A couple of pretty close and exciting duels highlighted the first day of the FINA/airweave Swimming World Cup leg in Doha. The winning margin was less than 0.25sec in seven races – including those two where Hungary’s Katinka Hosszu got the silver medal, meaning she was close to an even more outstanding daily ‘income’ – she claimed 4 golds and 2 silvers. Russia’s Vladimir Morozov extended his lead in the overall ahead of Chad Le Clos who was upset in his trademark 200m fly event by Japanese Daya Seto.
The two tightest races were outstanding for many aspects: Alia Atkinson (JAM) out-touched Yulia Efimova (RUS) by 0.09sec in the women’s 100m breaststroke, en route she even had a tiny love-affair with the virtual WR line but she couldn’t beat that one, only her Russian rival.
The other big clash produced the very same gap between the gold and silver medallist, 0.09sec, Daya Seto (JPN) managed to clinch the title ahead of Chad Le Clos (RSA). This was a blow for the South African’s hopes to catch Vladimir Morozov (RUS) in the hunt for the overall title. Seto in fact ruled the race from the beginning, Le Clos produced a tremendous finish but the Japanese was still ahead at the wall, even though by just a couple of fingernails. This also halted Chad’s winning streak in this event at five in the current season.
The Morozov v Le Clos duel kicked off the evening session in the marvelous Hamdan Complex, venue of the 2014 FINA World Swimming Championships (25m). Their clash in the 100m free saw Morozov prevailing by 0.23sec which was another boost for the Russian to get the main prize, the check on 100.000 USD at the end of the series. Morozov later added the 100m IM title, too (his 6th straight win this year, he was also member of the winning Russian mixed medley relay), while Le Clos had to settle for a single win in the 50m fly.
“It’s my third event. It’s a good event. I’m getting pretty tired but I’m glad I’m getting the job done” drew Morozov the conclusion of his day. His rival, Le Clos said: “I’m happy to be here in Doha. I always give it everything, I never hold back. It was a good time for me so we will see what comes next.”
Among the men, Seto, beside his stunner in the 200m fly, also won the 400m IM with ease. After his win in the fly, the Japanese said: “It was a very close race. I was much faster than in Dubai and Beijing.”
The breaststroke ‘specialists’ continued their golden run in their respective events: Felipe Lima (BRA) completed his hat-trick in this cluster in the 50m, while Marko Koch (GER) made it five in a row in the 200m. “It is always a tough race. The swimmers I was against are very fast. It was a great race. The crowd was great so I’m very happy to be here.”
Two Australians made fine returns to the top of podium: Bobby Hurley (AUS) won his second title this season in the 100m back after Paris-Chartres, while Myles Brown could return to the top of the podium after his win in Beijing in the 400m free.
Among the women Katinka Hosszu pleased the Hungarian supporters as dozens showed up to cheer for her. It was another great single-day medal haul for the Iron Lady who snatched four golds and two silvers. She came first, as it had become usual on the first days, in the 200m free, the 50m back, the 200m IM and the 800m free.
In the medley event Yulia Efimova got unusually close to her, trailed by only 0.02sec after the breaststroke leg (not surprisingly), though Hosszu gained an amazing 1.5sec on her in the last 50m over the freestyle (not surprisingly either). This was Hosszu’s 30th IM win in a row since 2014. The Hungarian missed two other golds by tiny margins, Jeanette Ottesen (DEN) beat her by 0.10sec in the 100m fly and Daryna Zevina (UKR) by 0.23 in the 200m back.
Ottesen was the other double winner among the women as she also claimed gold in the 50m free. “This is the fastest of the second cluster so far. My aim is to have fun and get some medals definitely” the Dane said.
World Cup action resumes on Sunday here in Doha, worth following it live on the FINA website from 16.00 GMT.