Hosszu Stings Sprint Free Hungarian Record En Route to 5 Finals at Bergen Festival

BERGEN, Norway, May 23. THE first day of the Bergen Swim Festival featured preliminary qualifying in 10 events as Hungarian Iron Lady Katinka Hosszu made her way into finals of all five women’s events in the short course meter competition. She also managed to claim another Hungarian national record in the process.

Denmark’s Jeanette Ottesen kicked off the finale with a 24.69 in the women’s 50-meter free. She finished last year with a sixth-ranked 23.88 from the Berlin stop of the World Cup, and should have more in the tank tonight.

Hungary’s Katinka Hosszu, meanwhile, clipped the Hungarian record in the 50 free with a second-seeded 24.71. That time downed the 24.90 set by Eszter Dara at the 2009 European Championships, giving Hosszu 10 out of 17 available short course Hungarian records. Denmark’s Pernille Blume finished third in prelims with a 25.02, while Sweden’s Michelle Coleman is in the top four with a 25.44.

Rikke Moller Pedersen of Denmark powered her way to the top of the women’s 100-meter breaststroke finale with a time of 1:06.32. She finished last year fourth in the world with a 1:03.74 at the Berlin stop of the World Cup and certainly has enough to produce a special swim in finals.

Hosszu kept on putting up sensational times as she sports her typical heavy workload. She took second in the 100 breast with a 1:07.23. That almost gave her an 11th Hungarian short course record as Agnes Kovacs owns the record with a 1:07.06 from 1999. In fact, that’s the oldest short course record on the books in Hungary. Jennie Johansson (1:08.14) and Louise Dalgaard (1:10.25) finished third and fourth in prelims.

After a short break from the breaststroke heats, Ottesen doubled up on the top seeds this afternoon with a 25.41 in the women’s 50-meter fly. She topped the world last year with a sizzling 24.87 from the Eindhoven stop of the World Cup, and is a huge favorite in the finale this weekend.

Hosszu, in her third swim of prelims, took second yet again with a 26.39. Depending on how things shake out in finals, she could end up with her 12th Hungarian short course record. Dara still holds this mark with a 26.19 from the 2009 European Championships. Monica Johannessen (27.23) and Amalie Kristiansen (29.09) rounded out the top four in qualifying.

Hosszu threw down her fourth swim of prelims with a 57.91 to lead the way in the women’s 100-meter back. She moved within a second of her national record of 57.04 from the Singapore stop of the World Cup last year. Mie Nielsen of Denmark turned in the other sub-1:00 time with a second-seeded 58.91. Sarah Bro (1:03.36) and Line Lovberg (1:05.09) also made their way into the top four.

Hosszu collected her fifth finale swim of the day with a top-seeded time of 1:54.67 in the women’s 200-meter free. She dropped a third-ranked 1:52.32 last year at the Eindhoven World Cup to set the Hungarian record, a time that is likely one of the few records not within striking distance during finals. Michelle Coleman (1:58.74) and Ceceilie Johannessen (1:58.89) also broke 2:00 for second and third, while Pernille Blume snared fourth in 2:00.43.

Rafi Tribuntsov led the way in the men’s 50-meter free qualifying with a 22.55, while Alexander Nystrom snared second in 23.02. Niksja Stojkovski earned third in 23.09, while the most well-known name in the field proved to be Stefan Nystrand with a fourth-place 23.12. Tribuntsov took a second top-seed with a 53.61 in the men’s 100-meter back. Markus Lie (54.72), Alexander Nystrom (55.76) and Magnus Jakupsson (56.27) placed second through fourth in qualifying.

Martti Aljand cruised to the top seed in the men’s 100-meter breast with a 1:00.63, while Daniel Gyurta checked in with a second-seeded 1:01.59. Both have way more in the tank for the finale this weekend. Niklas Tour (1:02.49) and Bram Dekker (1:02.94) took third and fourth in qualifying. Sindri Jakobsson clipped Viktor Bromer, 24.73 to 24.75, for the men’s 50-meter fly top seed. Meanwhile, Daniel Andersen (24.88) and Stojkovski (25.08) placed third and fourth in the sprint fly. Daniel Skaaning paced the final preliminary event of the day with a 1:49.29 in the men’s 200-meter free. Henrik Christiansen (1:49.48), Simon Sjodin (1:50.17) and Pal Joensen (1:50.36) also claimed top four spots.

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