Neethling, Alshammar Win a Pair as 2004-05 World Cup Ends in Brazil

By Javier Lopez

BELO HORIZONTE, Brazil, February 20.A cheering crowd of close to 3,000 mineiros enjoyed a beautiful morning of world class competition at the Aquatic Park of the Minas Tennis Club on this the last day of races for the FINA World Cup.

Women's Highlights

Therese Alshammar (SWE) got two more wins today to bring her total haul for this stage to three. In addition, Alshammar´s swim in the last event of the day, 50 fly, was fast enough (25.90) to earn her the top score (1012 points) for the stage and to place her in the second spot for the 2004-2005 World Cup.

In that event, Alshammar was followed by her compatriot Johanna Sjoberg (SWE – 26.79), who earned her second silver medal of the stage and by Antje Buschschulte (GER – 26.97), who came into this event leading the scoring for the stage with her swim and victory in the 100 back (58:40, 994 points).

Alshammar´s other win of the day was in the 100 free (53.39), where she led from start to finish. The second and third place in the event were taken by Natalie Coughlin (USA – 53.63) and Rebeca Gusmao (BRA – 54.78), who at the half was tied with Daniela Gotz (GER).

Elena Bogomazova (RUS) got her second medal in the breast events by winning the 50 breast today (31.49). Bogomazova beat Rebeca Gusmao (BRA – 31.89), who had posted a South American Record (31.84) in the prelims. Bogomazova's wins added to Sludnov's in the men gave the Russian delegation a nearly complete sweep of the breast events. The only exception was in the women 200 breast, an event won by Augustina Giovanni (ARG – 2:32.53).

Kaitlin Sandeno (USA) won a third gold medal for this stage in the 400 IM (4:40.40) when she beat Georgina Bardach (ARG – 4:41.78) and Yoo Nam (KOR – 4:49.35). In this race, the three athletes swam in that order through the whole race.

The Korean delegation added a gold and silver medal to their totals in the 200 fly with the win by You Kown (2:10.12) and the second place of Hye Choi (2:12:02). Choi, at 13, is the youngest swimmer competing in the Belo Horizonte World Cup stage. In this event, Georgina Bardach (ARG – 2:13.78) earned her bronze medal by overtaking Chawelle Van Wyk (RSA) in the last 50 meters.

Camelia Potec (ROM) led the 400 free from start to finish to add a second gold to her haul. Claudia Poll (CRC – 4:08.27) got the silver by overtaking Kaitlin Sandeno (USA – 4:10.40) early in the race.

World Record holder, Natalie Coughlin (USA) confirm her dominance in the 100 IM (1:01.21) adding a second gold to her total of 5 medals for the stage. Her teammate, Kaitlin Sandeno, got a silver medal (1:01.85) taking her medal total 6. Fabiola Molina rounded out the podium (1:03.69).

Men's Highlights

Ryk Neethling (RSA) added two more wins to confirm his status at the top of the individual medal standings with a total of 21 golds. In the 200 free, Neethling and Bren Hayden (CAN) battled for first, with Hayden taking the lead at the 100 for one lap. Neethling then regained the lead to win (1:45.35) followed by Hayden (1:45.90). Rodrigo Castro´s (BRA – 1:46.53) challenge of Hayden for second in the last lap of the race came up short.

The other win of the day for Neethling was in the 50 free (21.44), which he dominated from start to finish. The second and third place in that race were fought between the Brazilians Christian and Nicholas Santos, with Christian taking the silver (21.94) and Nicholas the bronze (22.11).

The already excited crowd grew louder when local swimming hero, Thiago Pereira (BRA) took to the water in the 200 I.M. final and held the lead throughout the race to earn his second win of the competition (1:57.99). Pereira beat the silver medalist, Mark Gangloff (USA – 1:59.90) by 1.91s. Gangloff earned his second place on the breast leg of the race when he came up from fourth place. The crowd were also very pleased to see another Brazilian, Diogo Yabe rounding out the podium (2:01.14).

Thomas Rupprath (GER) won the 50 back (24.28). Rupprath´s compatriot Helge Meenw came in second (24.77) followed by Eevgeny Aleshin (RUS – 24.80).

Roman Sludnov (RUS) consolidated his status as the best breaststroker at this World Cup stage by taking the gold on his third breast event, the 100 breast (59.34) and beating the second place swimmer, Eduardo Fischer (BRA – 1:00.31) by almost one second. Fischer´s silver came after overtaking Mark Gangloff (USA – 1:00.35) in the last 5 meters of the race.

In the 100 fly, Nikolay Skvortsov (RUS) won the gold (51.25) while Kaio Almeida (BRA – 51.87) battled Thomas Rupprath (GER – 52.28) for the silver. Almeida overtook Rupprath in the last lap of the race to the great pleasure of the crowd.

In the 1500 free, Yuri Prilukov (RUS – 14:53.68) and Dragos Coman (ROM – 14:55.10) relived the battle for the win that they fought yesterday in the 400 free with the same outcome. Coman held a slight lead for most of the race but at the 1300 Prilukov overtook him and kept the lead to win by 1.42 seconds. Armando Negreiros (BRA) came in a distant third (15:22.02).

Bryce Hunt (USA) earned the only gold medal for the men´s USA delegation in the 200 back (1:53.86). Hunt moved up from third place in the last 50 meters of the race by overtaking Razvan Florea (ROM – 1:54.62) and Eevgeny Aleshin (RUS – 1:55.47).

MEDAL TABLE after Day 2

Country Gold Silver Bronze Total
RUS 9 1 3 13
USA 6 5 4 15
RSA 5 1 6
GER 4 3 3 10
SWE 3 2 5
BRA 2 9 16 27
ROM 2 5 1 8
ARG 1 3 1 5
KOR 1 2 4 7
CZE 1 1
CRC 2 1 3
CAN 2 2

FINA World Cup
Belo Horizonte, Brazil

February 18-20, 2005

25 meter pool

RESULTS: Feb. 20, 2005

Event 118, Women's 100m Freestyle, Finals
1 ALSHAMMAR Therese 77 SWE 53.39
2 COUGHLIN Natalie 82 USA 53.63
3 GUSMAO Rebeca 84 BRA 54.78
4 GOTZ Daniela 87 GER 55.40
5 SJOBERG Johanna 78 SWE 55.59
6 BURGOS Renata 82 BRA 56.59
7 COZMA Ionela 89 ROM 56.61
8 LIMA Tatiana 78 BRA 56.75

Event 119, Men's 200m Freestyle, Finals
1 NEETHLING Ryk 77 RSA 1:45.35
2 HAYDEN Brent 83 CAN 1:45.90
3 CASTRO Rodrigo 78 BRA 1:46.53
4 COMAN Dragos 80 ROM 1:47.59
5 VENANCIO Tiago 87 POR 1:48.18
6 OLIVEIRA Nicolas 87 BRA 1:49.39
7 CHERNYSHEV Dmitry 75 RUS 1:49.50
8 CORDEIRO Andre 74 BRA 1:50.29

Event 120, Women's 50m Breaststroke, Finals
1 BOGOMAZOVA Elena 82 RUS 31.49
2 GUSMAO Rebeca 84 BRA 31.89
3 ROMERO Patricia 75 BRA 32.99
4 MARIN Juliana 83 BRA 33.11
5 REDMAN Ryan 82 USA 33.45
6 NERI Ana 90 BRA 33.76
7 KATSUNO Mariana 82 BRA 34.14
8 SCHMIDT Michele 82 BRA 34.22

Event 121, Men's 100m Breaststroke, Finals
1 SLUDNOV Roman 80 RUS 59.34
2 FISCHER Eduardo 80 BRA 1:00.31
3 GANGLOFF Mark 82 USA 1:00.35
4 TOMAZINI Marcelo 78 BRA 1:00.79
5 LIMA Felipe 85 BRA 1:01.62
6 ROSSIN Renan 85 BRA 1:01.93
7 MOEKETSAWE Thabang 87 RSA 1:03.38
8 SANTOS JR Agenor 86 BRA 1:04.10

Event 22, Women's 400m Individual Medley, Timed Final
1 SANDENO Kaitlin 83 USA 4:40.40
2 BARDACH Georgina 83 ARG 4:41.78
3 NAM Yoo 85 KOR 4:49.35
4 MEAKLIM Kathryn 89 RSA 4:50.73
5 MEYER Bianca 89 RSA 4:53.04
6 DE ALMEIDA Juliana 79 BRA 5:06.92
7 CRUZ Debora 88 BRA 5:10.67

Event 123, Men's 100m Butterfly, Finals
1 SKVORTSOV Nikolay 84 RUS 51.25
2 ALMEIDA Kaio 84 BRA 51.87
3 RUPPRATH Thomas 77 GER 52.28
4 HUNT Bryce 82 USA 52.74
5 PASCHETTA Gustavo 84 ARG 54.32
6 PALMER Kirk 86 AUS 54.85
7 GHERGHEL Ioan 78 ROM 55.35
8 OKUDA Leandro 78 BRA 55.66

Event 124, Women's 100m Backstroke, Finals
1 BUSCHSCHULTE Antje 78 GER 58.40
2 COUGHLIN Natalie 82 USA 58.74
3 MOLINA Fabiola 75 BRA 1:01.09
4 KIM Yu 91 KOR 1:02.04
5 EICHENBERGER Paula 83 BRA 1:03.95
6 ALVARENGA Fernanda 86 BRA 1:04.21
7 KEMP Lehesta 90 RSA 1:05.72
8 DE OLIVEIRA Luciana 84 BRA 1:06.49

Event 125, Men's 50m Backstroke, Finals
1 RUPPRATH Thomas 77 GER 24.28
2 MEENW Helge 84 GER 24.57
3 ALESHIN Eevgeny 79 RUS 24.80
4 LAZARONI Jander 85 BRA 25.00
5 SILVA JR Edilson 72 BRA 25.33
6 HUNT Bryce 82 USA 25.76
7 GUIDO Guilherme 87 BRA 25.85
8 SILVA Glauber 86 BRA 26.15

Event 126, Women's 200m Butterfly, Finals
1 KOWN You 89 KOR 2:10.12
2 CHOI Hye 91 KOR 2:12.02
3 BARDACH Georgina 83 ARG 2:13.78
4 VAN WYK Chawelle 89 RSA 2:13.83
5 SHAW Keri-Leigh 89 RSA 2:15.88
6 CIESLAK Fabiana 85 BRA 2:20.05
7 AMAR Marcella 75 BRA 2:20.67
8 MEYER Bianca 89 RSA 2:21.59

Event 127, Men's 200m Individual Medley, Finals
1 PEREIRA Thiago 86 BRA 1:57.99
2 GANGLOFF Mark 82 USA 1:59.90
3 YABE Diogo 80 BRA 2:01.14
4 ROSSIN Renan 85 BRA 2:01.75
5 MOURAO Duarte 84 POR 2:02.26
6 SALATTA Lucas 87 BRA 2:05.16
7 SCHULTZ Andre 88 BRA 2:06.86
8 SOUZA JR Edson 78 BRA 2:09.85

Event 128, Women's 400m Freestyle, Finals
1 POTEC Camelia 82 ROM 4:05.38
2 POLL Claudia 72 CRC 4:08.27
3 SANDENO Kaitlin 83 USA 4:10.40
4 BROCHADO Mariana 84 BRA 4:16.86
5 NODA Taiane 87 BRA 4:25.09
6 MEAKLIM Kathryn 89 RSA 4:27.71
7 FORTINI Izabela 88 BRA 4:29.01
8 MEYER Bianca 89 RSA 4:29.50

Event 129, Men's 50m Freestyle, Finals
1 NEETHLING Ryk 77 RSA 21.44
2 SANTOS Christiano 80 BRA 21.94
3 SANTOS Nicholas 80 BRA 22.11
4 DOS SANTOS Guilherme 82 BRA 22.18
5 PIPER Sean 82 AUS 22.22
6 CIELO FILHO Cesar 87 BRA 22.33
7 NEWTON Jonathon 81 AUS 22.50
8 DEBONI Eduardo 81 BRA 22.52

Event 130, Women's 200m Breaststroke, Finals
1 GIOVANNI Agustina 85 ARG 2:32.53
2 NAM Yoo 85 KOR 2:33.38
3 MARIN Juliana 83 BRA 2:34.19
4 COETZEE Vidette 89 RSA 2:34.91
5 KATSUNO Mariana 82 BRA 2:36.58
6 WENDLING Carolina 87 BRA 2:38.20
7 SAKEMI Tatiane 86 BRA 2:38.43
8 MARCELLO Isabella 88 BRA 2:39.74

Event 131, Men's 1500m Freestyle, Finals
1 PRILUKOV Yuri 84 RUS 14:53.68
2 COMAN Dragos 80 ROM 14:55.10
3 NEGREIROS Armando 85 BRA 15:22.02
4 ARAPIRACA Luiz 87 BRA 15:31.80
5 COSTA Fernando 85 POR 15:38.50
6 GONCALVES Rafael 80 BRA 15:39.33
7 RIBEIRO Matheus 84 BRA 15:41.13
8 TOGNOZZI Thiago 83 BRA 15:47.74
9 BONFIM Bruno 79 BRA 15:57.23
10 ANGELOTTI Alexandre 75 BRA 16:03.99
11 BOSMOFF Morne 89 RSA 16:21.11

Event 132, Women's 100m Individual Medley, Finals
1 COUGHLIN Natalie 82 USA 1:01.21
2 SANDENO Kaitlin 83 USA 1:01.85
3 MOLINA Fabiola 75 BRA 1:03.69
4 NAM Yoo 85 KOR 1:06.35
5 MACHADO Juliana 79 BRA 1:06.71
6 GAMA Tatiana 84 BRA 1:06.83
7 SOARES Patricia 84 BRA 1:06.89
8 DE ALMEIDA Juliana 79 BRA 1:07.18

Event 133, Men's 200m Backstroke, Finals
1 HUNT Bryce 82 USA 1:53.86
2 FLOREA Razvan 80 ROM 1:54.62
3 ALESHIN Eevgeny 79 RUS 1:55.47
4 GUIDO Guilherme 87 BRA 2:00.23
5 BELZA Joaquin 83 ARG 2:01.60
6 ALMEIDA Daniel 82 BRA 2:05.10
7 MEENW Helge 84 GER 2:05.13
8 ALVES Joel 83 BRA 2:05.63

Event 134, Women's 50m Butterfly, Finals
1 ALSHAMMAR Therese 77 SWE 25.90
2 SJOBERG Johanna 78 SWE 26.79
3 BUSCHSCHULTE Antje 78 GER 26.97
4 HLAVACKOVA Ilona 77 CZE 27.69
5 DELAROLI-CAZZIOLATO Flavia 83 BRA 27.70
6 ARMELAU Amanda 88 BRA 28.54
7 CHOI Hye 91 KOR 28.66
8 VAN WYK Chawelle 89 RSA 29.30

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