With individual records, which were not enough to qualify, the Greek presence at the 17th World Swimming Championships in a 25-lane poolwhich started today (10/12) in Budapest. THE Apostolos Papastamos with 1:55.90 he was ranked 21st in the 200m. mixed individual, significantly improving the 1:57.33 he had and leaving hopes for a remarkable presence in his good event, which is the 400m. mixed. “I ran a good race and this time gives me strength for my good event, the 400m. mixed, next Saturday”, he characteristically stated after his match.
On his part, Mr Vangelis Makrygiannis (with few small pool races in the past) put in a relatively good performance in the 100m. backstroke, where he ranked 33rd with 52.04. The performance did not satisfy the European runner-up in the 50-person pool, who stressed: “It’s not the time I wanted. I went through a health problem that set me back, hopefully in the 50m. to do better It’s the first race after the Olympics and we’re all trying to find our rhythm.”
The performance in the morning competitions of the 1st day was “stolen” by Gretchen Walshwith an amazing world record in the 50m. butterfly. The 21-year-old American finished in 24.02, smashing the 24.38 mark held by Therese Alschamar of Sweden for 15 years (11/22/2009 in Singapore). In the corresponding men’s event, Switzerland’s Noah Ponty set a Games record of 21.53, just three hundredths of a second off his own world record.
Tomorrow’s (11/12) 2nd day includes four Greek entries, without particular expectations of distinction. In order, Marilea Drasidou will compete at 10:10 in the 4th qualifying round of the 100m. freestyle, Kostas Englezakis at 10:39 in the 7th row of the 100m. freestyle, Giorgos Aspougalis at 11:21 in the 4th row of the 100m. breaststroke and Artemis Vasilaki at 11:46 in the 2nd final series of the 800m. freestyle (single ranking is obtained after the three “slow” series in the morning and the “fastest” series in the afternoon).
I am currently a news writer for News Bulletin247 where I mostly cover sports news. I have always been interested in writing and it is something I am very passionate about. In my spare time, I enjoy reading and spending time with my family and friends.
