LEN

Magazin

e 2

010

/3

LENE U R O P E A N A Q U AT I C S H I G H L I G H T S

Magazine

No

1 7 2

01 0

/3

www.lenmagazine.com

The Returnof Swimming

ISSN 1998-2151

28-28-242-32

cover1:Layout 1 2010.08.24. 10:38 Page 1

cover1:Layout 1 2010.08.24. 10:39 Page 2

Records are a part of showcase events like the EuropeanSwimming Championships. Some people were afraid of not havingany this summer but indeed we did have some. We had a partici-pation record with almost 1,000 athletes coming to Budapest from43 countries which proves that aquatics hold a firm position amongthe elite sports of the Old Continent.

Thanks to our wonderful athletes we also had more than ahandful of Championship Records, a European Record, and just 3hundredths of a second separated us from the celebration of the

first World Record of the season.However, if you talk to the swim-mers they will tell you that everyo-ne comes here to win their races,going for the medals and provingthemselves as they lower theirtimes, striving for perfection – re -cords do not play a major role intheir life. The best ones want tobecome Champions first, notrecord-holders.

The 30th edition of our Euro -pean Championships broughtmore records. Budapest hostedthe event for the fourth time whichplaced the Hungarian capital atthe top of the “all-time host ran-kings”. The organisers did an out-standing job, the beautifulMargaret Island, the magnificentfacilities, the enthusiastic fansand even the nice weather pre-sented the participants with anevent to be remembered and withsuch setting an extremely highstandard for future hosts.

Half way to the OlympicGames in London the champions-hips generated world wide attenti-on. We welcomed guests fromother continents who all came to

see where European Aquatics stand – and I think they were con-vinced that our champions are still among the leading figures of therespective disciplines.

Another record is expected in the audience and market sharefigures: hundreds of millions were reached thanks to the extensivemedia coverage – the widest we ever had in the history of theEuropean Championships. Besides the record number of journa-lists, radio commentators and photographers attending the event,people in more than 40 countries could follow the competitions liveon TV and even more could enjoy daily summaries on other conti-nents too. Our host broadcaster, Hungarian Television (MTV) pro-duced one of the best coverage we’ve ever seen: the images in HDquality are major tools to make aquatics even more popular throug-hout the world. We all know that in the 21st Century an event likethis is a product which has to be sold in a very demanding andcompetitive market but based on the outstanding performances ofour athletes, the perfect conditions ensured by the organisers andthe high standard coverage provided by MTV we offer our productwith full confidence and all numbers and data show that it is extre-mely popular among the “clients”.

On the other hand we should also see a championship as anevent which leaves a strong legacy. Yes, today the profit is alsoimportant and with hard work a positive balance can be reachedas the sponsors, the media and the fans all love aquatics. But thelegacy does not exist only in the books. The memories of aEuropean Championships will last for a long, long time: thousandsof young children might turn to their parents one morning and say“I want to become a swimmer!” This is just as important, if notmore. I’m sure, Hungary will also enjoy the benefits of this event inthe near future, but the biggest profit will appear on the long term.

This is why I encourage all our member federations to host thevarious LEN Events: you will become more experienced and stron-ger – records show this, at last.

NORY KRUCHTENLEN President

Forthe Record

EDITORIAL

Russian razzle-dazzle 40

WomenÊs events

Common wealth for GB 46

While Britta was away... 48“It was crazy. I thought ‘wow’, I didn’texpect to be that quick...“ (FrancescaHalsall) – “Nevertheless, I am sure thatstarting from next season records willstart to fall again.” (Federica Pellegrini)

The one Lotte 52“The gold is good to have but the time iswhat gives me the confidence to knowwe’re doing the right things.“ (RebeccaAdlington) – “The special thing is thatmy blood can carry an extremely highlevel of oxygen.” (Lotte Friis)

British empire 56”We have a great rivalry and I’ve wat-ched Gemma achieve so much but itwas my turn tonight.“ (ElizabethSimmonds)

On a different level 60”The difference is that this year I’vesuffered from a shoulder injury.” (YuliaEmifova)

Swedish High-Flyers 64“It’s going so well for me, so whyshould I retire?” (Therese Alshammar)– “It depends what’s feeling best. If thebutterfly doesn’t feel very good I canswim freestyle.“ (Sarah Sjoestroem)

Cheers, leaders 68“To do it against the world champion inher home pool is the stuff of dreams.”(Hannah Miley) – “This gold medalwas also important because I provedthat I’m not a shiny suit-swimmer.“(Katinka Hosszu)

Hosts in seventh heaven 72

Diving

German Harvest In 76“Everything went quite mechanical,coming home with a medal every day.“(Patrick Hausding) – “If you havesunshine or at least normal daylightthe colour of the water is less dark“(Ilya Kvasha)

“From my mother I inherited the coura-ge, from my father the strength in mylegs.” (Tania Cagnotto) – “I enjoy life,practise other sports, such as tennis orskiing and am a family-oriented per-son.“ (Christin Steuer)

Synchro

The Russians, of course 86“We cry, we say ‘that’s impossible‘, westart to try the new elements and all ofa sudden we realise that the programfits.“ (Natalia Ishchenko)

Open Water

From the swimming pool... 92“You don’t just need physical fitness,but also a lot of experience.“ (ThomasLurz) – I’ve done an awful lot of hardtraining, and eat properly and swimbetween 60 and 110 kilometres aweek.“ (Linsy Heister)

LEN

From the Headquarters 100

LEN MagazineV/3 issuePublished by: Ligue Européenne de Natation (LEN)

Editorial Board:The LEN BureauKRUCHTEN Nory (President, LUX) ALESHIN Gennady (Vice-President, RUS)DIATHESOPOULOS Dimitris (Vice-President, GRE)GYARFAS Tamas (Vice-President, HUN)LUYCE Francis (Vice-President, FRA)Van HEIJNINGEN Erik (Vice-President, NED)FOLVIK Sven Egil (Secretary, NOR)THIEL Christa (Treasurer, GER)Bureau Members:BARELLI Paolo (ITA), EBEJER Robert (MLT),KONINCKX BATALLER Juan (ESP),KOWALSKI Jerzy (POL), MEYER Erich (SUI),MIKKOLA Kurt (FIN), SPARKES David (GBR),VARVODIC Ivan (CRO), VLASKOV Andriy (UKR) LEN Director: SZAKADATI Laszlo

Editor-in-chief: CSURKA GergelyEditor: LORD CraigDesign: FABIAN IstvanAdvertising sales: LEN Magazine Office,Community, ParisCoordinator: NAGY EvaPhotos: ReutersPrinting: Realszisztema Dabas Printing House Zrt. E-mail: lenmagazine@lenmagazine.comWebsite: www.lenmagazine.comViews expressed in articles are those of the authorsand not necessarily reflect those of the editors,the LEN Bureau or the LEN.

LEN2

MagazineLEN

3Magazine

LEN Official Partners

LEN Official Sponsors/Suppliers

LEN Marketing Agency

LEN Media Partners

LEN Legal Consultant

LEN Anthem

Budapest 2010

Budapest’s happy returns 4Budapest hosted the EuropeanChampionships for the second timewithin a four-year span. Hungarianswimming reaped some fine rewards,just see the medals tables, writes LENVice-President and head of theBudapest OC, Tamas Gyarfas.

Swimming

Back to swimming 10The talk was of athletes, athleticism,technique, torsos and tales fit to feedthe lore of great sport – Craig Lord’soverview.

MenÊs events

Gaul has never had it so good 16

French in the fast lane 18“I reacted well. I start well, I am calmer,I am in my element.“ (Alain Bernard) –“The public pressure is a new situationfor me but I think I can handle it.” (PaulBiedermann)

Allez les Bleus! 22“I knew that I had the potential to achievesomething.“ (Yannick Agnel) – “Andwhen you sweat blood for four years, itfeels even better.” (Sebastian Roault)

Lacourt on Cloud Nine 26“I knew I was talented but a lot ofpeople had to help me to achieve this.”(Camille Lacourt) – “It’s nice to keephold of my record but it’s there to bebroken.” (Liam Tancock)

Golden awakening 30“Only the Olympic title is missing fromthe Grand Slam.“ (Daniel Gyurta) –“There’s a lot to learn and luckily there’slots of time left.” (Alexander Dale Oen)

An exhaustedbut smiling Russian 34“There are many things in my life thatmake me smiling.” (YevgenyKorotyshkin) – “I changed my butterflytechnique, I am trying to swim withlonger and stronger strokes.” (PawelKorzeniowski)

Triple double 38“I’m no longer the 20 year-old LászlóCseh when forced to recover from abrutal training session.“ (Laszlo Cseh)

The first Youth Olympic Games 104Singapore 2010

Europe is the best!

Unfortunately, I was unable to accom-pany the President to the airport in theend, but I still found out that he left withthe same feelings as those he ex -pressed on his arrival. He is widelyknown to be a polite man, like all ourother high-level guests, they don’t liketo complain to the host. Even in the lightof this fact we could still draw the ratherencouraging conclusion that the creamof European swimming was visitingHungary for the fourth time in fiveyears. Between 2005 and 2010 wehave hosted one junior, one short-course and two senior EuropeanChampionships, and are ready to facefurther challenges in the future.

On a separate but important note, itwould be a fine thing if Russia, France,Great Britain or Germany, which all pro-duced outstanding performances at theEuropean Championships in Budapest,were to undertake an organising rolethat matches their achievements in thepool by actually hosting the EuropeanChampionships.

There is no doubt that these majorplayers have played host to a succes-sion of the highest-ranking world-class

competitions, but then Europe is not theworld... As far as the major events forseniors on the Old Continent are con-cerned, among the countries occupyingthe top seven places in the medal table,Sweden has gone the longest timewithout hosting the championships(1977, Jönköping), followed by Italy(1983, Rome, though they have heldEuropean Short Course Champion -ships and European Water Polo andDiving Championships since then),France in 1987, when Strasbourg wasthe host city, Great Britain in 1993,Sheffield, while Germany held theevent in Berlin in 2002.

At the same time it is almost unbe-lievable that from 1926 right through totoday no city in the Soviet Union orRussia has played host to the Euro -pean swimming family – despite beingthe only country to have won goldmedals in all four disciplines at theBudapest event (not for the first time inthe history of the sport).

Of course, this is not meant to be acriticism, nor any kind of reprimand, butrather an incentive, since these Euro -pean Championships also proved – de -spite the absence of world records –that Europe is leading the way.

Comparing the European Champion -ships in Budapest with the AmericanChampionships being held at more orless the same time we have no reasonto be alarmed: there has been nodecline since Europe took 17 of the 40swimming gold medals on offer at lastyear’s World Championships in Rome,though we await news from the PanPacific Championships in Irvine, Cali -fornia, where the rest of the world wasdue to gather in late August.

All in all, we can’t really take pride inthe fact that the representatives of the30th hosts were unable to hand overthe LEN flag to the 31st city in the clos-ing moments of the European Cham -pionships in Budapest, because al -though encouraging discussions are inprogress, no definitive decision has yetbeen taken on who will be the next host.No doubt the global economic crisishas affected everyone and there areplenty of reasons for passivity, but weall remain interested in the solution.

We are able to confirm, through ourown examples, that holding the

LEN5

Magazine

Budapest’s happyreturns Based on first impressions,LEN President Nory Kruchten declared at theopening press conference for the 30th LEN

European Championships that he was certainthe organisers were well prepared, and he wascompletely satisfied. In reply I told him thatI would be happy if he were to say the samething upon departure.

LEN4

Magazine

Balance of the 30th LEN European Championships

Pink Pantheon: Yuliya Efimova (RUS) cuts a dash ina striking cap as she slipstreams backto real swimming on her way to victoryin the 50 and 100m breaststroke

LEN 7Magazine

LEN6Magazine

By TamásGYÁRFÁSLEN VicePresidentChairmanof the OrganisingCommittee,Budapest 2010

European Championships constitutes abig investment in advancing the sport ofswimming in the host country: we wereonly able to celebrate two Hungarianvictories in Budapest in 2006 (thanks toLászló Cseh), while Hungarian swim-mers came home from Rome with twoWorld Championship titles in 2009(Dániel Gyurta and Katinka Hosszú),and, with six gold medals in 2010, con-

firmed that it had been well worth hold-ing the European Junior Champion -ships in 2005, where youngsters suchas Katinka Hosszú, Dávid and EvelynVerrasztó, Zsuzsanna Jakabos andGergő Kis made their debuts, with greatsuccess.

Holding the European Champion -ships – and this relates to every country– does not just enable the athletes toreach for the skies, but also captivatesthe home crowd, as the 30th Euro -peans, just like the one in 2006, were

almost exclusively played out to fullhouses.

However, one big difference fromlast time was the weather: it didn’t rain(beyond a few refreshing drops) thistime. Right at the start LEN GeneralSecretary Sven Folvik asked me to stayin daily contact with St. Peter, who – loand behold – proved merciful.

However, you can’t keep takingadvantage of heavenly gifts: Budapest,and obviously many other swimmingcapitals, could only rest assured andhappy if they had a world-class indoorswimming complex. There is no denyingthat the Hungarian Swimming Fede ra tionis ready to host the World Champion -ships in 2015, but makes no secret of thefact that it would bid in order to encour-age the Government to build the longdesired and deserved pool.

One of the trump cards in this argu-ment is that, in addition to the resultsachieved in the four disciplines, Hun -gary could also rightly hope for water

polo success at the European Cham -pionships, since the men’s team – ledby Dénes Kemény – has won three suc-cessive Olympics, while the women’steam, under the leadership of TamásFaragó, claimed the world title inMontreal.

In other words, winning a bid to hosta competition is not just a two-weekexperience, but may also bring aboutessential long-term conditions for LEN’s51 member countries.

Happily we have already managedto persuade the large LEN family to joinin our tipping game. In what has nowbecome a tradition before major events,

we ask the federations’ administrators,outstanding specialists and journalistsreporting on the sport to predict thewinners of the different competitions.We summarised the expected results inthe 2010/2 edition of LEN Magazine.

In accordance with our expecta-tions, Russia finished at thetop of the medal table, and theduo of Gennady Aleshin andVladimir Salnikov combinedmagnificently – with 13 goldmedals instead of the antici-pated 14: the tipsters couldn’tdo anything about theirwomen’s medley relay team,having finished first, subse-quently being disqualified for apoor changeover... Everyoneex pect ed Germany to finishsecond, without realising forexample that they would haveto manage without BrittaSteffen this time, who wasstruggling with illness, andthere was no way they couldhave anticipated the youngFrenchman Yannick Agnelbeating Paul Biedermann onthe first day of the swimmingevents – which was also theprelude to a French victoryparade, as reflected in the“real” medal table. In otherwords, people sitting in theVIP box were able to hear thenational anthem, La Mar -seillaise, performed on severaloccasions by the understand-ably happy FFN PresidentFrancis Luyce.

The British are coming upfast as well, and while chiefexecutive David Sparkes waslooking at the island pool, hehad in mind visions of whatthe London 2012 Olympicspool will look like. Perhaps thefinest compliment from all the

outstanding British athletes came fromHannah Miley, who – immediately afterbeating World Champion KatinkaHosszú in the 400 medley – said shehoped to compete in a similar atmos-phere at the London Olympics.

All medalsPay☺ff

1. RUS 13 7 8 28

2. GER 8 9 3 20

3. FRA 8 8 7 23

4. GBR 6 6 7 19

5. ITA 6 5 6 17

6. HUN 6 4 4 14

7. SWE 3 4 4 11

8. UKR 3 2 4 9

9. DEN 2 2 2 6

10. ESP 1 4 4 9

11. NED 1 2 4 7

12. NOR 1 2 0 3

13. GRE 1 1 3 5

14. BLR 1 1 2 4

15. POL 1 0 1 2

16. AUT 0 2 0 2

17. FAR 0 1 0 1

IRL 0 1 0 1

ROU 0 1 0 1

20. ISR 0 0 2 2

* two silver medals in 100 breast women for Rikke MoellerPedersen (DEN) and Jennie Johansson (SWE), tied in1:07.36

* two bronze medals in 5km men open water for SpyridonGianniotis (GRE) and Simone Ruffini (ITA), tied in 59:15.9

RUS 14 11 7

GER 14 8 5

ITA 10 3 15

HUN 7 2 3

GBR 4 8 9

FRA 3 8 2

SRB 3 0 0

SWE 2 5 2

UKR 2 3 3

DEN 1 3 1

NED 1 1 4

ESP 0 5 4

NOR 0 2 1

POL 0 1 1

GRE 0 1 0

BEL 0 0 1

CRO 0 0 1

SLO 0 0 1From LEN Magazine 2010/2,published in June.

All medalsPredicti☺n

Titans of Gaul:Alain Bernard retained his100m freestyle crown and

cheered teammates to fourother freestyle titles

Pho

to: R

EU

TE

RS

LEN 9Magazine

LEN8Magazine

GER 8 4 1

HUN 7 2 3

RUS 6 6 4

ITA 6 2 7

FRA 3 8 2

GBR 3 6 7

SRB 3 0 0

SWE 2 3 2

DEN 1 3 1

NED 1 1 4

NOR 0 2 1

ESP 0 1 4

POL 0 1 1

UKR 0 1 1

CRO 0 0 1

SLO 0 0 1

SwimmingPredicti☺n

1. FRA 8 7 6 21

2. RUS 7 4 1 12

3. GBR 6 6 6 18

4. HUN 6 4 3 13

5. SWE 3 3 4 10

6. GER 2 5 2 9

7. DEN 2 2 2 6

8. ITA 2 0 4 6

9. NOR 1 2 0 3

10. BLR 1 1 0 2

11. ESP 1 0 3 4

12. POL 1 0 1 2

13. NED 0 2 4 6

14. AUT 0 2 0 2

15. FAR 0 1 0 1

IRL 0 1 0 1

ROU 0 1 0 1

18. ISR 0 0 2 2

19. GRE 0 0 1 1

SwimmingPay☺ff

British Bounty:Jemma Lowe was alongside FranHalsall and Elizabeth Simmonds whenthe Smart Track squad was chosen forlong-term development in their earlyteens in 2004; in 2010 that programmecontributed to the Brits winning themeet among women

Photo: REUTERS

LEN 11Magazine

LEN10Magazine

Backto swimming

The Hungarian capital has nowhosted the EuropeanChampionships four times sinceit got the show underway witha men’s only event in 1926(ladies gracing the water thefollowing year). None arearound to truly say whichBudapest was best but after12 days of action on MargaretIsland and out at Lake Balatonwhat we can declare with handon heart is that the saviourswho answered LEN’s S.O.Sin a time of need and financialconstraint are owed a debt ofthanks by the Old Continent.

Here was a championship that did nothave the kind of big budget now associ-ated with world championships. Yet the30th championship in history, with athle-tes from 43 nations competing for glory,suffered not a jot. Indeed, with a nod toseven days of fabulous racing in thepool alone, LEN’s showcase was thefirst celebration in the world of the returnof swimming beyond the shadow of suitsnow banned. The talk was of athletes,

athleticism, technique, torsos and talesfit to feed the lore of great sport.

Taking all sports into account –swimming, diving, synchro and openwater, Russia took the crown, on 13gold, 7 silver and 8 bronze medals,while France, for the first time in history,was king (its eight gold medals all wonby men) of the race pool, Germanyruled the boards and Italy the lake.

In swimming, the return to textilesuits and fair play on January 1 this yeardictated that there would be no repeatof the 6 world and 18 European recordsfrom Eindhoven 2008 – even before theracing began. Indeed, no global stan-dards were felled but Camille Lacourtcame closest: 24.07sec in the 50mbackstroke left him 0.03sec shy, bywhich time he had already pulledsomething special out of the bag forGaul and Europe when he took down ashiny continental standard in 52.11secover 100m backstroke to send shockwaves around the world of swimming.

The Marseille Missile’s blast wasone of 31 championship records, 16 setby men, while Europeans ended theirbig event with 16 places at the top of theworld rankings across all 34 solo events.Gaul’s gladiators gate-crashed their wayto 8 titles for the men’s crown, whileBritain’s belles kept rivals at bay sixtimes for the women’s crown. France,with 21 medals, won the team trophy forthe first time a league ahead of any

result it has ever achieved before.Russia, with seven titles, was runner-up,while Britain, in third and with 18 medalsoverall, celebrated its best result ever.

Lacourt was the most successfulmale swimmer, with three gold medals(50m and 100m backstroke, 4x100mmedley relay), a European mark and twochampionship records to his name.Topping the women was HungarianKatinka Hosszu for the hosts, her threegold medals (200m butterfly, 200m indivi-dual medley, 4x200m freestyle relay) joi-ned by a silver medal in the 400m med-ley behind a historic first medley victoryfor Britain, courtesy of Hannah Miley.

If Britain’s Francesca Halsall beca-me the most successful British swim-mer in the history of the championships(with two golds among five medals),then Sweden’s Therese Alshammar’s 2gold, a silver and 2 bronzes took herinternational treasury of to 67 medals(14 golds among them), including

relays, at Olympic Games, World andEuropean Championships. And the win-ner of two silver medals at the 2000Olympic Games is not done yet: 33 inthe month of the Budapest battle, she isnow aiming for a fifth Olympic campa-ign, in London 2012.

Europe closed its summer 2010account just before the rest of the worldtook to its blocks at the Pan PacificChampionships in California, thoughBritain, which raced either unrested oronly partially rested in Budapest, retur-ned home to prepare for its “priority”event of the year, the CommonwealthGames in October. The Asian Gameswill conclude the big long-course eventsof 2010.

In diving, Germany ruled the boardswith eight medals, among them fivegold: an outstanding achievement a yearafter the drought of Rome, when Ge r -many failed to visit the podium. As wasthe case in the pool, when the medley

Home crowd support was spectacularas the sport got back to celebrating itsathletes and the element they excel in

Pho

to: R

EU

TE

RS

LEN 13Magazine

LEN12Magazine

relays saw Russian women grant Britaingold when they were disqualified for afaulty takeover before the men of Gaulkeep Russia at bay, the climax of thediving decided the team trophy.

In the very last competition, themen’s 10m platform, from which defen-ding champion Thomas Daley hadwithdrawn after suffering a tricep injury,Germany edged a point ahead ofRussia when Sascha Klein and PatrickHausding took gold and silver. For

Hausding that also brough the title ofbest male diver of the championshipsand the first ever to achieve an incre-dible feat: he won a medal in all fiveevents, two gold topping three silvers.Previous best was seen in Helsinki2000, when Russian living legend andpresident of his national diving federati-on, Dmitry “The Man” Sautin, took fourmedals, three gold and a silver.

Worth noting that, as is the case inthe race pool, the divers of today have alot more to aim at than those of yestery-ear in keeping with a growing competiti-on schedule. Diving events providedone of the biggest controversies of thechampionships as athletes and coa-ches complained of the poor quality ofthe lighting for evening events.

In synchronised swimming, Russia,the sport’s dominant force not only herein Europe but across the world, sank allbefore her. With Spain’s GemmaMengual, the star of Eindhoven 2008

after a four-gold success, RussianNatalia Ischenko worked hard but wasuntroubled by rivals on her way to mat-ching the achievement of title-winningperformances in solo, duet, team, andfree combination. If she was consisten-cy personified, then so too was theresult in her wake: four silvers for Spain,four bronzes for Ukraine, the mostimproved nation in the synchro pool inBudapest. With those four crowns,Ischenko won more gold than any otherathlete at the championships across allfour disciplines.

The championships began in a worldbeyond Budapest, out at Lake Balaton,where Italy extended its rule of thewaves in Europe. The Azzuri took homeno fewer than eight medals, among themtwo titles, to Luca Ferretti in the 5km formen and Valerio Cleri in the 25km formen, their treasury helping to deliver theTeam Trophy by a wide margin.

If Italy was the team of the lake, theswimmer who caught the eye wasOlympic bronze medallist Thomas Lurz(GER), who in the marathon event clai-med gold to extend the most phenome-nal of open water success stories, hispersonal trophy cupboard now stackedwith more international medals thananyone has ever won beyond the racepool. There were no double gold win-

ners in open water this time round, withGreece claiming the mixed team prizeover Italy (as a time trials over 5km),while among women the result that no-one expected was the victory over25km of Ukraine’s Olga Beresnyeva inher debut race over the distance.

As Budapest prepared to wavegoodbye for a fourth time, LEN was una-ble for the first time in many a long year,to celebrate the handing over of the flagto the next host. The 2012 event and thetiming of that in Olympic year are yet tobe decided, potential hosts thin on theground as cities suffer cuts to budgets,both self-imposed and mandated bynational Governments in the wake ofthe global financial crisis. Provisionaldates of May 16 to 27 (around the timethat LEN will hold its 2012 Congress inTroia, near Lisbon, Portugal) have beenset in a year that see London host the

Olympic Games in July, while provisio-nal dates for the 2014 championshipshave been set at August 6 to 17.

The LEN Bureau was, however,able to reveal that the 2011 EuropeanOpen Water Swimming Championshipshas been awarded to the IsraelSwimming Association and the City ofEilat on the Red Sea. Make a date withyour diary: September 5th to 11th. Thatevent will also represent the firstEuropean Championships in OpenWater Swimming since the LEN Bureauannounced independent continentalchampionships were to be held in oddyears for open water swimmers. Diversalready have their own event.

Potential hosts for 2012 and 2014 willdoubtless wish to know “what’s in it forus”. Budapest provides the answer tosome extent. The bi-annual summershowcase for aquatic sports was notmerely a success because great athle-tes, their coaches by their sides, steppedup and gave it their best but becauseeveryone did, from those in the limelight

to the unsung heroes who work in theshadows to make sure that informationflows and the stage is polished and theengine well-oiled. The helpfulness and fri-endliness of volunteers on Margaretisland was exceptional, the value of theircontribution impossible to overstate.

But the bottom line of Budapest’ssuccess is as stark as the black line thatswimmer’s follow year in and year out inpursuit of excellence.

Budapest 2010 proved what aquaticsports have known since Budapest1926: you don’t need the trappings ofwealth to put on a spectacle that willhave them on their feet and cheering formore. The athletes will do that for you.

By Craig LORDThe Times,Great Britain

LEN 15Magazine

LEN14Magazine

1. FRA 8 4 5 17

2. RUS 4 4 1 9

3. HUN 3 1 1 5

4. GER 1 3 0 4

5. ITA 1 0 3 4

6. POL 1 0 1 2

7. ESP 1 0 0 1

8. AUT 0 2 0 2

9. NED 0 1 3 4

10. GBR 0 1 2 3

11. SWE 0 1 1 2

12. FAR 0 1 0 1

ROU 0 1 0 1

14. ISR 0 0 2 2

15. GRE 0 0 1 1

Medalsmen

Pay☺ff

GER 5 2 1

HUN 4 1 2

RUS 3 4 3

FRA 3 3 2

ITA 2 2 5

SRB 2 0 0

GBR 1 2 1

ESP 0 1 2

POL 0 1 1

UKR 0 1 1

DEN 0 1 0

NOR 0 1 0

SWE 0 1 0

CRO 0 0 1

SLO 0 0 1

Medalsmen

Predicti☺nSWIMMINGMEN

Pho

to: R

EU

TE

RS

/ W

OLF

GA

NG

RAT

TAY

Good days, sunshine, without the shinysuits: Samuel Pizzetti of Italy in actionduring the European Championships

LEN16Magazine

Gaul hasnever had it

so goodNo matter which way youturned at the Alfred Hajos poolon Margaret Island, there wasa Frenchman in a rush: 20finals, 15 of them featuringFrance on the podium, eight ofthe golds for the best team intown, with Camille Lacourtcream of the crop through abackstroke breakthrough thattranscended suits and onlyPaul Biedermann (GER) ableto break a stranglehold onfreestyle events dominated bythe colour blue.

With 16 championship records amongmen on the scoreboard, France hadreason to be the most cheerful, nine ofthe new standards coming its way asGaul celebrated two prizes that hadnever come its way before: best maleteam and best overall team trophy atthe European showcase. On the transi-tion to textile-only suits, the change onthe clock was unavoidably obvious: thenew meet standards indicate that thecontinental is gaining in speed, whilejust one European record over sevendays of racing, to Lacourt on 52.11secin the 100m backstroke, tells the tale ofthe performance-enhancement in suitsnow banned. Seven of the 20 men’s titleon offer were defended successfully,nine went to new holders, while fourwere not defended at all.

There was no escaping the successstory of the championships. The Frenchgold rush came to a thumping conclu-sion on the final Sunday of racing whenFrederick Bousquet in the 50m freestyleand the men’s 4x100 medley relay inwhich the sprinter swam the ‘fly legsecure the LEN Trophy for France on

points and placed it one gold medalclear of Russia. In all, the French won 8gold, 7 silver and 6 bronze, 17 of those21 prizes won by the men.

The front page headline in L’Equipesummed up the final relay and the over-all (mainly male) squad result with ascream: “The Golden team”. Le Coq ofthe walk was Camille Lacourt, coachedby former French international Romain

Barnier at Marseilles, a club thataccounted for 11 of France’s 21 me -dals. The backstroke ace had been inthe picture for a while but not the mainfocus of world attention. In times of24.07 and that lone European standardof 52.11 over 50m and 100m respec-tively, the 25-year-old was a leagueahead of the rest of the continent in thewater, on the clock and in points.

If Lacourt doubled on backstroke,just one gold on freestyle dominatedthe swim headlines in France andaround the world like no other in theweek of Budapest. At 18, Yannick Agnelwas still dripping in the gold of his juniortitles when he rose to his blocks for bat-tle against world champion and recordholder Paul Biedermann (GER) in the400m freestyle. The courage of youthpaid off, Agnel holding off Biedermannfor gold in 3:46.17 and promptingL’Equipe to devote its entire front pageto “Agnel – Superstar!”

Courtesy of a tough selection policyaimed at instilling in France’s futuretroops easy speed through qualificationrounds in order to ensure passage tofinals in a fashion that conserves ener-

gy for the bigger swim, Agnel was notselected for the 200m, and Biedermannstepped up to retain the four-lap crownin style on 1:46.06. Fans were not, as itturned out, denied a clash of 200mtitans: in the 4x200m freestyle relay,France, Germany and Russia fieldedtheir fastest first and it was Biedermannwho handed over first, on 1:45.47,Agnel on 1:45.83, Nikita Lobintsev on1:45.93 (a start that led to a 7:06.71champion-record victory for Russia), allthree men inside the German’s title-winning time.

At the deep end of distance,Sebastien Rouault did the double: hebecame the first Frenchman in 76 yearsto win the 1,500m crown, and did so in14:55.17, the fastest in the world in2010 at that point (though RyanCochrane, of Canada, wasted no timein topping him, with a 14:49.47 victoryat Pan Pacific Championships inCalifornia a week later); then headded the 800m title in a champi-onship record of 7:48.28. Herewas a prime example of an ath-lete for whom shiny suits were anightmare. The FINA decision toban bodysuits and non-textilewas critical. “I asked myself thequestion whether it was worthcontinuing at all. The bodysuitsdid not give me an advantagedue to my build. I was consider-ing stopping … If they had beenkept, if the suits had remained, Iwould probably have quit...,” saidRouault. Two of those who were win-ners in a time of polyurethane, FredBousquet and Alain Bernard steppedup to be winners again in jammers.Bousquet took the 50m freestyle in thefastest ever title win seen in a textilesuit, 21.49, while Bernard retained the100m crown by just 0.3sec, in 48.49,ahead of Evgeny Lagunov and Frenchteammate William Meynard, just0.07sec behind the champion.

It was Lagunov who led the Russian4x100m freestyle relay to victory overFrance (and Bernard) on the first day ofthe championships, Daniil Izotov pass-ing Bernard on the way home to claimthe crown in the face of a paper exer-cise that suggested the French couldnot lose. The result contributed toBernard being replaced by Fabien Gilotin the medley relay won by France overRussia on the last day of the champi-onships.

Russia enjoyed two other goldensuccesses, both Stanislav Donets(RUS), in the 200m backstroke, andEvgeny Korotyshkin (RUS), in the 100mbutterfly, retaining their 2008 crowns.

Alex Dale Oen (NOR) also repeated hissuccess of Eindhoven, and did so in achampionship record of 59.20 in the100m breaststroke to take the helm ofthe 2010 world rankings.

The most popular title defenses ofthe week, however, as far as the partisancrowd was concerned, were the medleyvictories of a superb technician calledLaszlo Cseh. In a tight battle with MarkusRogan (AUT) until the last turn, Csehclaimed the 200m crown in a champi-

onship record of 1:57.73 and on the lastday drew cheers fit to drown out the rum-ble of distant thunder when he claimedthe 400m medley title for a fourth time tokeep alive a fine Hungarian tradition andmatch the title tally of legendary compa-triot Tamas Darnyi.

Cseh welcomed his latest success intypically modest fashion. The crowd didnot, their frenzy and Darnyi presentinggold to Cseh a fitting finish to a finechampionship at the complex namedafter the 1988-92 double Olympic cham -pion’s coach, Tamas Szechy – and anhistoric aquatic outing for France, ofwhich much will be expected when theclock ticks round to Shanghai 2011world championships in China next year.

By Craig LORD

Another gold for France: Alain Bernard

Aiming to nail it:Aurore Mongel focuseson the fingertip battleahead

Pho

to: P

ET

ER

AN

DR

EW

S

LEN18Magazine

MEN FREESTYLE50

m10

0m

20

0m

Frederick Bousquet out-muscled all-comers in the 50m lung-buster, ham-mering home French dominion in men’sfreestyle at these European champions-hips. Bousquet, the oldest man in thefield at 29, hurtled down the AlfredHajos pool in 21.49, hitting the wall two-tenths of a second ahead of seasonedSwede Stefan Nystrand, the 2007 worldbronze medallist, who clocked 21.69.Bousquet’s French teammate FabienGilot took bronze, a fraction behind in21.76. Bousquet, the 2009 world silvermedallist behind Olympic championCielo Cesar (BRA), had gained silver inthe 50 butterfly and – with Gilot – was to

finish the evening with another gold inthe medley relay. France are so packedwith sprinting talent that defendingchampion Alain Bernard and AmauryLeveaux failed to get through the heatsdespite clocking the 4th and 5th fastestoverall times, with only two swimmersfrom a single nation allowed to gothrough to the semi-finals. Bousquetwon by a clear margin, though the mostdecisive victories in history were thoseof Alex Popov in 2000 and Bernard in2008.

Olympic champion Alain Bernard retainedhis European title by a whisker to mainta-in a tremendous run by the French men’sfreestylers in the Alfred Hajos pool. Withthe 400 (Yannick Agnel), 800 and 1500(Sebastien Rouault) already in Frenchpossession, the onus was on Bernard tomatch them and he set about the taskboldly, pounding out the pace down thefirst length and clinging on for gold in48.49 to deny the fast-closing pack.Russia’s Evgeny Lagunov was just 0.03seconds adrift in 48.52 and FrenchmanWilliam Meynard hurtled through fromseventh at the turn to snatch bronze in48.56. Bernard had demolished all rivals

at the 2008 Championships in Eindhoven,where he twice lowered the 100m worldrecord which had belonged to Olympicchampion Pieter van den Hoogenbandsince 2000. Bernard also mashed the50m world mark. Budapest was a differentstory on the clock, his effort well outsidehis fast-suits European mark of 47.12 butwhat mattered was that the crown stayedon his head. Filippo Magnini (ITA), twiceworld champion and twice Europeanchampion, was fourth.

World champion Paul Biedermannbounced back from defeat in the 400 fre-estyle to retain his 200 freestyle crown,though he felt he should have swum fas-ter. Dominik Meichtry (SUI) took the raceout at a cracking pace but the Germanworld record-holder, sixth after the first50m, swept to the front on the thirdlength and forged clear to win in1:46.06. Nikita Lobintsev, a gold medal-list in Russia’s 4x100 freestyle relay,added a silver to his collection with apowerful finish which lifted him on thelast length from fourth to second in1:46.51, with Sebastiaan Verschuren(NED) capturing bronze in 1:46.91. “I

tried to begin faster, the time wasn’tgood, but the title is what counts,”Biedermann, beaten into second placein Monday’s 400 freestyle by 18-year-oldYannick Agnel (FRA), said. “I was fasterat the German national championshipsin Berlin (but) I think I managed the pub-lic pressure well.” Biedermann’s winningtime was more than four seconds outsi-de the 3:42.00 world mark he set in asuper-fast non-textile suit at last year’sWorld Championships. Daniil Izotov,who outsprinted French Olympic cham-pion Alain Bernard to bring home goldfor Russia in Monday’s freestyle relay,had to settle for fourth place in 1:47.14.

The winners

EXPECTATIONS PAYOFF1. Bousquet (FRA) � 1.2. Gilot (FRA) � 3.

or Bernard (FRA) � 4. (HTS)

1. BOUSQUETFrederickFRA21.49

2. NYSTRAND StefanSWE21.69

3. GILOT FabienFRA21.76

EXPECTATIONS PAYOFF1. Bernard (FRA) � 1.2. Nystrand (SWE) � 7.3. Magnini (ITA) � 4.

1. BERNARD AlainFRA48.49

2. LAGUNOV EvgenyRUS48.52

3. MEYNARD WilliamFRA48.56

EXPECTATIONS PAYOFF1. Biedermann (GER) � 1.2. Izotov (RUS) � 4.3. Agnel (FRA) DNS

1. BIEDERMANN PaulGER1:46.06

2. LOBINTSEV NikitaRUS1:46.51

3. VERSCHURENSebastiaanNED1:46.91

WR: 20.91 (Cesar Cielo Filho)ER: 20.94 (Fred Bousquet)

WR: 46.91 (Cesar Cielo Filho)ER: 47.12 (Alain Bernard)

WR: 1:42.00 (Paul Biedermann)ER: 1:42.00 (Paul Biedermann)

French in the fast lane

War Paint:Frederick Bousquet (FRA)

limbers up in readiness to sink hisrivals in the 50m freestyle

Pho

to: L

AS

ZLO

BA

LOG

H

“I came to theseEuropean Championships

to win the 50 freestyleand I did it,” said

Bousquet, who in thesemi-finals clocked 21.36,

a championship recordand the fastest time everby a swimmer wearing a

textile suit.

“To win the raceyou also need a certain

amount of luck.” – Bernard

Thirty-one-year-oldItalian veteran Emiliano

Brembilla, four-timeEuropean 400 freestyle

champion, returnedfor another European

campaign butfinished 20th overall

in the heats,failing to make

the semi-finals.

LEN 21Magazine

LEN20Magazine

On the winning side

He’s got a much more relaxed wayabout him. A reasonable heat, a moreconvincing semi-final (48.71, 2ndbehind the Russian Lagunov‘s 48.38)that allowed him to recover his strengthagain – all part of the new feel toOlympic champion Alain Bernard. Assuch, the doubts and fears born in arelay that resulted in failure (loss to theRussians in the 4x100m) vanished onthe way to the defense of his solo 100mfreestyle crown. Alain found his smileagain - as well as the ambition to strikebig in the blue ribband final and tastesweet success for the first time since hisOlympic title in 2008. Coach DenisAuguin was optimistic. “If he swims100m and not 60m like in the semi-finals, Alain will be hard to beat,“ conc-luded the coach. “There are only two orthree details to work out, namely thelast 15. But, in the end, he will just try toenjoy himself, that’s essential. Duringthe warm-up, he did some awesomestuff with ease. We are getting there.“ Just 24 hours later, Bernard was cham-pion of Europe once more in a very tightfinal. What followed was many happywords of a winner. More insightful is the

mind of the man as he approached thefinal, as our interview immediatrely afterthe semi-final reveals:

How do you feel after this semi-final?

I reacted well. I start well, I am calmer,I am in my element. My first 50m weregood, I relaunched in the third 25m, I justhave some difficulty at the finish. My per-formance suits me well, it is going well,I can feel that, I have strength, my stroke ismore efficient. And much more pleasant... Igot into the final 2nd fastest, I have a goodplace – and that’s the most important.

Are you more confident now?Yes. I needed some adjustments andreference points. Unfortunately, therelay set me right [gave me a realitycheck], if I can say that.

Did you feel more confident beforethe semi-final?

Yes and more free, too. This morning inthe heats I forced it a bit. I wasn’t rela-xed enough. There was a bit too muchtime between the relay and this morning(a day before). It wasn’t that easy. It was

important to attack these 100m in theheats. I am not finished, far from it.

Have you forgotten the relay?Yes, I have completely put it behind meeven if I don’t ever forget anything. It isimportant to go forward. Now there is afinal ahead of me that could go eitherway.

The Russian Lagunov and Grechinseem to be strong. Are you afraidof them?

Fear not! They are quite consistent, andthey may look impressive, but they arenot invincible. Nobody is. Neither me,nor them. It will be a fight.

William Meynard (48.82) is also in thefinal. Does the presence of anoth-er Frenchman change anything?

No. Except that if we can have a doublevictory, we won’t lose anything.

Are you the favourite again? You arethe title holder...

(interrupting the question) I can win thistitle. But I don’t have to preserve any-thing, neither this title, nor the others.Nobody can take away what I have. Asfor the rest, all is down to what happens[in the final].

Before coming here, you suggesteda sub-48sec swim? Is it possi-ble?

Why not? But in the final, I don’t want tochase a big clock and do things back-wards.

Are you itching to get to the blocks?Even though I would love to relax andsleep well, I am looking forward to thisfinal.

Will it be some form of revenge forthe relay?

Especially a revenge for myself. As forthe rest, we will see afterwards. But I amnot finished, far from it! Don’t you worry!

An interview by Benoit LALLEMANT,published in L‘Equipe

The most troublesome legacy of thenon-textile suits era is expectation. Theclock has no ears to hear, no eyes tosee, no asterisks to mark time warpedby circumstance. No surprise then thatwithin an hour of the 400m freestylefinal for men, the online edition of therespected German quality paper DieWelt was running the headline“Biedermann wins only silver; Gold ForRelay”. Silver out in front of goldbecause it carries the drop of “Only”.

The rub for the German media wasclear: Paul Biedermann, nationalsportsman of the year in 2009 after get-ting well beyond himself on the clockand beyond Michael Phelps in thewater and on the clock and beyond IanThorpe on the clock as he stormed to200m and 400m freestyle worldcrowns, had been beaten by an 18-year-old Frenchman on his senior inter-national debut. The surface view was,as always: victor and vanquished.

In France L’Equipe topped the scaleof hailing the new hero of Gaul with afull-front page picture under a bannerheadline: Agnel SuperStar! The photoof the young Agnel looking heavenwardin thanks to Jesus Christ Superstar orperhaps an aquatic God who may havehelped him keep his fingertips ahead ofBiededermann had an iconic feel aboutit. Gaul had a new aquatic God. Insidethe paper, the main headline on a dou-ble-page spread reads “Tomorrow’sarrived”. It always does.

Biedermann had done his best - hehad never been quicker in a textile suit- but that, because of all that came topass in Rome, appeared to be a palereflection of expectations held in themain by those who want the headlinebut have no time for or interest in theexplanation or analysis. Graceful indefeat, just as he had been in victory,Biedermann said of Agnel: “Hedeserved to win ... he led all the time.The 400m is not my thing this year. ButI’m happy with how I performed andvery glad with the silver. I started outtoo slowly, perhaps, and left my latespurt too late.”

Biedermann acknowledged hischanged status as a result of last sum-mer’s sizzlers but reckoned: “The publicpressure is a new situation for me but Ithink I can handle it.” The mark of agreat athlete, leading coaches say, isan ability to bounce back from disap-pointment or setback. It is one of thegreat strengths of Phelps: to devour thedownside and turn it to fuel for the nextupturn. In Budapest, Biedermannshowed that he has something of thattrait too. After silver in the 400m, heretained his European crown over200m in commanding fashion with a1:46.06 victory. Agnel was missing fromthe race, courtesy of a rigid Frenchselection policy, though the crowd onMargaret Island would yet get to see aBiedermann Vs Agnel clash over 200m.

After his solo win, Biedermann said:“It was a tough race ... nothing more thangold counted. The experience was veryimportant and I hope I’ve learned fromthat. In Rome I knew in the last 25m thatI would win. here I didn’t know and I wasbreathing on the wrong side.” His effortwas 4sec down on Rome 2009 worldpace, just as his 400m had been 7sec

down on the speed of Rome but there isclearly more to come from the German.

He showed as much when racingAgnel in the 4x200m in which the aquat-ic gods granted us the spectacle of arace with Agnel and Nikita Lobintsev(RUS) off the gun. It was the worldchampion who proved the stronger man,on 1:45.47 to a French record of 1:45.83for Agnel and 1:45.93 for Lobintsev.Biedermann’s blast was the second-bestever relay lead-off split, behind 1:45.36for Michael Phelps in 2007 (discountingnon-textile suit times).

Biedermann noted a target beyondsilver for his team: “I also achieved myintention to regain the season’s worldbest from Michael Phelps.” The Olympicchampion clocked 1:45.61 at US trialsthe week before Budapest. The relaywent to the Russians in a championshiprecord of 7:06.71, Germany the silver in7:08.13 and France bronze in 7:09.70,all of that comparing well to the 7:09.60at which Italy held the European recordbetween winning the 2006 Europeancrown at Budapest 2006 and at thedawn of polyurethane.

Meanwhile, Budapest has allowedBiedermann, now the boyfriend ofsprint queen Britta Steffen, to move on,a new level set. He will next race at theBerlin and Stockholm world cups inoctober and November before the worldshort-course championships in Dubai.

How a championprepares for victory

The Bouncein Biedermann

Alain Bernard Paul Biedermann

Pho

to: R

EU

TE

RS

/ LA

SZ

LO B

ALO

GH

Pho

to: R

EU

TE

RS

/ WO

LFG

AN

G R

ATTA

Y

LEN22Magazine

MEN FREESTYLE4

00

m8

00

m15

00

m

Yannick Agnel (FRA), 18, fought off thechallenge of world record-holder PaulBiedermann (GER) to clinch the firstswimming gold in the Alfred Hajos poolon Margaret Island and the first majorinternational senior title of his career.Biedermann, back in fourth for the firsthalf of the race, stepped up his attack inthe last 100m and narrowed the gap ina gripping duel down the final length.But he could not catch Agnel, theEuropean junior champion, who heldhis nerve to win in 3:46.17, withBiedermann 0.13 seconds behind in3:46.30. Agnel had seized the lead onthe first length and, although Nikita

Lobintsev (RUS) had edged in front bythe 100m mark, the Frenchmanregained control swiftly. Gergo Kis gavethe Hungarian fans an early opportuni-ty to cheer a home medal winner with astorming last length which took himfrom sixth to bronze in 3:48.14 overLobintsev, the 2008 bronze medalist.“Great! I wanted a perfect race for myfirst final at this level,” Agnel said. “Thecompetition was tough throughout therace. I had only an inkling of an ideathat I could win.” The German paid gen-erous tribute to Agnel. “He was better,”Biedermann said. “I probably increasedthe pace too late.”

Sebastien Rouault (FRA) pulled off agreat distance freestyle double, battlingthrough against German rival ChristianKubusch on the last length to securethe 800 metres title and maintain agreat French run at these champi-onships. Rouault, who had already wonthe 1500 gold, bided his time as 1500silver medallist Pal Joensen of theFaroe Islands and Mads Glaesner(DEN) set the pace through the firstquarter of the race. The Frenchman hadtaken the lead by the 300-metre markbut Kubusch was closing steadily andgrabbed a slender advantage at 500.The Magdeburg-based soldier clung to

his lead and was just ahead at the finalturn but Rouault was accelerating andstormed through on the final length towin in 7:48.28, with Kubusch taking thesilver (7:49.12) and Samuel Pizzetti(ITA), the 1500 bronze medallist, com-ing through strongly in the second halffor another bronze in 7:49.94.Defending champion Gergo Kis (HUN),bronze medallist in the 400 freestyle,finished fourth, a second ahead ofJoensen.

Pal Joensen, 19, claimed a historicsilver medal for the Faroe Islands andcame desperately close to making itgold in pool swimming’s longest race.Sebastien Rouault (FRA) deniedJoensen the 1500 freestyle title whenhe overhauled him in the final stages ofa gruelling battle, edging past his rivalless than three lengths from home afterJoensen had led the way for most of theprevious 1,350m. Rouault, Europeansilver medallist in this same AlfredHajos pool in 2006, swept through towin in 14:55.17. Joensen swung on forthe silver in 14:56.90 to clinch the firstmedal for the Faroe Islands in the 84-

year-old history of the European cham-pionships. Samuel Pizzetti claimedbronze in 14:59.76 ahead of fellowItalian Federico Colbertaldo (15:06.92),with Poland‘s 2007 world championMateusz Sawrymowicz back in the fifthplace. Joensen announced his potentialat the 2008 European Junior Cham -pion ships when he completed a goldenhat-trick in the 400, 800 and 1500mfreestyle. And he gave the experiencedRouault a few anxious moments afterthe 24-year-old Frenchman chose tohold back a bit in the knowledge that hehad a strong finish.

The winners

EXPECTATIONS PAYOFF1. Biedermann (GER) � 2.2. Glaesner (DEN) � 9.3. Sciocchetti (ITA) � 8.

1. AGNEL YannickFRA3:46.17

2. BIEDERMANN PaulGER3:46.30

3. KIS GergoHUN3:48.14

EXPECTATIONS PAYOFF1. Colbertado (ITA) � 6.2. Pizzetti (ITA) � 3.3. Kis (HUN) � 4.

1. ROUAULT SebastienFRA7:48.28 CR

2. KUBUSCH ChristianGER7:49.12

3. PIZZETTI SamuelITA7:49.94

EXPECTATIONS PAYOFF1. Colbertado (ITA) � 4.2. Stanczyk (POL) � 8.3. Pizzetti (ITA) � 3.

1. ROUAULT SebastienFRA14:55.17

2. JOENSEN PalFAR14:56.90

3. PIZZETTI SamuelITA14:59.76

WR: 1:42.00 (Paul Biedermann)ER: 1:42.00 (Paul Biedermaann)

WR: 7:32.12 (Zhang Lin)ER: 7:43.84 (Federico Colbertado)

WR: 14:34.56 (Grant Hackett)ER: 14:43.21 (Yuri Prilukov)

Allez les Bleus!Biedermann

shaved 0.01sec off theworld record of the

great Ian Thorpe at lastyear’s World

Championships inRome when wearing an

X-Glide for a 3:40.07standard, one of 43 in

eight days.

“I think that’s thefirst international medal

in any sport for mycountry, but in swim-

ming that’s a fact,”Joensen said. “I don’tyet know whether I’llstay long term in theFaroes because the

conditions are not verygood. I can only train

on short course.”

“Before this final I hadalready completed 4,600 metres, so Ifelt a bit tired.” said Rouault, who fin-ished fifth in the 400 freestyle as wellas winning the 800 and 1500, makingthat an under-estimate by 800metres in six heats and final races.

“I was totally exhausted at the endbut it’s fantastic that I still clockeda German national record.” –

Kubusch

The eyes have it: Yannick Agnel (FRA), left, andPaul Biedermann (GER) soak in theFrenchman’s 400m freestyle victory

Island Race:Pal Joensen,of the Faroes, claimedan historic silver in the1,500m free final

Pho

to: R

EU

TE

RS

/ L

AS

ZLO

BA

LOG

H

LEN 25Magazine

LEN24Magazine

How did you feel when hearing thefirst “Marseillaise” when standingamong the big names either sideof you?

It was really awesome. I always havethe same feeling on the rostrum. I al -most had tears in my eyes – also whenI touched the wall, saw the time andheard the crowd shouting. I wasextremely happy and relieved at thesame time.

Relieved? You, the outsider?Yes. Because with what I did in Helsinki(junior European champion with 3’46”26,French national record, im proved on inBudapest), I knew that I had the poten-tial to achieve something. That was myonly individual event. It is one burden offmy shoulder; now I can go on holidaylightheartedly and with a smile on myface (after having raced in the 4x200 m)

Is your tactic to begin fast?Yes, to hold out and try to race through-out the competition in the lead from be -ginning to end. I did my race in my ownlittle world without looking at the others.

Is it easy to do?With old goggles and steam, unable tosee anything, yes, it is! Also, I drew onmy experience in Helsinki, and then I justhad to “live” the competition. I took animmense pleasure in swimming those400m races! Especially, the last one. Ihad been looking forward to a tough bat-tle with Biedermann, and it did happen.When I saw him coming back at me, itwas really cool, I was extremely happy.

How did you approach the 4x100mrelay then?

Singing and dancing, that’s how! Therelay is always a kind of party to live asa group. I competed with a smile on myface and with the concentration needed.

On the rostrum, there was a real dis-crepancy between your joy andWilliam Meynard’s happiness andthe despair of Fabien Gilot andAlain Bernard!

“Will” and I, we were all smiles, as itwas quite a big thing: a pleasure.These are our first internationalmedals (among the seniors). For them,it was difficult. They have had quite afew upsets and now the silver leaves abitter taste in their mouth. I understandthem… I felt bad for them. But youhave to stop getting worked up andmaking a big deal of that 4x100! Arelay is, in fact, a celebration, a thingthat you have to do smiling all the time,regardless of the outcome. That is howI saw it.

Is that what you are going to tellthem?

Maybe not. I am ten years younger thanthem. It would not be appropriate.Nonetheless, we will live this silvermedal together. This time the Russianswere better. There are still quite a fewthings to work on. I hope that they willfully recover. With this immense con-centration of sprinters in France, it ispossible to put together a nice relay.

After this day, your presence will beawaited in the pool...

That is not something to give me a com-plex or put me under pressure. Quite thecontrary, it is a pleasure for me!”

An interview by Pascal GLO,published in L’Equipe

At the end of the most impor-tant 15 minutes of his career,Sébastien Rouault finallyclinched the gold medal over1,500m – and he did so in thefastest time in the world to thatpoint in 2010. It was a race inwhich his qualities of fighter andhis tactical intelligence came tothe fore. And to imagine thatthis man of Mulhouse, “made inthe USA” and four years agoa silver medallist, almost quitthe sport in 2009 ...

As Andy Warhol once said: “in the futu-re everyone will be world-famous for fif-teen minutes”. Yesterday in Budapest,24-year-old Sébastien Rouault didn’task for that much: 14:55.17 sufficed. Atthe end of his golden 1,500m, Rouault,coached by Lionel Horter at Mulhouse,was even glad not to have surpassedthe symbolic limit of fifteen minutes. Hehad done it only once before, in this veryplace in 2006, when he won a silvermedal at the Europeans (14:55.73).

“It would have stuck in my throat,had I never swum within that timeagain,” sighed the champion once thepassions aroused by his first internatio-nal title calm down. His emotions arepalpable. The lips of the former studentof Athens, Georgia (USA), are trem-bling. “They speak a lot about sprintersand less about middle-distance swim-mers, so when we can have our littlemoment and show that we exist as well,it’s nice”, observes Horter’s protégé.“And when you sweat blood for fouryears, it feels even better.”

Four years that he modestly qualifi-es as ‘instructive’. Looking back, theswimmer of Saint-Germain, coached inFrance by Jérôme Dimitri, continued todevelop in the United States underHarvey Humphries’s guidance fromDecember 2004 (on his way to a BA inBusiness and Administration). However,in the American system, university com-petitions often preside over all else, so itis the day before the World Champion -ships of Melbourne (24th of the 1500 mheats) that see Rouault leave forAustralia in the aftermath of the NCAAfinals.

At the Beijing Games, without theright suit and, most importantly, out ofshape, he drowns (27th, the last of hisheat on 1500m). “This kind of failuretraumatizes you,” he says. He took afour-month break when the era of thebodysuits began. “I asked myself thequestion whether it was worth continu-ing at all. The bodysuits did not give mean advantage due to my build. I wasconsidering stopping… If they had beenupheld, that’s what I probably wouldhave done…”

In fact, his withdrawal – he swimsonly four times a week – did him good.He took advantage of it in order to “bre-ath and have a normal student’s life, wit-hout pressure”. But a decision had to bemade. “Swimming is not a profession,and I wanted to pursue my studies. ButI didn’t feel like quitting with a failurebehind my back.” A club member ofMulhouse, last year he started “thereconstruction on the ruins” with Horterbefore he left with Philippe Lucas toSaint-Germain in September, mainly tobe closer to his family. It was an episo-de of five months that Rouault strugglesto find the right words for. “I wouldn’t sayit was regrettable… Yet, parting with

Philippe was a relief. Since then, it’sbeen happiness itself. A club with a trueclub life, a calm atmosphere, a coach(Horter) who listens to you and discus-ses things with you.”

And this coach recognized howimportant it was for this “charming andhuman” guy to continue his route bet-ween the United States – where hereturns in September – and France. “Inthe water, he is an American,” explainsthe coach. “A fighter who likes playingwith the other swimmers,” he adds.Those qualities were on display inBudapest. “Over there,” added theswimmer on the eve of adding the 800mcrown to his treasury in Budapest. “workis about surpassing your limits in yourhead. You have to be as strong there asin competition. In France, you don’t haveto surpass yourself so as not to burst. Inthe end, it’s all the same, you have towork hard.” Often 90km a week.Grounding for the battle of Budapest, inspite of “having his heart in his boots”after 5th place in the 400m at the startof the racing week. (5th). The only waywas up, he concluded.

An article by Pascal GLO,published in L’Equipe

Racingin his own little world

Fame insidea 15 min frame

Yannick Agnel Sébastien Rouault

Pho

to: R

EU

TE

RS

/ W

OLF

GA

NG

RAT

TAY

Pho

to: R

EU

TE

RS

/ W

OLF

GA

NG

RAT

TAY

On the winning side

LEN26Magazine

MEN BACKSTROKE50

m10

0m

20

0m

Camille Lacourt (FRA), who broke theEuropean record in winning the 100backstroke, came within an ace of cap-ping that with a world record, missingthe 50 backstroke mark by just 0.03seconds as he sped to his secondEuropean title of the week. Lacourt, fifthin the 2009 World Championships,whisked down the pool in 24.07,0.03sec away from the world mark setin fast-suited days by Liam Tancock(GBR) on his way to gold at the 2009World Championships in Rome. “I mustadmit I was aiming for the world recordbut 24.07 is a very decent time,” Lafoursaid. Tancock, bronze medallist in the

Budapest 100m final, had to settle forsilver at a respectful distance in 24.70.Guy Barnea plucked Israel’s first medalof the championships, moving up fromfourth in 2008 to claim bronze in 25.04.Defending champion Aristeidis Grigori -adis (GRE) failed to make the final,having finished 11th overall in the semi-finals.

It was arguably the performance of thechampionships. Camille Lacourt (FRA)posted the first European record of themeet and the second-fastest time ever,52.11, that marking the first big breakt-hrough in the rankings since high-techsuits were outlawed on January 1, 2010.The rangy 25-year-old scored a runawaywin in a time bettered only by Olympicchampion Aaron Peirsol (USA). Lacourtwon by more than a second, his 52.11inside the 52.27 mark set by HelgeMeeuw (GER) at the 2009 WorldChampionships and falling not far shortof Peirsol’s 51.94 world mark set inIndianapolis at the US Nationals in July

last year. Lacourt had establishedhimself as overwhelming favourite bysetting championship records in both theheats (53.27) and semi-finals (52.58)and he had built up a commanding leadon the first length, which he increasedinexorably on the return. Jeremy Straviusmade it a French one-two, taking the sil-ver in 53.44 and Britain’s Liam Tancock,who thought he had been eliminated inthe semi-finals, claimed a surprise bron-ze in 53.86. Tancock, the world short-course champion, swam only becauseAustrian qualifier Markus Rogan pulledout to concentrate on the 200m medleysemi-finals later in the session.

Russian engineering student StanislavDonets mined gold in a riveting 200backstroke final. Donets dug deep intohis resources of body and mind toextract a performance that defied theformidable charge of burly AustrianMarkus Rogan. There was never muchin it as the lead passed from BenjaminStasiulis (FRA) to Donets, who had theedge on the second and third lengths.But Radolsaw Kawecki (POL), the fas-test final qualifier, was closing fast andformer Olympic and world silver medal-list Rogan, last for the first half of therace, had stirred himself for the attack. Itwas still anyone’s race as Rogan forced

his way ahead of Kawecki, withStasiulis returning to the fray. But thetall Russian, 4th in the 100m, refused tobe beaten: in a blanket finish he rea-ched for gold in 1:57.18. Rogan,European champion in 2004 and 2008,grabbed silver in 1:57.31 to match hissilver in the 200 medley. Stasiulis pluc-ked the bronze in 1:57.37. Kawecki,who would turn 19 two days after thefinal, touched a mere 0.27 behind thewinner but that meant 4th place. “I’mvery tired,” said Donets, after racing allthree backstroke distances. “I’m justpleased that I had enough left to hold onand win the title.”

The winners

EXPECTATIONS PAYOFF1. Tancock (GBR) � 2.2. Lacourt (FRA) � 1.3. Meeuw (GER) DNS

1. LACOURT CamilleFRA24.07 CR

2. TANCOCK LiamGBR24.70

3. BARNEA GuyISR25.04

EXPECTATIONS PAYOFF1. Meeuw (GER) DNS2. Tancock (GBR) � 3.3. Lacourt (FRA) � 1.

1. LACOURT CamilleFRA52.11 ER

2. STRAVIUS JeremyFRA53.44

3. TANCOCK LiamGBR53.86

EXPECTATIONS PAYOFF1. Vyatchanin (RUS) DNS2. Donets (RUS) � 2.3. Wildeboer (ESP) � 9.

1. DONETS StanislavRUS1:57.18

2. ROGAN MarkusAUT1:57.31

3. STASIULISBenjaminFRA1:57.37

WR: 24.04 (Liam Tancock)ER: 24.04 (Liam Tancock)

WR: 51.94 (Aaron Peirsol)ER: 52.27 (Helge Meeuw)

WR: 1:51.92 (Aaron Peirsol)ER: 1:54.75 (Arkady Vyatchanin)

Lacourt on cloud nine

“It’s magic. I don’twant to come downfrom my little cloud.Before coming here

I didn’t even know whatthe European record

was. Then I put it in thecorner of my mind.I wanted to swim a

beautiful race to win,I knew that the time

would follow. After thepreliminaries I thoughtI could win the race buta European record wasnot a goal. What a fast

race,” Lacourt said.On the edge:Markus Rogan (AUT) scraped into the200m final to try to regain the crown buthis prize was a silver lining

A head above the waves:in a blanket finish for the

medals, Stanislav Donets(RUS) grasped gold

in the 200m

Pho

to: R

EU

TE

RS

/ W

OLF

GA

NG

RAT

TAY

Tancock on defeat:“I got another medaland I’m not even fully

prepared for this eventbecause of the

Commonwealth Gamesin October. If someone

told me a couple ofmonths back that I’dpick up a couple of

medals without beingfully ready I’d have jum-ped at it. I can’t wait for

the Commonwealthsnow,” he said. “Camille

Lacourt did a very goodjob but my world recordstill stands. It’s nice tokeep hold of my recordbut it’s there to be bro-ken and Lacourt is pus-

hing the boundaries.When I’m fully ready to

go it gives you someoneto aim at.”

Rogan said: “Therace was so close thatI could well have been

fourth. I’m not at alldisappointed, even

though I didn’t manageto win the title.”

LEN 29Magazine

LEN28Magazine

It has taken a long time but, at 25,Camille Lacourt now finds swimming’sbiggest prizes within his grasp. The long,lean Frenchman, once considered skin-ny by his coach, illuminated the Euro -pean championships when he swam thesecond-fastest 100 metres backstrokeever and obliterated the Europeanrecord. Two days later he nearly pulledoff a world record in the 50 backstroke,missing the 24.04 mark by just 0.03 sec-onds, as he nailed his second Europeangold medal. Few at these championshipshad great record expectations on theirminds following the ban on non-textilefast-suits which led to an enormousrecord splurge in 2008 and 2009.

Lacourt broke through in magnificentstyle, combining elegant style with apowerful turn of speed to hit the wall inthe 100 final in 52.11 seconds, carving0.16 seconds from the European markset by Germany’s Helge Meeuw at lastyear’s World Championships in Romeand leaving only the 51.94 of his hero,American Olympic champion AaronPeirsol, to resist his challenge. Heattacked the record again as lead-offswimmer in the medley relay final on thefinal evening of the championships andwent through the 50 inside Peirsol’sworld record schedule, on 25.24. But hecould not sustain that pace and handedover at 52.46, having made the decisivecontribution to the French team’s victoryand earning himself his third Europeangold medal in three finals.

Lacourt did not even contest the 100backstroke in Rome, where Japan’sJunya Koga and Meeuw pocketed goldand silver. Having missed the 2008Olympics in a year plagued by illness,Lacourt caused few ripples – except inthe eyes of his coach – with fifth place inthe 50 backstroke final, more than half asecond behind British victor LiamTancock. A national title at the 2007French championships had been fol-lowed by slots lower than 20th in thebackstroke events at the Europeanshort-course championships of thatyear. But there were more twists to comein Lacourt’s path to the top and his cur-

rent coach Romain Barnier feels the dif-ferent stages of the swimmer’s journeyplayed a very positive role in this.

Born in Narbonne in southern France,Lacourt’s first coach was RichardMartinez in Font Romeu, a mountainresort in the Pyrenees which, amongother things, served in days gone by as ahigh-altitude training camp for the Frenchnational football team before the WorldCup. From Font Romeu he moved toCanet where his coach was PhilippeLucas, who has guided an array of cham-pions, including former world and Olympicgold medallist Laure Manaudou. Barnierpraised Martinez as an excellent coachwho had instilled Lacourt with a fine tech-nique, and Lucas, who helped his mentaltoughness and gave him the hard trainingyardage. However, Barnier said Lacourtdeveloped a shoulder strain at Canet.

“He did lots of kilometres, ending upnot too well. He had to change clubsagain. His injury came from over-train-ing,” he said. But Barnier, a freestylesprinter who competed at the 2000 and2004 Olympics, prefers to see the posi-tives. “Everywhere he’s been he’s beenable to take the best out of the training,”

he told LEN Magazine after his swim-mer’s record triumph in the 100. “Sowhen he came to us, basically he hadthe talent, the technical work and thehard race (training). The most fun part todo is to put it all together and I thinkthat’s truly what came tonight. It’s notone day, it’s not one year, it’s a whole life.All these choices, basically tonight theystarted to make sense now.”

Lacourt said he had begun to swimwell when he was with Lucas but that hisdecision to join Barnier in Marseille hadbeen the key to his breakthrough. “I’dbeen swimming for a long time but neverfound the link with the coach that I foundwith Romain Barnier,” he said. Lacourtsaid he had lacked maturity but over theyears had learned to adapt and take amore serious approach to training. Evennow, he was here to learn and cope withthe pressure of being the marked man inlane 4 in the race. “I knew I was talentedbut a lot of people had to help me toachieve this,” Lacourt said. He was stilltalking about learning and improvementafter his bravura 50 backstroke display,when he admitted he had had Tancock’sworld mark in his sights. “I’ll discuss theareas where I still can improve with mycoach. There’s for sure a lot to be doneto better my start,” he said. Barnier saidLacourt, a lofty 2m tall and a modest 85

kilos in weight, had been “really skinny”and it had taken time for his body toadjust, which was why he had comethrough so late. The lean physique mayaccount for the fact that, as Barnier said,he swam pretty much the same timeswith or without the fast-suit.

“The talent was there but it took himquite a while to get to that level. He wasn’tready at 18, I hope he is going to be readyat 25,” he said. “In Olympic year he wasgrown up but he got really sick the wholeyear, so he didn’t swim up to his potential.He was just waiting for someone to makehim believe in himself a bit more.”

Lacourt joined him at the start of 2009and this year he posted a personal best of53.29 at the French Nationals in March.Now he is on the brink of breaking the 52-second mark. Barnier has long thoughtthe highest potential was there: “The finalof the World Championships was thedefining moment, when we sat down andI said: ‘You can become the best back-stroker in the world.’ He said ‘Do you trulybelieve that?’ And (I said) ‘What I sawtoday, that told me it is a matter of time.’And I think that moment was one of thedefining moments on the way to today...And we’ll see if we can do better one day.”

By Derek PARR

Liam Tancock (GBR), world championand record holder in the 50m backstrokein Rome last year, made a great start tothe new textile-only suits season in thespring when he sped to the helm of theworld rankings. In Budapest his resultswere always going to be couched in thecolours of his season: Britain duty inBudapest would play second fiddle to fly-ing the flag at the Commonwealth Gamesfor England in Delhi come October, inaccordance with national-team priorities.

As such, the 25-year-old from Essexand coached by Ben Titley atLoughborough University, was delightedwith bronze (100m) and silver (50m)medals in Budapest, saying: “If someonetold me a couple of months back that I’dpick up a couple of medals without beingfully ready, I’d have jumped at it.”

Whatever stage he is at in his prepa-rations, he understood the full-on nature

of the storm ahead of him: CamilleLacourt. If the Frenchman’s 51.22 victo-ry in the 100m was well inside the 52.85at which the world record had stoodbefore the advent of non-textile suits,then his 24.07 win over 50m fell just0.03sec shy of Tancock at best in shinypants last summer.

Far from gulping, Tancock welcomedthe new target, saying after the 50m: “Itwas a very good swim from a very tal-ented swimmer. He’s pushing the bound-aries and its nice to have someone toaim at. His time tonight was pretty spe-cial. I can’t wait for the Commonwealthsnow. It’s nice to keep hold of my recordbut it’s there to be broken.”

He would be trying to do just that inDelhi, where his loyalties will be put totest. From the red corner of England, hewill peer across the pool to the blue cor-ner of Scotland with a tender eye: CaitlinMcClatchey, defending champion over200m and 400m freestyle, will fly theSaltire (the St Andrew’s Cross) as shegoes.

By Craig LORD

A missile made in Marseilles

The newtarget

Camille Lacourt

Liam Tancock

Photo: REUTERS / PETER AND

REWS

Pho

to: R

EU

TE

RS

/ D

AM

IR S

AG

OLJ

On the winning sideLiam Tancock of Britain swims during the100m backstroke heats

Camille Lacourt (bottom) from France startsto win the men's 100 metres backstrokefinal

LEN30Magazine

MEN BREASTSTROKE50

m10

0m

20

0m

Fabio Scozzoli made the 6th session offinals a double-gold day for Italy, win-ning the breaststroke sprint after team-mate Federica Pellegrini had won thewomen’s 200 freestyle. Scozzoli, bronzemedallist in the 100, was fastest off theblocks and prevailed in a final in whichjust 0.61sec separated first from last, amost unprecedented of narrow marginsin a major championship race. Scozzoliwon in 27.38, with Dragos Agache(ROU) claiming silver (27.47) andLennart Stekelenburg (NED), the fas-test qualfier, bronze (27.51). AlexanderDale Oen (NOR) did not get away cle-anly at the start, leaving himself too

much to do to catch the leaders. Healmost made it but finished 4th, 0.04secaway from adding a bronze to the 100gold and 200 silver he had already ear-ned in Budapest. For silver medallistAgache, it was quite a comeback. “Afterthe 2002 European Junior Cham pion -ships, which were a disappointment forme, I wasn’t in the mood for swimmingfor quite some while. It’s the first time Itrained really hard this year.”

Olympic silver medallist Alexander DaleOen (NOR) dominated the final, his vic-tory never really in doubt as he stret-ched clear of his nearest rival by nearlya second to retain his European title.The first Norwegian to win a Europeantitle in 2008, he had lowered his ownchampionship record to 59.29 in thesemi-finals before taking the mark downto 59.20 for the crown. In his wake,Frenchman Hugues Duboscq (1:00.15)and Fabio Scozzoli (ITA), third in1:00.41. “Prior to the EuropeanChampionships I wanted to swim underone minute. After yesterday’s goodresult in the heats I wanted to improve

on that,” Dale Oen said. Gold in thisevent continued to elude Duboscq, whowas turning 29 before the end ofAugust. The Frenchman’s tally for the100 breaststroke now comprises twoOlympic bronze medals, a world silverand bronze, and three European silversand one bronze. “Today Alexander wassimply unbeatable, he is in greatshape,” Duboscq, European record hol-der on 58.64 in a fast suit and silvermedallist at the 2009 World Cham-pionships behind Australia’s BrentonRickard.

Daniel Gyurta extended his rule in thepool, rousingly acclaimed by theHungarian crowd as he gathered in theEuropean title a year after winning theworld crown. Gyurta, comfortably fastestin heats and semi-finals, made hisstrength tell in the middle stages of therace to beat 100 breaststroke masterAlexander Dale Oen, his only closechallenger, by the best part of a second.An Olympic silver medallist at only 15back in 2004, Gyurta has matured intoa mighty muscleman and chargedthrough to win in a championship record2:08.95, though outside his Europeanrecord of 2:07.64 from the old fast-suit

days. Dale Oen led for the first lengthbut Gyurta surged past, leaving theNorwegian, who had already retainedhis 100 breaststroke title, with the silverin 2:09.68. French hardy perennialHugues Duboscq, silver medallist in the100, added another bronze to his medalcollection in 2:11.03 ahead of defendingchampion Grigory Falko of Russia. DaleOen and Duboscq were also second athird last time.

The winners

EXPECTATIONS PAYOFF1. Feldwehr (GER) � 12.2. Terrin (ITA) � 9.3. Dugonjic (SLO) � 7.

1. SCOZZOLI FabioITA27.38

2. AGACHE DragosROU27.47

3. STEKELENBURGLennartNED27.51

EXPECTATIONS PAYOFF1. Duboscq (FRA) � 2.2. Dale Oen (NOR) � 1.3. Borysik (UKR) � 8.

1. DALE OENAlexanderNOR59.20 CR

2. DUBOSCQ HuguesFRA1:00.15

3. SCOZZOLI FabioITA1:00.41

EXPECTATIONS PAYOFF1. Gyurta (HUN) � 1.2. Borysik (UKR) DNS3. Falko (RUS) � 4.

1. GYURTA DanielHUN2:08.95 CR

2. DALE OENAlexanderNOR2:09.68

3. DUBOSCQ HuguesFRA2:11.03

WR: 26.67 (Cameron van der Burgh)ER: 26.83 (Hendrik Feldwehr)

WR: 58.58 (Brenton Rickard)ER: 58.65 (Hugues Duboscq)

WR: 2:07.31 (Christian Sprenger)ER: 2:07.64 (Daniel Gyurta)

Golden awakening Photo: REUTERS / WOLFGANG RATTAY“The first surprise

to me was my time inthe semi-finals (27.46),the second is today’svictory,” Scozzoli said.“This morning I wokeup at 5.30 and thoughtwhat would happen ifI won today – now I’m

experiencing it.”

Russia’s RomanSludnov, a former worldand European champi-

on and first man ever tobreak 1min, in 2001,failed to make the

Budapest final,touching 0.02 seconds

behind the eighthqualifier in the

semi-finals.

“After the world andEuropean titles I of

course want the triple inLondon 2012 (Olympic

Games) to make theGrand Slam of swim-ming. I think I’m on a

good road,” Gyurta said.“I had to swim the first

100m faster than before,I’m always strongest on

the last lap anyway.”Dale Oen paid due

tribute: “Daniel is theking of 200m breast,” he

said. “He is so strongand was simply

unbeatable today.”

Twenty-year-old Laurent Carnol became the firstswimmer from Luxembourg to reach a European

champion ship final and finished fifth in 2:11.93. Carnol,a chemistry student from Ettelbruck, has been trainingwith British coach Ian Arminger at Loughborough in

England since last September. The Luxembourg coach isMiloslav Rolko, European 100m backstroke champion in

1977 for the former Czechoslovakia.

Best man, never the groom:Hugues Duboscq (FRA)extended his big medalstally to 12 – none yet gold

LEN 33Magazine

LEN32Magazine

One World Championship title, oneshort-course and then a “nor-mal” European Championshipsgold medal all within one year - itlooks like your career is headingin the right direction.

I think so too. I already have three of themost important gold medals and onlythe Olympic title is missing from theGrand Slam, but there can’t be anycomplaints in this respect, and I believewe’re on the right track.

Your swimming was still a little hec-tic in the 200 at the BeijingOlympics and the Rome WorldChampionships: although it’s dif-ficult to swim the same racethree times at one event, but youmanaged this in Istanbul andBudapest, perhaps showing acontinuously improving trend.

True, I felt everything came together aswell, and if you’re asking whether therewas some kind of technical fault, myanswer would be that it’s difficult to say.Of course you always have to correctand improve things, but the whole thingreally came right this time.

Until now you’ve always won by fin-ishing strongly from behind, butthe Europeans could only seeyour back and even then from anuncommon distance – but at theWorlds and the Olympics the sit-uation might be different be causeof the Australians and Ame -ricans, and of course Kitajima.How can you prepare for suchclose battles?

As time moves on, I’m becoming incre-asingly experienced - and if we’re bre-athing down each other’s necks everyo-ne will know for sure that I won’t panic.After all I’m the World Champion, atleast until 2011, and as far as I know,not too many people have swum inside2:09 this year, so I don’t think I need tofear anyone.

Healthy self-confidence: a rare phe-nomenon for a Hungarian athlete.A psychologist has also beenhelping you to prepare in recenttimes – it’s an eternal subject, buthow big a role do they play in anelite athlete’s preparation? Some

people say nobody knows anathlete’s mind better than thecoach, and others believe theirpresence is essential.

There is no doubt that nothing canreplace physical preparation. Until youget that right, no psychologist anywhe-re can help an athlete to victory – eve-rything is decided in the pool as far aswe are concerned, so the main empha-sis is on power. Along with my coach wehave finally found the right balance, cre-ating the ideal training schedule andeventually managing to carry everyt-hing out. Naturally this is not enough forvictory, you also need to have a clearmind, you have to focus properly – andthis is where the psychologist, who I’vebeen working with a lot recently, comesin, to complete a uniform picture.

The great Kitajima dominated bothbreaststroke events over the

Olympic distance – do you haveany similar plans?

My 100 is continually improving, I valuemy fourth place here very highly, becau-se this was the first major final of myadult life at a world-class competition ina 50-metre pool. I think I held my ownand will soon be capable of competingwith the elite over the shorter distanceas well.

What is the difference between theDániel Gyurta who underper-formed at the 2006 Europeans inBudapest and the 2010 champi-on?

Back then I swam 2:16, and now at thetop end of 2:08. In other words, more orless seven seconds. I think that tells youeverything.

By Gergely CSURKA

Alexander Dale Oen was one of the bigwinners in Budapest but he feels he stillhas plenty to learn. The 25-year-oldNorwegian retained his 100 breast-stroke title in style and gave second-best only to the mighty Daniel Gyurta inthe 200, repeating his silver medalachievement of 2008. The 50 breast-stroke scramble was the only race whichwent wrong, when he left himself toomuch to do after a botched start. Hecaught the pack and looked as if hemight win on the roll but was foiled at thetouch and finished out of the medals infourth place, just 0.18 seconds behindvictorious Italian Fabio Scozzoli.

“The start was awful. I crossed myarms when I dove in, head came upand I lost everything there. Swimming,technically the last race was very good.I felt I swam really strong... but the 50 isall in the dive and the pull-out, so I losttoday, that’s the way it is,” Dale Oen toldLEN Magazine. But, all in all, it hadbeen a very good week. “We’re veryhappy, except for today’s race (the 50).I was hoping to be on the podium,” hesaid. “The 100 was good, semis werevery good. Finals, in the 100 - stronglast 50 but a little messed up the first50, so I hope I’m dropping under 59(seconds) but I guess I need to havesomething for next time too.”

Dale Oen took the 50 breaststrokesilver medal behind all-conqueringUkrainian Oleg Lisogor at the EuropeanChampionships in Eindhoven in 2008but the 100 has been his most success-ful event and he showed early promisewhen he made the finals and finishedseventh at the 2005 World Cham -pionships. European silver in 2006 wasfollowed by gold in 2008 and now, again,in 2010. But his most significant momentso far came in Beijing in 2008 when hebecame the first Norwegian to win anOlympic swimming medal, taking the100 breaststroke silver in 59.20 behinddefending champion Kosuke Kitajima(JPN). “I give my respect to Dale Oen,”Kitajima said at the time. “This time I gotto the wall first but on another day itcould have been him. He is a greatthreat to me.”

Dale Oen completely dominated the100 breaststroke final in Budapest, win-ning by nearly a second from the ever-green Hugues Duboscq (FRA) in achampionship record 59.20, matchinghis Olympic silver medal time and bet-tering the 59.29 championship mark hehad set in the semi-finals. “TodayAlexander was simply unbeatable, he isin great shape,” Duboscq said.

Dale Oen mounted the only seriouschallenge to home favourite Gyurta inthe 200 breaststroke and was the onlyfinalist to finish within a second of theHungarian world champion’s 2:08.95,

clocking 2:09.68. The rest were morethan two seconds behind the winner.“Daniel is the king of 200 metresbreast,” Dale Oen said after the race.“He is so strong and was simplyunbeatable today. I have to train differ-ently for the 200 event in order toimprove my times. The 200 is alwaysthe beast for me.”

The 100 remains favourite for theNorwegian but he also has ambitions forthe 200, having twice gained silver inEurope. “I need the 200 to be one of myfavourites,” he laughs. “Gyurta has beenvery, very fast. The 200 was his race, hehad the home crowd, home arena. I justheard, when I swam, the response (which)came from the stands, that was reallycool. Yes, it was really, really fun. And thisguy is very, very fast and he’s going to bevery strong in the Olympics, I think.”

So what’s next for Dale Oen? “NowI think we’re just going to do one monthof base training,” he said. “Then we’regoing to do hard competition work-outsall the way through World Cup andEuropean Short-Course and the WorldShort-Course, so this year’s so shortand the next season’s so short, sothere’s no point in doing a long base.We’re just going to do major power stuffand hopefully be fast throughout all thecompetitions.”

And then on the worlds andOlympics: “Exactly. From January to theWorld Championships in Shanghai isgoing to be very, very tough. It’s goingto be a lot of hard training. Of course,that’s where I will meet Kitajima againand hopefully some others and we‘llhave a pretty go