2023 Lausanne Swim Cup Day 3 Prelims: Peaty Drops 200 Breaststroke

2023 LAUSANNE SWIM CUP

• Friday, February 24th – Sunday, February 26th
• Centre Aquatique Vaudoise Arena, Lausanne, Switzerland
• LCM (50m)
• Meet Site
• SwimSwam Preview
• Day 1 Finals Recap/Day 2 Finals Recap
• Entries/Results
• Livestream

We’ve entered the last day of competition of the 2023 Lausanne Swim Cup and the top swimmers thus far are determined to go out with a bang.

Swedish Olympian Louise Hansson staked her claim on both the women’s 100m fly and 50m back events, securing the top seed in each.

The 26-year-old Loughborough ace scored a swift morning swim of 58.99 to land lane 4 in the 100m fly, earning the top seed as the only racer of the field to get under the minute mark.

French swimmer Marie Wattel will flank her for the final, having clocked a heats result of 1:00.37 while Egypt’s Farida Osman will also be in the mix after her AM time of 1:00.97.

As for Hansson, she owns a lifetime best of 56.22, a time she produced at the 2020 Olympic Games. She wound up 5th there in Tokyo, while last year she became the Europen champion in the event.

In this morning’s 50m back, Hansson clocked a time of 28.91 to hold a healthy advantage over the next-closest swimmer Melanie Henique of France. Henique claimed the 2nd seed in a mark of 29.40.

The men’s 100m fly saw 19-year-old South African Matt Sates get it done for the top seed, producing a solid swim of 53.22. Sates’ lifetime best rests at the 51.83 he put up in Durban in 2021.

Swiss national record holder Noe Ponti is lurking as the 3rd seed with his time of 53.74. The 21-year-old earned bronze in this race at the Tokyo Olympic Games, punching the Swiss standard of 50.74 in the process.

Sates also raced the men’s 100m free this morning, although his result of 50.97 rendered him as a reservist. Leading the pack for tonight’s final is Italy’s Thomas Ceccon, with the 22-year-old registering the sole time of the prelims under 50 seconds in 49.41.

Ceccon recently hit a lifetime best of 1:46. 52 in the men’s 200m free while competing at the Luxembourg Euro Meet last month so we’ll see what the versatile athlete comes up with in this shorter event this evening. He’ll face the likes of 18-year-old British Olympian Jacob Whittle as well as French multi-Olympic medalist Florent Manaudou.

Fans looking to see Adam Peaty take on the 200m breaststroke in which he was entered were disappointed as the 28-year-old wound up dropping the event.

Taking the top seed was his countryman James Wilby, the silver medalist already here in both the 50m and 100m breast behind Peaty. Wilby earned the top seed in 2:14.14. American Will Licon will chase Wilby, carrying a morning swim of 2:16.04.

Last year Wilby earned silver at the Commonwealth Games in this event while he topped the podium at the European Championships. The 29-year-old owns a lifetime best of 2:07.49 from 2019.

Tatjana Schoenmaker of South Africa was the top women’s 200m breaststroker, with the Olympic champion and reigning World Record holder posting a heats swim of 2:26.72. Abbie Wood of Great Britain (2:26.72), Lisa Mamie of Switzerland (2:33.44) and Martina Carraro of Italy (2:34.16) will be among tonight’s final.

Finally in the women’s 100m free, British sprinter Anna Hopkin produced a mark of 54.48 to easily take the top seed of the morning.

Wattel will double up on her 100m fly event tonight after clocking 55.81 in this 1free, while Isabella Hindley of Great Britain secured the 3rd seed in 56.48. Wood was also in the race, capturing the 6th slot in 57.29.

Hopkin is the fastest British woman in history in this 100m free event, owning a career-quickest time of 52.75 from the prelims at the 2020 Olympic Games. The 26-year-old ultimately touched in 52.83 to place 7th in the Tokyo final.