Mare Nostrum, Barcelona: Meet Concludes with Strong Showings from Jason Dunford, Melanie Costa Schmid

BARCELONA, Spain, June 3. THE first stop of the Mare Nostrum series concluded with several swimmers picking up their second win of the meet. No meet records fell, but there were plenty of fast times across the board.

After winning the 400 free yesterday, Sebastien Rouault of France added another win to his collection by posting the top time in the men's 1500 free today at 15:17.91. Rouault's top time this year is a 15:10.09 from March. South Africa's Devon Brown swam a 15:22.51 for second place, in front of Great Britain's Jack Burnell (15:24.42).

Georgia Davies of Great Britain had the fastest time in the women's 50 back at 28.32, ahead of Italy's Elena Gemo (28.71) and Australia's Sophie Edington (29.10). Davies also won the 100 back yesterday.

The final of the men's 50 breast featured a tight race between the top three finishers. South Africa's Cameron van der Burgh, who set a new championship record in the 100 breast last night, got to the wall first in 27.77, just missing his own meet record of 27.56 from last year. Brazil's Felipe Lima finished in 27.92 while South Africa's Giulio Zorzi took third in 27.95.

In the women's 50 fly, Silvia Di Pietro of Italy proved to be the quickest in the field with a winning effort of 26.55. Katerine Savard of Canada took second in 26.86, followed by Great Britain's Jemma Lowe in 26.94.

Italy's Luca Marin swam a dominating race to win the men's 400 IM in 4:15.69, the 20th fastest time in the world this year and just ahead of the 4:15.90 he posted at the Italian Olympic Trials in March. Great Britain picked up second and third with Matthew Johnson (4:20.38) and Roberto Pavoni (4:20.41).

Victoria Poon of Canada doubled up in the sprint free events with a victory in the 100 free in 55.42, out-touching Great Britain's Jessica Lloyd (55.49). Hanna-Maria Seppala of Finland took third in 55.79.

Australia's Ben Treffers, yesterday's winner of the men's 50 back, claimed the 100 back in 54.46, more than a second ahead of second-place finisher Charl Crous of South Africa (55.56). Miguel Rando Galvez of Spain took third in 55.61.

Spaniard Marina Garcia Urzainqui swept the breaststroke events in her home country after winning the 100 breast in 1:09.19. Stacey Tadd of Great Britain finished second in 1:09.43, followed by Canada's Kierra Smith in 1:09.92.

Brent Hayden of Canada added the 50 free title to his win in the 100 free yesterday with a 22.47, faster than Cuba's Hanser Garcia (22.63) and Russia's Sergey Fesikov (22.64).

Sinead Russell kept the ball rolling for Canada with a win in the 200 back. Russell finished in 2:11.20, half a second in front of South Africa's Karin Prinsloo (2:11.73). Barbara Jardin gave Canada a 1-3 finish with a 2:12.56 for third.

Great Britain's Michael Jamieson followed up his second place finish in the men's 100 breast yesterday with a victory in the 200 breast today. Jamieson touched in 2:11.21, well ahead of James Goddard's 2:13.68. Jamieson's teammate, Andrew Willis, wound up third in 2:13.86.

Not long after finishing second in the 50 fly, Canadian Katerine Savard won the 200 fly in 2:10.03, narrowly defeating Great Britain's Jemma Lowe (2:10.18). Hannah Miley of Great Britain placed third in 2:11.01.

Kenya's Jason Dunford jumped out to a quick start in the men's 100 fly and never let up, winning the event in 52.51. Brazil's Kaio Almeida, who set a new championship record in the 200 fly last night, grabbed second in 52.84, while Sweden's Lars Frolander, the 2000 Olympic champion in the event, placed third in 53.34.

Hannah Miley pulled a difficult double, finishing third in the 200 fly then winning the 200 IM two events later in 2:11.78. Fellow countrywoman Sophie Allen took silver in 2:13.51 while Canada's Erika Seltenreich-Hodgson (2:14.64) completed the podium.

In the men's 200 free, Australian Jarrod Killey led from start to finish en route to a final time of 1:48.78. Russia's Nikita Lobintsev took the silver in 1:49.32 while Australia's Tommaso D'Orsogna and Great Britain's David Carry tied for third with matching 1:49.83s.

In the final event of the meet, Spain's Melanie Costa Schmid dominated the women's 400 free with a winning time of 4:06.83, inside the top 15 times in the world this year. Great Britain's Jazz Carlin took third in 4:10.52, while Canada's Barbara Jardin was third in 4:11.71. Notably, yesterday's 800 free champion Rebecca Adlington of Great Britain scratched the final after posting the top preliminary time of 4:09.21.

The Mare Nostrum series continues June 6-7 in Canet, France.

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