Sprinters Battle on Night Two of Finnish Grand Prix

Photo Courtesy: Joao Marc Bosch

The second night of the Finnish Grand Prix Challenge 2015 taking place in Helsinki, Finland started off with semifinal action for both men and women.

Filipp Provorkov will have the top seed going into tomorrow’s 50 breaststroke final with a time of 28.35. In the women’s event, Jenna Laukkanen swam a 31.28 to secure her middle lane in the final.

The men’s 50 freestyle semifinal winner was Ari-Pekka Liukkonen, the Finnish record holder in this event, with a time of 22.32. Last night’s 100 freestyle champion Miikka Ruohoniemi will also be in the mix with the fourth seed at 23.23.

Mimosa Jallow (25.40) and Hanna-Maria Seppälä (25.43) set themselves up for another battle in tomorrow’s final following a one-two finish in the 100 freestyle the night before. Tessa Nurminen is also a contender with the third seed at 25.79 seconds.

Finals action kicked off with the men’s 100 breaststroke, where Sami Myren went out hard and held on to take the race in 1:02.83. Olli Kokko (1:03.32) and Filipp Provorkov (1:03.41) battled for second place and were separated by just .01 seconds at the 50. Kokko had the edge to claim silver in this race.

The women’s event was not as close, as Silja Känsäkoski won comfortably with a 1:10.09. Carita Luukkanen swam a 1:11.49 for second place, and Veera Kivirinta was a distant third at 1:13.07.

Liukkonen and Seppälä then teamed up with Fanny Teijonsalo and Tuomas Pokkinen for team Cetus Espoo to win the mixed 200 medley relay with a time of 1:46.89.

The session continued from sprint medleys to distance medleys, as Miro Torola (4:37.66) and Hilla Kortetjärvi (5:00.53) each won their respective 400 IM finals. Both swimmers lead their races from start to finish.

Liukkonen and Pokkinen returned to the pool to take second and third in the 50 butterfly final. The event was won by Evgeny Lomtev with a 24.75. The race came down to the finish as Liukkonen (24.77) and Pokkinen (24.80) were not far behind.

The women’s 50 butterfly was won by Teijonsalo, who just missed the Finnish national record by .02 with her time of 26.92. She was followed by Emilia Pikkarainen (27.05) and Laura Mäki (27.64).

2015 Finnish Grand Prix Challenge, Day 2 – Results

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