Spanish Open: Mireia Belamonte Sets 400 IM National Record

MALAGA, Spain, April 23. MIREIA Belmonte set a national record in the women's 400 IM to highlight the first two days of action at the Spanish Open long course meet.

Belmonte clocked a 4:37.33 in Friday's finals, bettering her own national record of 4:37.91 that she set at the Beijing Olympics. Jakabos Zsuzsanna of Hungary and Anja Klinar of Slovenia had a battle for second place, with Zsuzsanna getting her hand on the wall first with a 4:40.63 to Klinar's 4.40.82.

Other events:

Men's 200 butterfly final
Eduard Galdeano gave his national record of 1:58.85 a brief scare in the early stages of the race, but could only manage a 1:59.95 for the win. Carlos Lenador was right behind with a 2:00.13. Finishing third was Nil Vidal with a 2:00.41.

Women's 200 butterfly final
Belmonte's first win of the meet came in Thursday's 200 fly final, which she won handily in 2:07.85, less than a second off her national record of 2:06.90. Judit Ignacio was second in 2:10.79 and in third was Klinar in 2:11.09.

Men's 200 backstroke final
Miguel Rando won the event with a 1:58.63, holding off national record holder Aschwin Wildeboer, who finished with a 1:59.18. Rufino Regueira was third in 2:01.42. Wildeboer's national record is 1:54.92 from last year's world championships, where he finished fifth.

Women's 200 backstroke final
Duane Da Rocha got to the wall first with a 2:10.98, not too far off Nina Zhivanevskaya's 10-year-old national record of 2:09.53. In second place was Lydia Morant with a 2:12.69 and in third was Escarlata Bernard with a 2:16.02.

Men's 1500 freestyle final
Marco Rivera was well of the pace of his national record of 14:57.47, but his 15:18.39 in the final was good enough for the win. Second place went to Greece's Spyridon Gianniotis with a 15:31.75 and rounding out the podium was Juan Luis Rodriguez with a 15:44.96.

Women's 800 freestyle final
Erika Villaecija was also well off her national record (8:24.08), but managed to win the race with an 8:35.87. Second place went to Eider Santamaria with an 8:37.71. In third was Evgenia Efstathiou from Greece with an 8:45.77.

Men's 50 freestyle final
About two weeks after winning the inaugural JAX 50 Sprint Challenge in Florida, George Bovell of Trinidad and Tobago was on the blocks of the long course sprint at the Spanish nationals, winning handily in 22.35. Javier Noriega finished second in the final with a 22.62, while Konrad Czerniak of Poland was third in 22.79.

Women's 50 freestyle final
Maria Fuster supplied the only sub-26 second swim of the meet with a 25.89 victory in the final. Ilune Gorbea was second in 26.07, while Agnes Mutina finished third with a 26.15.

Women's 100 breast final
Marina Garcia won the event with a 1:08.94, well ahead of Concepcion Badillo's 1:10.85 and Jessica Vall's 1:11.56.

Men's 100 breast final
Akos Molnar touched out national record holder Melquiades Alvarez for the win, 1:01.63 to 1:01.96. Alvarez' national record stands at 1:00.45. Third place went to Daniele Cremonesi with a 1:02.45.

Men's 400 IM final
Hungarian David Verraszto put up the fifth-fastest 400 IM of the year with a 4:14.81, just a hundredth of a second slower than South Africa's Riaan Schoeman's time swum last week. Carlos Vives comfortably finished second in 4:17.70, with Eduardo Solaeche third in 4:25.91.

Women's 200 free final
Mutina won the event with a 1:57.71 to earn a spot in the world rankings in fifth place, while Patricia Castro and Melanie Costa were able to break two minutes with times of 1:59.46 and 1:59.63, respectively. Notably, Belamonte finished fourth in 2:01.76, not long after setting her 400 IM national record.

Men's 200 freestyle final
Antonio Alonso placed first with a 1:50.36. Rounding out the podium were Adrian Mantas with a 1:51.07 and Eloi Saumell with a 1:51.32. Notably, national record holder Alex Villaecija was fifth with a 1:51.40.

Women's 50 backstroke final
Mercedes Peris won the backstroke sprint with a 28.60, just five tenths off her national mark. Ane Saseta was second in 29.54, while Cristina Busquets finished third in 29.70.

Men's 50 backstroke final
National record holder Wildeboer won with a 25.56, well off his record of 24.48 set in the finals of last year's world championships. Well back in second was Rando with a 25.56. Alvaro Vega was third in 25.71.

Name*

Email*

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