The Iron Lady Reigns in France as Katinka Hosszu Triples at French Open

Katinka Hosszu

VICHY, France, July 4. THERE were plenty of stars out tonight at the French Open, albeit a bit chilly with inclement weather causing all sorts of schedule delays. The Iron Lady Katinka Hosszu, however, shined just a bit brighter than the rest of the amazing international talent as she topped the podium three separate times.

Hungary’s Katinka Hosszu and Australia’s Emma McKeon managed to tie in the women’s 200-meter freestyle finale with 1:56.40s. McKeon is second in the world with a 1:55.68 from the Australian Nationals, while Hosszu is seventh with a 1:56.30 from the Charlotte stop of the Arena Grand Prix. France’s Charlotte Bonnet placed third in 1:58.77.

Hosszu is beginning to get annoyed with all the inclement weather outdoor events of late. She had her last meet in Rome suspended early, costing her an official head-to-head with Federica Pellegrini in the 200-meter back. The two later had an exhibition swim with empty stands and some media members, where Hosszu burned her way to an unofficial lifetime best.

Hosszu later carved up the women’s 200-meter IM field with a meet-record time of 2:11.02. That’s just off her sixth-ranked season best of 2:10.60 from the Maria Lenk Trophy. Hungary’s Evelyn Verraszto took second in 2:14.98 with France’s Fantine Lesaffre placing third in 2:16.54. Hosszu then won the women’s 200-meter backstroke with a 2:10.65. Germany’s Lisa Graf wound up second in 2:12.18 with Ukraine’s Daryna Zevina placing third in 2:12.31. That’s three-for-three for the Iron Lady.

Brazil’s Cesar Cielo, who already leads the world in the men’s 50-meter fly with a 23.01 from the Maria Lenk Trophy meet, tracked down the sprint fly title this evening in 23.52. Teammate Nicholas Santos joined him on the podium with a second-place time of 23.74, while Venezuela’s Albert Subirats tied Ukraine’s Andrey Govorov for third with matching 23.84s. France’s Florent Manaudou, who had qualified second in prelims with a 23.93 and is fifth in the world with a 23.18, scratched to focus on the men’s 100-meter free finale.

Brazil went 1-2 again tonight with Joao Gomes Jr. winning the men’s 50-meter breast in 27.10 and teammate Raphael Rodrigues taking second in 27.79. Gomes has already been a bit faster today with a third-ranked 27.06 from prelims, that stands as the meet record. France’s Giacomo Perez Dortona snatched third-place honors in 27.82.

Australia’s James Magnussen won the men’s 100-meter free by a wide margin with a 48.55 for the win. France’s Florent Manaudou touched a distant second in 49.15, while Italy’s Luca Leonardi finished third in 49.35. Magnussen is the world leader with a 47.59 from the Australian Aquatic Super Series very early on this season, that time still remains the standard for all sprinters heading into this summer.

New Zealand’s Lauren Boyle kicked off the first session with an 8:22.93 to win the women’s 800-meter freestyle timed final. That swim shot her to fourth in the SwimVortex world rankings, and now stands as the French Open meet record. Boyle’s previous best this year had been an 8:27.48 from the New Zealand National Championships. The Netherlands’ Sharon Van Rouwendaal touched second in the distance event with an 8:29.69 with Australia’s Jessica Ashwood earning third in 8:33.36. That’s a pretty big time addition for Ashwood, who is third in the world with an 8:19.76 from the NSW State Championships in Sydney earlier this year.

Italy’s Arianna Castiglioni edged Germany’s Vanessa Grimberg for the women’s 100-meter breast title, 1:08.83 to 1:09.14, while Germany’s Caroline Ruhnau earned third place with a time of 1:10.35.

Hungary’s David Verraszto just missed his ninth-ranked season best of 4:14.35 in the men’s 400-meter IM with a victorious effort of 4:14.38 in the distance medley event. Brazil’s Thiago Pereira touched a distant second in 4:19.44 with Hungary’s Laszlo Cseh finishing third in 4:20.36. Verraszto then doubled up by capturing the men’s 200-meter breaststroke title in 2:13.21 with France’s Quentin Coton taking second in 2:14.08. France’s William Debourges pocketed third-place honors in 2:15.47.

Inge Dekker of The Netherlands won the women’s 100-meter fly in 58.07. That’s off her fourth-ranked season best of 57.33 from the Eindhoven Swim Cup, but was more than enough to win tonight. Emma McKeon grabbed her second podium of the night with a second-place 59.22 after tying with Katinka Hosszu in the 200 free. France’s Beryl Gastadello snagged third in 59.51.

NYAC’s Arkady Vyatchanin, who is still literally a man without a country as he’s listed without a country or flag in the results, put in an easy speed 54.11 to win the men’s 100-meter back. He’s been faster this year with a ninth-ranked 53.81 from the Charlotte stop of the Arena Grand Prix. France’s Jeremy Stravius took second in 54.96 with Germany’s Jan Philip Glania claiming third in 55.27.

Italy’s Arianna Barbieri chased down the women’s 50-meter back in 28.58 with Ukraine’s Daryna Zevina taking second in the sprint event with a 28.74. Iceland’s Eyglo Osk Gustafsdottir raced her way to third in 29.05.

In another close contest on the night, Hungary’s Laszlo Cseh edged France’s Jordan Coelhol in the men’s 200-meter fly, 1:59.39 to 1:59.67. Brazil’s Luiz Pereira tracked down third in the finale with a 2:03.59.

Canada’s Ryan Cochrane collected the men’s 400-meter freestyle crown in 3:50.35. He’s been much faster this year with a seventh-ranked season best of 3:50.35, but he still managed to win by nearly a second tonight. Australia’s David McKeon touched second in 3:51.32 with New Zealand’s Matthew Stanley claiming third in 3:51.72.

The Netherlands’ Ranomi Kromowidjojo put up a winning time of 24.53 in the women’s 50-meter freestyle this evening, off her third-ranked time of 24.35 from the Eindhoven Cup. Her performance was definitely trumped over in Sweden with Sarah Sjostrom jumping to the top of the world with a textile-best effort of 23.98 at the Swedish Nationals. Germany’s Dorothea Brandt took second tonight in Vichy with a 24.84, while France’s Anna Santamans turned in a third-place 25.02.

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

Welcome to our community. We invite you to join our discussion. Our community guidelines are simple: be respectful and constructive, keep on topic, and support your fellow commenters. Commenting signifies that you agree to our Terms of Use

0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x