PHOENIX, Arizona, November 29. TODAY, Swimming World announces the 2010 European Swimmers of the Year! Italy's Federica Pellegrini and France's Camille Lacourt topped the panel's voting for the European region.
A year after becoming the first Italian to win World Swimmer of the Year honors, as well as the European title, Pellegrini defended her European crown in one of the closest votes among the panelists this year. Less than 10 points separated Pellegrini from Great Britain's Rebecca Adlington for the honor.
FEMALE
1. FEDERICA PELLEGRINI, Italy
2. Rebecca Adlington, Great Britain
3. Therese Alshammar, Sweden
4. Katinka Hosszu, Hungary
5. Sarah Sjostrom, Sweden
Lacourt, meanwhile, had a breakthrough year to become one of the preeminent backstrokers in the country. Lacourt clocked two of the fastest times in the world this year in the men's 50 back (24.07, 24.30) to just miss becoming the first swimmer to break a world record in the post-techsuit era.
MALE
1. CAMILLE LACOURT, France
2. Fred Bousquet, France
3. Laszlo Cseh, Hungary
4. Sebastien Rouault, France
5. Alexander Dale Oen, Norway