France’s Charlotte Bonnet Shines With Sizzling Meet Record to Kick off World Military Games

Jul 29, 2012; London, United Kingdom; Charlotte Bonnet (FRA) prepares to dive off the starting blocks in a warm up session during the London 2012 Olympic Games at Aquatics Centre. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

TENERO, Switzerland, June 13. THE World Military Games kicked off in Tenero, Switzerland today with France’s Charlotte Bonnet taking some of the spotlight with a pair of impressive swims. Meanwhile, Brazil and China earned a truckload of medals in the medal count race.

France’s Charlotte Bonnet crushed the field in the women’s 200-meter free with a time of 1:57.99. That time fell just a second off her 12th-ranked season best of 1:57.00 from the Canet stop of the Mare Nostrum meet this week. Bonnet also blasted the meet record of 2:00.04 set by Russia’s Darya Belykina. China’s Zhang Yuhan picked up second in 2:00.28 with Brazil’s Larissa Oliveira placing third in 2:01.81.

China’s Suo Ran hit the wall in 1:09.74 to win the women’s 100-meter breaststroke finale, while Bonnet nearly picked up her second victory of the night with a second-place 1:10.75. Ukraine’s Olga Tovstogan raced her way to third in 1:10.81.

Germany’s Robin Backhaus checked in with a 1:49.22 to win an exciting finish in the men’s 200-meter free. Brazil’s Nicolas Oliveira and Joao De Lucca put up matching times of 1:49.61 to tie for second as the top three in the event all came roaring home.

In another close call on the men’s side of the ledger, Russia’s Oleg Kostin tracked down the men’s 100-meter breaststroke title in 1:01.39. Germany’s Hendrik Feldwehr touched second in 1:01.55, while Brazil’s Joao Gomes Jr. popped a time of 1:01.84 for third overall.

Germany’s Christian Diener clipped the meet record in the men’s 200-meter back with a time of 1:58.40. That swim eclipsed the 1:58.74 previously set by Yannick Lebherz. That’s just about a second off Diener’s season best of 1:57.70 from German Nationals that ranks him 19th in the world. Brazil’s Leonardo De Deus placed second in 2:00.94 with China’s Diao Jigong finishing third overall in 2:01.70.

In a sparsely-contested women’s 200-meter backstroke finale with just four swimmers competing, Ukraine’s Iryna Glavnyk won in 2:13.27. Russia’s Alexandra Papusha placed second in 2:13.60, while Germany’s Lisa Graf (2:17.76) and China’s Wang Ruiqi (2:17.91) took third and fourth.

Russia’s Evgeny Koptelov nearly beat his season best in the men’s 100-meter fly with a winning time of 52.37. That swim lowered the meet record of 52.73 set by Denis Pakratov, and came up just short of Koptelov’s 16th-ranked 52.33 from the Russian National Championships. Russia’s Nikolay Skvortsov finished second in 53.25 with Ukraine’s Oleksii Ivanov taking third in 53.77.

Germany’s Yannick Lebherz easily acquired the men’s 400-meter IM crown in Tenero with a 4:18.56 for the win. That’s a new meet record, downing the 4:19.12 set by Marcin Palinski of Poland, but is well off the top-end speed Lebherz can actually bring to bear in the event. Lebherz ranks 11th in the world so far this year with a 4:14.84 from the International Swimfest in Magdeburg. Ukraine’s Maksym Shemberev checked in with a second-place time of 4:20.37, while China’s Fu Haifeng snared third in 4:21.53.

Another meet record tumbled in the women’s 50-meter free as Brazil’s Graciele Hermann raced to a 25.08. That downed the 25.23 set by Dorothea Brandt during prelims. Hermann missed her 12th-ranked season best of 24.76 from the Maria Lenk Trophy, but had enough in the tank to beat Brandt in the finale. Brandt took second with another 25.23, while Brazil’s Alessandra Marchioro wound up third in 25.65.

Brazil’s Daynara De Paula edged China’s Liu Lan for the women’s 100-meter fly title, 58.77 to 58.90. Meanwhile, China’s Jiao Liuyang cruised into third overall with a 59.61. The first Chinese man under 22 seconds, Ning Zetao, came through with a winning time of 22.08 in the men’s 50-meter free. Russia’s Evgeny Lagunov took a distant second in 22.78 with Ukraine’s Bogdan Plavin earning third in 22.79.

Brazil closed out the evening with a win in the men’s 800-meter free relay as Vinicius Waked (1:51.30), Niciolas Oliveira (1:50.18), Leonardo De Deus (1:51.91) and Joao De Lucca (1:51.05) tracking down the title in 7:24.44. Switzerland’s Jean-Baptiste Febo (1:51.18), Simon Rabold (1:52.47), David Karasek (1:49.28) and Nico Van Duijn (1:52.88) placed second in 7:25.81. China’s Zu Lijun (1:52.16), Yu Yingbiao (1:50.88), Diao Jigong (1:53.72) and Ning Zetao (1:53.34) touched third in 7:30.10.

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