Paris Open: Camille Muffat Doubles, Michael Phelps Smokes 200 Fly

PARIS, France, June 26. THE first of two days at the Paris Open went into the books with some seriously fast swimming. The long course meter format features some of the strongest swimmers in the world this weekend.

France's Camille Muffat dropped a sterling 1:56.92 on the field to win the women's 200 free. That performance jumped Muffat up from ninth in the world with a previous best time of 1:58.00 from the Monaco stop of the Mare Nostrum. She now holds second in the world rankings as only the second person under 1:57 this year. Italy's Federica Pellegrini owns the top spot with a 1:56.23 from the Italian Nationals in April. The Netherlands' Femke Heemskerk placed second in the race with a 1:57.27 to move to third in the world, up from her 12th-ranked 1:58.22 from the Sette Colli meet earlier this month. Allison Schmitt of the U.S. picked up the final podium spot with a 1:58.01 to move to 11th in the world. She clipped Katie Hoff (1:58.06) as the second-best American this year behind Dagny Knutson's 1:57.83 from the Charlotte UltraSwim.

Muffat returned in the women's 200 IM to double up. She raced to a winning time of 2:11.18, less than a second back of her fourth-ranked season-best time of 2:10.48 clocked in April. Teammate Lara Grangeon finished second in 2:15.50, while Italy's Francesca Segat wound up third in 2:16.48.

USA's Michael Phelps put on a show in his pet event – the men's 200 fly. He dominated the finale with a 1:55.70 to move to fourth in the world rankings this year. Nick D'Arcy (1:54.61), Takeshi Matsuda (1:55.18) and Chen Yin (1:55.67) are the only men to swim faster so far this year. France's Christophe Lebon placed a distant second in 1:59.01, still slower than even Phelps' prelim time of 1:57.88. France's Jordan Coelho took third overall in 1:59.80.

France's Fabien Gilot won the men's 100 free in 48.65, just off his second-ranked season best of 48.52 set in April. Gilot led prelims with a 48.59. France's Yannick Agnel and USA's Nathan Adrian tied for second with matching times of 48.83.

The Netherlands' Ranomi Kromowidjojo earned the women's 50 free title in 24.54. She just missed her second-ranked season best of 24.40 from March. Great Britain's Fran Halsall claimed second in 24.82, also just missing her third-ranked top time of 24.77 from March as well. Heemskerk claimed her second podium of the day with a 25.28.

USA's Mark Gangloff vaulted to eighth in the world in the men's 50 breast with a winning time of 27.81. His previous best this year had been a 28.09 from prelims this morning. The Netherlands' Lennart Stekelenburg took second in 27.86, short of his sixth-ranked time of 27.76 set in March. France's Giacomo Perez Dortona wound up third in 28.12.

France went 1-2 in the men's 100 back with Camille Lacourt (53.73) and Jeremy Stravius (54.46) finishing first and second. Lacourt has been faster with a third-ranked 53.29 from April, while Stravius just missed his 10th-ranked season best of 54.22. USA's David Russell earned third in 54.65 to tie for 23rd in the world.

South Africa's Roland Schoeman won the men's 50 fly in 23.61. That effort came up just short of Schoeman's fourth-ranked season best of 23.58 from April. France's Fred Bousquet finished second in 23.83, off his best time of the year from April as well that tied Schoeman's top time. The Netherlands' Joeri Verlinden claimed third in 24.10, while Brazil's Cesar Cielo topped prelims with a 23.87 but scratched the finale. Cielo moved to 14th in the world with the effort.

France's Sebastien Rouault captured the men's 400 free in 3:49.90, shy of his seventh-ranked season-best effort of 3:48.57 from April. Italy's Federico Colbertaldo finished second in 3:52.00, while France's Clement Lefert placed third in 3:53.83.

In an exciting head-to-head battle, Great Britain's Elizabeth Simmonds touched out USA's Elizabeth Pelton, 2:08.29 to 2:08.57, in the women's 200 back. Pelton nearly made up a two-second deficit in the backhalf. Simmonds went out quick, 1:01.98 to 1:04.03, while Pelton brought it home much faster, 1:04.54 to 1:06.31. Simmons holds the top-ranked time in the world with a 2:06.79 from March, while Pelton leapfrogged Aya Terakawa (2:08.60) into seventh in the world. France's Alexianne Castel finished third overall in 2:11.40.

Ireland's Grainne Murphy pocketed the women's 800 free title in 8:47.80, while France's Aurelie Muller took second overall in 8:52.86. Switzerland's Iris Matthey completed the top three in 8:53.19. Italy's Federico Turrini won the men's 400 IM in 4:19.27, just clipping USA's Todd Patrick, who finished second in 4:19.44. Tunisia's Taki M'Rabet picked up third in 4:24.78.

With Simmonds scratching finals after a 28.95 in the women's 50 back prelims, France's Mathilde Cini (29.36) and Alexianne Castel (29.63) led the way in the sprint finale. Switzerland's Ivana Gabrilo placed third in 29.66. South Africa's Neil Versfeld won the men's 200 breast in 2:13.75. France's Hugues Duboscq (2:14.21) and Norway's Alexander Dale Oen (2:15.22) completed the podium.

The women's 100 breast had one of the closest finishes of the day. France's Coralie Dobral touched out Great Britain's Kate Haywood, 1:10.07 to 1:10.10, for the win. Switzerland's Stephanie Spahn took third in 1:10.13, while Greece's Maria Georgia Michalaka (1:10.24), The Netherlands' Moniek Nijhuis (1:10.40), France's Sophie De Ronchi (1:10.80) and Russia's Alena Alexeeva (1:10.89) all finished in the 1:10s as well.

Great Britain's Fran Halsall topped the women's 100 fly in 58.36, while USA's Kim Vandenberg (58.91) and Felicia Lee (59.09) completed the podium. Halsall has been faster this year with a fourth-ranked 57.83 from March, while Vandenberg moved up to 23rd in the world with her time.

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