Connect with Us:
Belmonte Reigns In Spain With Brace
Mar 30, 2012 - Craig Lord
At the Spanish Open in Malaga, Mireia Belmonte and Beatriz Gomez led a charge on Olympic qualification targets in the 200m medley, the triple world s/c champion on 2:10.53 for third in the world so far this year.
Belmonte then finished off her evening's work with a 1:57.58 Spanish record at the helm of the 200m freestyle, with Melanie Costa on 1:58.15 for second, Patricia Castro on 1:58.79 and Belmonte's club mate at Sabadell Lydia Morant on 1:59.70. Spain has the makings of a fine 4x200m quartet.
Also inside FINA A cut were Aschwin Wildeboer and Miguel Rando in the 100m backstroke, while Paraguay's Ben Hockin, formerly of Britain, raced inside target time with a lifetime best in the 200m freestyle.
Race reports:
Women's 200m medley
World s/c champion Mireia Belmonte, of Sabadell, laid down a strong marker for the summer ahead with a 2:10.53 victory ahead of Beatriz Gomez, Galaico, on 2:12.36, both women inside the FINA A cut for Olympic selection. Slovenia's Anja Klinar clocked 2:17.53 for third place overall in the ten-lane final.
Belmonte was just shy of her lifetime best from last year, 2:10.26, and nestled into the world rankings for 2012 behind Australians Stephanie Rice, Olympic champion, and Alicia Coutts, Commonwealth champion, on 2:09.38 and 2:09.83 at their domestic Olympic trials earlier this month, and European and Commonwealth 400m champion Hannah Miley, on 2:10.77 at British trials at the start of the month.
Women's 200m freestyle
Belmonte, coached by Fred Vergnoux near Barcelona, returned to the fray for a 1:57.58 Spanish record ahead of Melanie Costa, on 1:58.15 for second, Patricia Castro on 1:58.79 and Belmonte's club mate at Sabadell Lydia Morant on 1:59.70. In fourth was marathon hopeful and 800m world s/c champion ahead of Belmonte in 2010, Erika Villaecija, on 2:00.73. Spain has the makings of a fine 4x200m quartet. The winning time is just shy of the world top 10 so far this year.
The splits:
Costa and Castro shared the top 16 performances ever in Spain over the distance, Costa's 1:57.83 in the semi at Shanghai world tittles last year the national record that fell today. Belmonte's best had been a 1:59.19 from a year ago. A swimmer who has just missed the podium a few times when it comes to long-course finals on big occasions, Belmonte has been working hard on building speed across all four strokes and the back-end of her races to convert short-course might into 50m-pool power.
Men's 200m medley
Eduardo Gomez, an 18-year-old from Canoe, clocked 2:01.37 to pip Albert Puig, a 17-year-old from Terrasa, by just 0.02sec, the bronze going to Sabadell's Taki M'rabet, of Tunisia, in 2:02.31. After 'fly, backstroke and freestyle, the most that Gomez and Puig were apart was 0.07sec, while Puig, on his way to junior Spanish mark, was almost a second slower than Gomez on breaststroke and knows where big progress can be made.
Women's 100m backstroke
Duane Da Rocha, of Canoe, defeated Mercedes Peris, of S. Olaya, on the way to winning by just 0.04sec, her 1:00.88 meet-record effort 0.06sec shy of the FINA A cut for London 2012 selection. Peris turned first on 29.30, with Da Rocha on 29.70 but a homecoming 31.18 sealed the win over Peris's 31.62 return. The bronze went to Lydia Morant, Sabadell, in 1:02.73.
Men's 100m backstroke
Aschwin Wildeboer, Sabadell, and Miguel Rando, of Sant Andre, raced inside the London 2012 cut with respective efforts of 53.78 and 54.04. Seasoned international Wildeboer won from the front: out ion 25.83 to Rando's 26.17, he was caught a touch on the way home but 27.95 was good enough to fend off Rando's 27.87 return. The bronze went to Matteo Giordano, of Italy, in 55.68.
Women's 100m butterfly
Aliaksandra Herasimenia, Belorus visitor and joint world 100m freestyle champion well into a second career beyond a doping ban, clocked a meet mark of 58.09 for victory over a 59.33 effort from Judit Ignacio, of Sabadell, that fell shy of the 58.70 FINA A cut. In third was Poland's big comeback trailer, Otylia Jedrzejczak, on 59.51 as last inside the minute.
Herasimenia was out in 26.90 and home in 31.19 for a 58.09 lifetime best. After clocking just over the minute in 2006, the year after she returned from a two-year-suspension, Herasimenia got back to that in 2010 and last year clocked a best ever of 59.04. Now she is a second better still.
Men's 100m butterfly
Rafael Munoz, of Navial, clocked the 12th best time of his career and fastest ever in textile with a 52.49 victory off a 23.94 split to send off Polish visitor Konrad Cerniak, who was out in 24.88 but swept past the field with a 27.66 return that compared to 28.55 for Munoz. The Spaniard's textile-suit best had been a 52.63 from last year. The FINA A cut is 52.36. The bronze went to Carlos Lenador, of Sabadell, in 54.43.
Men's 200m freestyle
Ben Hockin, of Paraguay after racing for Britain before Beijing 2008, brought the session to a fine close by celebrating his first moment ahead of a shiny suit personal best with a 1:47.79 lifetime high well ahead of the chasing pack.
Out in 25.51, the 25-year-old turned in 52.13 at the half-way point, an via a 1:20.17 split at 150, stopped the clock inside the 1:48.06 he swam in 2009 at England's ASA national championships before heading to his new country (one parent from each nation), a federation penalty incurred after someone forgot to ask permission and let FINA know.
Hockin's effort today would have left him third at British trials in London earlier this month and a part of the home 4x200m free quartet but the swimmer who grew up in the sport on the Gold Coast in Australia at Britain's offshore centre now has a London 2012 ticket for Paraguay, his time today 0.03sec inside FINA A cut.
In second at the Malaga meet today was Eloi Saumell, Sabadell, on 1:50.25, with training partner Olaf Wildeboer on 1:50.63.
