Paris Open: Cesar Cielo Races to Impressive Sprint Double; Scares 50 Fly Textile Best

PARIS, France, June 25. THE Paris Open kicked off with an impressive sprint double by Brazil's Cesar Cielo as well as many other world-class long course meter times.

Cielo rattled the textile best in the men's 50 fly with a triumphant time of 22.98. Roland Schoeman holds the top time in textile with a 22.96 from the 2007 World Championships held in Melbourne. Cielo's performance is only the second textile sub-23 in the event's history. Cielo's time pushed him to the top of the world rankings in the sprint fly, ahead of the previous pacesetting effort of 23.25 clocked by Matt Targett at the Monaco stop of the Mare Nostrum earlier this month. The swim also beat Cielo's previous lifetime best of 23.03, and gave him sole possession of ninth in the all-time rankings.

Meanwhile, Brazil's Nicholas Santos finished second in 23.20 to take second in the world rankings this year. Germany's Steffen Deibler placed third in 23.42 after leading prelims with a 23.34. His 23.34 moved him to fifth in the world rankings.

The men's 50 fly stretched past the podium for world-class swims. Ukraine's Andrii Govorov (23.47) and Belgium's Francois Heersbrandt (23.84) also cracked the top 25 with their swims. Govorov moved to eighth, while Heersbrandt was already tied for 11th with a season best of 23.66 from April.

Cielo followed up the sterling men's 50 fly effort with a scorcher in the men's 100 free. He won the title in 48.26, just missing Marco di Carli's top-ranked effort of 48.24 from Germany earlier this month. France's Fabien Gilot took second in 48.85, off his fourth-ranked 48.34 from March. Russia's Andrei Grechin placed third in 49.02, while USA's Nathan Adrian wound up fourth in 49.0. Gilot led preliminary qualifying with a 48.72, while Grechin snared the second seed in 48.87.

USA's Matt Grevers jumped into third in the world in the men's 100 back with a top time of 53.35. Camille Lacourt (52.44) and Ryosuke Irie (53.10) are the only swimmers to have gone faster this year. Lacourt, meanwhile, checked in with a second-place 53.52 tonight, while French compatriot Jeremy Stravius placed third in 54.13. Stravius' season best is a sixth-ranked 53.59 from March.

Australia's Sophie Edington jumped to fifth in the world rankings in the women's 50 back with a 28.01 for the win. Anastasia Zueva (27.78), Aya Terakawa (27.79), Georgia Davies (27.96) and Gao Chang (27.98) are the only swimmers under 28 seconds this year. Germany's Jenny Mensing took second tonight in 28.31 for 12th in the world rankings, while Czech Republic's Simona Baumrtova finished third in 28.88.

Spain's Erika Villaecija-Garcia opened the first night of action with a winning time of 8:30.85 in the women's 800 free. That swim pushed her into a tie for 16th in the world rankings, bettering her 18th-ranked season best of 8:31.09. Spain's Melanie Costa Schmid finished second in 8:32.92, while Romania's Camelia Potec touched third in 8:33.30. Costa Schmid improved to 25th in the world rankings with her swim.

France's Camille Muffat cruised to victory in the women's 200 free with a 1:56.14 for the win, off her third-ranked season best of 1:55.95 set in March. Germany's Silke Lippok took second overall in 1:57.85, just off her 11th-ranked 1:57.42 set earlier this month. France's Coralie Balmy placed third in 1:58.22 to improve to 22nd in the world rankings.

France's Giacomo Perez Dortona touched out Brazil's Felipe Silva, 27.38 to 27.39, in the men's 50 breast. Perez Dortona improved to fourth in the world rankings, while Silva already stands second in the world with a 27.32 from May. Italy's Fabio Scozzoli earned third in 27.53. Scozzoli moved up to fifth in the world rankings. Germany's Hendrik Feldwehr finished fourth in 27.79, off of his third-ranked season best of 27.34 from June. In prelims, Damir Dugonjic qualified with a 21st-ranked 27.93, but took sixth in the finale in 28.31.

USA's Annie Chandler had a rough road into the finale, having to win an eighth-place swimoff to make it. But, she put together a much stronger swim in finals with a winning time of 1:07.81. She improved to 13th in the world rankings with the victorious swim. Initially, she tied former Arizona teammate Sara El Bekri for eighth with matching 1:10.45s. Chandler beat El Bekri in the swimoff, 1:09.66 to 1:09.70, for the final transfer spot. Meanwhile, Germany's Caroline Ruhnau took second in 1:08.67, while compatriot Sarah Poewe finished third in 1:08.74.

Daynara De Paula won the women's 100 fly in 58.84 to take 25th in the world rankings. Russia's Irina Bespalova finished second in 59.53, while Germany's Sina Sutter picked up third in 59.65. The Netherlands' Inge Dekker led prelims with a 59.50, but wound up fourth in 59.76.

Poland's Pawel Korzeniowski nabbed the men's 200 fly in 1:56.44, off his seventh-ranked season best of 1:55.64 set in May. Brazil's Leonardo De Deus tied Russia's Nikolay Skvortsov with matching 1:58.44s.

France's Yannick Agnel, who stands second in the world in the men's 400 free with a 3:43.85 from March, cruised to victory in the men's 400 free with a 3:45.31. Tunisia's Ous Mellouli captured second-place honors with a 3:46.15 to better his sixth-ranked season best of 3:46.64 and moved to fifth overall. Denmark's Mads Glaesner picked up third in 3:51.71.

Germany's Dorothea Brant pocketed the women's 50 free gold medal with a 24.81, off her seventh-ranked season best of 24.78. The Netherlands' Femke Heemskerk (25.08) and Dekker (25.41) finished second and third. Heemskerk moved to 17th in the world with her swim.

Earlier, Mellouli snared the men's 400 IM title in 4:19.36. France's Anthony Pannier touched second in 4:21.64, while Spain's Carlos Vives Gomis wound up third in 4:22.59. France's Lara Grangeon topped the women's 200 IM in 2:14.77. Brazil's Joanna Maranhao touched second in 2:15.72, while Russia's Jana Martinova took third in 2:17.41.

Spain's Melquiades Alvarez Caraballo touched out Germany's Marco Koch, 2:13.60 to 2:13.73, for the men's 200 breast crown. France's Hugues Duboscq earned third in 2:14.72. After clocking a top-seeded 2:10.95 during prelims, Heemskerk scratched finals of the women's 200 back. France's Alexianne Castel won in 2:11.31, while Mensing took second in 2:11.47. Baumrtova rounded out the top three in 2:12.54.

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