Mare Nostrum, Monte Carlo: Rebecca Soni, Camille Lacourt Set Meet Records; Sprint 50 Tournament Rounds Feature Top-Ranked Times

MONTE CARLO, Monaco, June 5. THE three-meet Mare Nostrum series kicked off today with the always exciting Monte Carlo stop. Two swimmers set meet records, while the setup swims for the famous knockout 50s produced some top-ranked times in the long course meter ledgers.

USA's Rebecca Soni set a meet record with a swift 1:06.53 in the women's 100 breast. She stands second in the world with a season-best time of 1:05.90, trailing only Leisel Jones' 1:05.79. Russia's Yulia Efimova placed second in 1:07.24, behind her third-ranked season-best effort of 1:06.66. Sweden's Joline Hostman finished third in 1:08.87 to tie Asuka Kobayashi for 23rd in the world.

France's Camille Lacourt turned in a meet record in the men's 100 back with a 53.97. He has been faster this year with a third-ranked time of 53.29 from April. USA's Aaron Peirsol placed second in 55.21, off his season-best time of 54.59 that ranked him 19th. Australia's Daniel Arnamnart took third in 55.24.

USA's Eric Shanteau beat Japan's Kosuke Kitajima to the wall in the men's 200 breast finale, 2:11.51 to 2:12.17. Shanteau finished a second back of his fourth-ranked season-best time of 2:10.59 from Charlotte last month. Kitajima has a 2:10.97 to his credit from Irvine last month, which ranked him seventh. Hungary's Daniel Gyurta placed third in 2:12.23, moving him ahead of Hugues Duboscq (2:12.25) for 18th in the world.

Canada's Brent Hayden, who holds fourth in the world with a 48.56 in the men's 100 free, captured the title tonight with a 49.18. Russia's Andriy Grechin (49.41), Danila Izotov (49.70) and Evgeny Lagunov (49.84) placed second through fourth. Notably, France's Alain Bernard won the B final in 49.84, while Croatia's Alexei Puninski took second in 49.92.

France's Camille Muffat nearly became just the ninth swimmer under 1:58 in the women's 200 free this year with a 1:58.00 for the win. That performance moved her ahead of Stephanie Rice (1:58.13) for ninth in the world – an improvement from her 10th-ranked time of 1:58.17 from April. Australia's Blair Evans took second in 1:58.52, well back of her second-ranked season-best of 1:57.38, while France's Coralie Balmy wound up third in 1:59.14.

Austria's Markus Rogan became the 10th swimmer under 2:00 in the men's 200 IM this year with a 1:59.77. He moved in front of Takuro Fujii's 1:59.85 set in April to take ninth in the world rankings. Shanteau earned his second podium of the night with a 2:01.05. Shanteau, however, has the eighth-ranked time with a season best of 1:59.75 from February. Tunisia's Ous Mellouli took third in 2:01.15, short of his 12th-ranked 2:00.17 also from February.

USA's Dana Vollmer nearly cleared her sixth-ranked season-best time of 58.42 with a winning time of 58.91 in the women's 100 fly. Sweden's Martina Granstrom posted the only other sub-1:00 time with a second-place 59.35. Russia's Irina Bespalova placed third in 1:00.14.

Already on the Canadian Pan Pacs roster, 16-year-old Sinead Russell is tuning up to potentially be a breakout star in Irvine in August. Russell won the women's 200 back tonight with a 2:10.93 to jump to 19th in the world so far this year. Teammate Lawren Lavigna took second in 2:12.69, while Russia's Mariya Gromova took third in 2:13.15.

Brazil's Thiago Pereira topped the men's 200 fly in 1:59.80, while Russia's Maxim Ganikihn took second in 2:00.04. France's Christophe Lebon garnered third in 2:00.89, just ahead of Scotland's Andrew Mayor (2:00.98).

In sprint 50 quarterfinals, Sweden's Therese Alshammar clearly posted the top time with a 26.01 in the women's 50 fly. Vollmer placed second in 26.82, while USA's Natalie Coughlin (27.34) and The Netherlands' Hinkelien Schreuder (27.43) also made it past the round.

Australia's Geoff Huegill qualified first in the men's 50 fly quarters with a 23.89, not far back from his second-ranked time of 23.46 from March. Germany's Steffen Deibler (23.98), Russia's Nikolay Skvortsov (24.28) and The Netherlands' Joeri Verlinden (24.32) also made it through quarterfinals.

China's Zhao Jing, the second-ranked swimmer in the world with a 27.72, qualified first in the quarters of the women's 50 back with a 28.13. Germany's Daniela Samulski touched second in 28.52, while Russia's Anastasia Zueva (28.55) and Australia's Sophie Edington (28.86) also earned semifinal spots.

Arnamnart grabbed the top seed in the men's 50 back semis with a 25.79, while Lacourt placed second in 25.80. The Netherlands' Bastiaan Lijesen (26.14) qualified third, while Peirsol and Russia's Sergiy Fesikov tied for the fourth-and-final qualifying spot with matching 26.19s.

Efimova, who already improved upon her top-ranked time of 30.69 with a 30.64 in prelims of the women's 50 breast, remained consistent with sub-31 times each round. She qualified for semis with a 30.84, while Soni took second in 31.48. USA's Jessica Hardy (31.69) and Germany's Kerstin Vogel (31.97) also made the semifinal round.

Russia's Stanislav Lakhtyukhov earned the top seed in the men's 50 breast semis with a 28.13. Kazakhstan's Vlad Polyakov took second in 28.16, while top-ranked Kitajima, who has a 27.30 to his credit this year, placed third in 28.40. Germany's Hendrik Feldwehr completed the semifinal field with a fourth-place 28.49.

The Netherlands' Ranomi Kromowidjojo pocketed the top time of the women's 50 free semis with a 24.96. She owns the top time in the world this year with a 24.40 from March. Alshammar qualified second in 25.19, while Canada's Victoria Poon (25.36) and Schreuder (25.52) also transfer to semis.

Australia's Ashley Callus led the men's 50 free with a 22.39, while France's Fred Bousquet placed second in 22.44. Bernard (22.73) and Australia's Eamon Sullivan (22.77) grabbed the final transfer spots into the semifinal round.

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