Day 2 - Event by Event Report

M 1500m Freestyle. Easy win for Hungary’s Gergely Gyurta who led the race all the way and won in 14:36.38, leaving his closest opponent, the Japanese Syogo Takeda (14:41.95) nearly half lap behind. Gyurta had won this race twice, in Hong Kong and Beijing, with similar times: 14:38.72 and 14:38.27. His winning time of today was the fastest of the series so far.

W 400m IM. Katinka Hosszu entered the meet with the best time of the season - 4:20.83, set in Doha. She was chasing her 6th straight victory in this World Cup, and got it, unopposed, in 4:23.67. Mireia Belmonte was second in 4:26.42 while the Americans Caitlin Leverenz and Elizabeth Beisel were third and fourth, respectively in 4:27.19 and 4:28.25. At half race Hosszu’s split was just +0.16 to her world record split, but then she faded a little bit.

W 100m Freestyle. After winning the first five meets, veteran Dutch Inge Dekker could not even make the podium today. She was 4th in 52.85. The race went to UK’s Francesca Halsall, whose 51.96 was the fastest winning time of the series. Australia’s Emma McKeon was second in 52.21, while Japan’s Miki Uchida came in 3rd place with 52.69.

M 200m Freestyle. Japan’s ace Kosuke Hagino came from behind to grab the gold medal, in 1:42.62, ahead of Myles Brown (RSA), 1:42.78, and Australian Thomas Fraser-Holmes, 1:43.01. The latter was in the lead for great part of the race but faded away in the last lap. In the morning, former world champion Paul Biedermann, of Germany, scored only the 9th time, 1:46.95, and missed the final. Fraser-Holmes had won this event in the first four meets, setting the best World Cup time this year at Doha with 1:41.92. Brown was the winner in Beijing.


The women's 50m breaststroke podium

W 50m Breaststroke. After yesterday’s defeat on the 100 metres, Lithuania’s Ruta Meilutyte took revenge on Alia Atkinson and won the sprint race in 29.36, 0.30 secs ahead of the Jamaican (29.66). Americans Lillia King and Catherine Meili were second and third, respectively in 30.13 and 30.28. Atkinson had won four out of five races previously contested, and holds the best time of the series with 29.12, a time that she had clocked twice, both in Doha and Dubai.

M 100m Breaststroke. Daniel Gyurta hardly managed his 6th consecutive win in this race, with the time of 57.23. The Hungarian was dangerously challenged by the Japanese Koseki Yasuhiro, who at half race was 0.02 secs ahead (27.07 to 27.09) and finished in 57.24. His compatriots Ippei Watanabe (58.30) and Ryouta Nomura (58.66) were respectively third and fourth.

M 100m Butterfly. Chad Le Clos swam in great style and grabbed his fifth win in this event, in 48.95, virtually unopposed. On the podium also Steffen Deibler (GER), 50.24, and Takeshi Kawamoto, 50.40.

W 100m Backstroke. Relentless Katinka Hosszu went on to increase her gold medal haul in the series. She dominated the race and won in 56.07. UK’s Georgia Davies was second in 57.06 while Madison Wilson of Australia and Felicia Lee of the United States were 3rd and 4th , respectively in 57.34 and 57.36.

M 50m Backstroke. Spain’s Miguel Ortiz managed to surprise USA’s Eugene Godsoe and won in 23.30 (23.36 for the American). Germany’s Christian Diener was third in 23.42, with Australia’s Mitchell Larkin fourth in 23.64.

W 200m Butterfly. Practically no rest and Hosszu was ready to dive again in the water in chase of her next gold medal. Again her victory was clear cut in 2:03.14, with Belmonte in second with 2:03.83 and Germany’s Franziska Hentke third in 2:05.61.

M 200m IM. In an all-Nippon final Kosuke Hagino crushed Daiya Seto thanks to his irresistible last freestyle leg. His time of 1:51.27 was the new World Cup record. Hagino held the previous world record with 1:51.50, set also in Tokyo at last year’s World Cup meet. Seto, who had won this event in the previous meet, was second in 1:52.55. Here is Hagino comment to his performance:

“My conditions were not good compared to last year. Today I did not expect to swim this fast. I thought that the race would be a face-to-face with Daiya Seto…It was a good race”.


Kosuke Hagino (JPN)

W 400m Freestyle. Katinka Hosszu set the best heat time with an amazing good time, at 4:00.81. The Hungarian improved on her best time 2014 from the Hong Kong meet (4:01.01) and pushed behind in third position her Spanish rival Mireia Belmonte (who has 4:00.91 from Doha). The best time of the year belongs to Chinese Yue Cao, from the Beijing meet, with 4:00.72. The race staged a fantastic duel between Mireia Belmonte and the 19-year old Japanese Chihiro Igarashi. Belmonte managed a narrow win, by just 0.02 secs, in 4:00.87; Igarashi’s time of 4:00.89 was her personal best by nearly 4 seconds. While Belmonte collected her 4th gold medal in this event, Hosszu, exhausted, finished third in 4:04.20 (but her time of the morning would have earned her victory also in this final…).

M 50m Freestyle. Japan’s Shinri Shioura (23) was the fastest in 21.38. For the silver medal, Trinidad’s veteran George Bovell touched in 21.42, just 0.01 secs ahead of the Ito Kenta (JPN), 21.43. World record holder Roland Schoeman (RSA) was 7th in 21.87 while UK’s Benjamin Proud finished last, in 22.04.

W 200m Breaststroke. Japan’s Rie Kaneto held off Australian Sally Hunter, and won in 2:19.18, nearly half second ahead of the rival (2:19.63). Runa Imai and Rona Aoki, both of Japan, were 3rd and 4th respectively in 2:21.02 and 2:21.61.

W 100m IM. One more gold medal for Katinka Hosszu, in 57.74. Jamaica’s Alia Atkinson was second in 58.47, with Siobhan-Marie O’Connor (GBR) third in 58.56 and Ruta Meilutyte fourth in 59.23.

M 200m Backstroke. With the time of 1:49.95 Japan’s Yuuki Shirai defeated both the winners of this event in the previous meets – the Australian Mitchell Larkin (one time winner), here second in 1:49.95, and the German Christian Diener (3-time winner), third in 1:50.45.

W 50m Butterfly. Inge Dekker collected her 6th consecutive win in 25.18. Francesca Halsall (GBR) was second in 25.29, with Marieke D’Cruz third in 25.76. Katinka Hoszu swam this final too, with her body aching for fatigue, and finished last in 26.95.

Mixed 4x50m Freestyle. The all-Japanese podium was a photocopy of that of yesterday’s relay, with gold going to Mikihouse, silver to Toyo University and bronze to Konami. The fastest lead-off leg was swam by Kosuke Hagino, of Toyo, in 21.96, while Ito Kenta was the fastest overall in 20.75.