After taking second and qualifying for London in the men’s 100 backstroke a few days ago many expected Vladimir Morozov to rock his main events the 50 and 100 freestyles and while he led through the prelims he just couldn’t quite get to the wall in first or second in the 50 during the finals. His time of 22.06 was still under the FINA A standard, but the problem was two swimmers were farther ahead of the mark.
Andrey Grechin took first in 21.82 which moves him up to second in the world rankings behind only Australia’s James Magnussen (21.74). That time was also a personal best for Grechin who also looks to be inching his way closer to the long standing Russian national record of 21.64 held by Alexander Popov from way back in 2000. Earning the second Olympic berth was Sergey Fesikov in 22.05 to just outtouched Morozov. Fesikov matches his time from the semis which places him 15th in the world this year, Morozov is now 16th.
In the women’s 50 backstroke Anasastia Zueva continues to roll through the competition as she posts the world best mark in the event with a time of 27.54. That betters the previous best held by American Rachel Bootsma at 27.84. And while the 50 is not an Olympic event this does set her up well for the 100 back later in the meet and she will look to sweep all three races.
Also in non-Olympic event action Yulia Efimova topped the world rankings with her swim in the 50 breaststroke. Her time of 30.15 cleared the previous best time of Leiston Pickett from the Australian trials last month. She has already claimed the 100 breaststroke title and will look to add the 200 breast to her Olympic program in the coming days.
Arkady Vyatchanin claimed his second national crown in as many days with his win in the 200 backstroke. His time of 1:57.42 was good enough to earn the Olympic medalist another event in London as it easily cleared the Olympic Qualifying Standard of 1:58.48. Vyatchanin, who wore a Florida Gators cap in the race, looks to have greatly benefitted from his training with Ryan Lochte and company in Gainesville. The time also moves him to seventh in the world this year. Taking second was Anton Anchin in 1:58.12 to solidify two Russian representatives in this event in London.
The other final contested on day four was the women’s 200 IM which failed to produce an automatic qualifier. Winner Ekaterina Andreeva touched in 2:13.80, just off the FINA A mark of 2:13.36. Her time is better than the B standard which means she could still be added to the team at a later date. Daria Belyakin as right behind her at 2:13.92 but without the A cut she will not qualify.
Nikolay Skvortsov will look to improve just a touch in the finals of the 200 fly for a chance to make the Olympic team. His time of 1:56.97 in the semifinals was just off the 1:56.86 he needs. He does move into the world rankings with that swim at 21st.
Top finishers in both the women’s 100 fly and 200 free will be looking to earn A cuts tomorrow in the finals of each event. Elena Sokolova took first in the semis of the 200 free with a time of 1:58.94; she will try to reach the standard of 1:58.33. In the 100 fly it was Irina Bespalova who will take the top spot into finals with a 58.91. She will need a 58.70 in the finals to add her name to the Olympic roster.