensen earned the men's 200 breast crown in 2:14.69. Erik Persson (2:16.72) and Joachim Mortensen (2:20.14) rounded out the top three.

Nikolai Kirketerp-Moller snared the men's 100 fly title in 54.13, while Daniel Steen Andersen finished second in 54.46. Soren Dahl picked up third in 54.61. Elin Martensson posted a 2:29.80 to win the women's 200 breast. Anna Wermuth (2:35.27) and Josephina Bartela (2:35.87) completed the podium.

Jakob Andkjaer clinched the men's 50 free title in 22.61, while Emil Skovfoged Gregersen (23.33) and Magnus Westermann (23.67) finished second and third.

In multi-class disability events, Lasse Winther Andersen was listed first in the men's 100 free with a 57.47, while Amalie Vinther was listed first in the women's 100 free with a 1:12.31.

SEMIFINALS
Jakob Andkjaer topped the men's 50 free with a 22.89, while Kunzi Aurelien (23.08) and Magnus Westermann (23.64) finished second and third. Jeanette Ottesen Gray raced to the top seed in the women's 50 free with a 24.89, while Pernille Blume (25.50) and Nathalie Lindborg (26.01) earned second and third.

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