Florent Manaudou Tops Splash-And-Dash; Katinka Hosszu Collects 4th Title at French Open

VICHY, France, July 5. THE jam-packed two-day festival of swimming called the French Open has come to a close, and plenty of the brightest stars in swimming put up some equally bright times this evening in Vichy.

In the rockstar finale of the day, France’s Florent Manaudou edged ahead of Australia’s James Magnussen and Brazil’s Cesar Cielo in the men’s 50-meter free. Manaudou clocked a 21.71 to win the splash-and-dash, just off his sixth-ranked 21.70 from French Nationals. Magnussen, ranked seventh in the world with a 21.77, took second in 22.07. Cielo, meanwhile, was much slower than his top-ranked 21.39 from the Maria Lenk as he wound up third in 22.16.

Hungary’s Katinka Hosszu collected her fourth title of the meet with a 4:38.69. She’s been much faster with a sixth-ranked 4:33.80 from the Monte Carlo stop of the Mare Nostrum, but she’s definitely been a busy swimmer in this two-day meet. Her compatriot Evelyn Verraszto took second in 4:41.43 with Great Britain’s Candice Hall finishing third in 4:55.65.

Ukraine’s Daryna Zevina turned in a 1:00.94 to win the women’s 100-meter back, while Germany’s Lisa Graf touched second in 1:01.77. Iceland’s Eyglo Osk Gustafsdottir snared third overall in 1:02.15. Katinka Hosszu raced to a 1:00.34 in prelims, but elected to scratch the finale in a surprising move.

Hosszu took second to France’s Coralie Balmy in the women’s 400-meter free, 4:06.68 to 4:08.52. New Zealand’s Lauren Boyle checked in with a third-place time of 4:11.23. Balmy improved to 15th in the world rankings this year, leapfrogging Lotte Friis (4:06.83) in the process.

Arkady Vyatchanin, the Man Without a Country representing only New York Athletic Club here in France, took the men’s 200-meter back in 1:56.26. He won by more than three seconds, although he did come up a bit short of his fifth-ranked 1:55.30 from the Santa Clara stop of the Arena Grand Prix. Great Britain’s Joseph Patching took second in 1:59.94, while Germany’s Christian Diener earned third in 2:00.50.

The Netherlands’ Ranomi Kromowidjojo might have announced that she’s not swimming at European Championships next month, but she proved she still has something left in the tank with a 53.71 to win the women’s 100-meter free tonight. That’s not far off her seventh-ranked 53.69 from the Eindhoven Swim Cup. Australia’s Emma McKeon, fourth in the world with a 53.39 from Eindhoven, took second in 53.93, while France’s Charlotte Bonnet placed third in 54.69.

Canada’s Ryan Cochrane didn’t need a season-best to win tonight in the men’s 1500-meter free, so he cruised to victory in 15:09.33. He’s been much faster with a ninth-ranked 15:01.72 from Canadian Nationals. France’s Damien Joly took second in 15:15.46 with France’s Anthony Pannier placing third in 15:22.78.

The Netherlands’ Inge Dekker put up a 26.00 to win the women’s 50-meter fly. That’s half-a-second off her third-ranked season best of 25.50 from the Sette Colli Trophy. France’s Anna Santamans finished second in 26.32 with compatriot Beryl Gastaldello finishing third in 26.36.

In another slower-than-season-best performance, Germany’s Dorothea Brandt put up a 31.51 to win the women’s 50-meter breast. She’s ranked third in the world with a 30.77 from German Nationals, but didn’t need that speed as Italy’s Arianna Castiglioni placed second in 31.76. Germany’s Caroline Ruhnau finished third in 32.41.

Germany’s Marco Koch edged Brazil’s Joao Gomes Jr., 1:00.61 to 1:00.89, in the men’s 100-meter breaststroke. Koch has been a bit faster this year with a ninth-ranked 1:00.08 from German Nationals, while Gomes’ top time is a 12th-ranked 1:00.40 from the Maria Lenk Trophy. France’s Giacomo Perez Dortona took third tonight in 1:01.33.

Australia’s David McKeon popped a 1:48.34 to win the men’s 200-meter free, while France’s Clement Mignon finished just behind with a second-place effort of 1:48.58. New Zealand’s Matthew Stanley rounded out the top three in 1:49.55.

France’s Mehdy Metella took down the men’s 100-meter fly title in 52.63 with Venezuela’s Albert Subirats finishing second in 53.01. Australia’s Jayden Hadler snagged third in 53.05, while Hungary’s Laszlo Cseh missed the podium with a fourth-place 53.28.

France’s Jeremy Stravius punched the wall in 25.31 to win the men’s 50-meter back. That’s off his seventh-ranked season best of 24.80. Italy’s Stefano Mauro Pizzamiglio placed second overall in 25.59 with Germany’s Carl Louis Schwarz taking third in 25.90.

The Netherlands’ Sharon Van Rouwendaal topped the women’s 200-meter fly in 2:10.50 with Hungary’s Evelyn Verraszto taking second in 2:11.41. France’s Marie Wattel wound up third in the finale with a 2:13.12.

Brazil’s Thiago Pereira put up the only sub-2:00 time of the men’s 200-meter IM with a 1:59.24 for the win. He is seventh in the world this year with a 1:57.98 from the Maria Lenk Trophy meet. Germany’s Markus Deibler, ninth in the world with a 1:58.00 from German Nationals, took second tonight in 2:00.09. Hungary’s Laszlo Cseh picked up third in 2:00.21.

Italy’s Elisa Celli dominated the women’s 200-meter breaststroke finale with a 2:25.84. That effort pushed her to 19th in the world rankings. Germany’s Vanessa Grimberg touched second in 2:28.82 with France’s Coralie Dobral taking third in 2:32.21.

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