30TH INTERNATIONAL MEETING OF SAINT-DIZIER
The 30th International Meeting of Saint-Dizier wrapped up from France over the weekend, with the host nation taking on visiting swimmers from the likes of Italy, Germany, the Netherlands and beyond.
The 3-day affair took place in the short course meters format, giving athletes a chance to test their mettle with the 2022 FINA Short Course Championships on the horizon for December.
Italy’s Elena Di Liddo got it done for gold on multiple fronts, including the women’s 50m fly and 50m back.
In the former, 29-year-old Di Liddo cranked out a time of 26.42 to top the podium, while in the latter she produced a winning effort of 27.69.
Di Liddo is Italy’s national record holder in the long course 100 butterfly, owning a PB of 57.04 in that event.
Dutch ace Thomas Verhoeven was the top 50m butterflier for the men, with the 25-year-old stopping the clock in a mark of 23.45. That gave him the edge over Germay’s Ramon Klenz who touched in 23.78 for silver.
Verhoeven has been as fast as 22.82 in his career, a time from July of last year which rendered him the Netherlands’ 7th fastest performer all-time.
Frenchman Mewen Tomac scored the victory in the men’s 50m back, getting to the wall in a time of 24.06. French teammate Lara Grangeon was the standout winner in the women’s 1500m free, earning a time of 16:29.72
Additional Winners
- Egyptian swimmer Ahmed Mahmoud produced a time of 3:46.00 to take the men’s 400m freestyle.
- The women’s 100m free saw the Netherlands’ Snowy Van Wijk get to the wall first in a time of 54.67, out-touching Hong Kong’s Camille Cheng by just .03.
- Hungarian Ajna Kesely logged a time of 4:15.53 in the women’s 400m free for gold.