Blistering times in blustery times

Swimming World and Junior Swimmer, Feb 2003 by Whitten, Phillip

Several of the continent's top stars, including Inge De Bruijn, Pieter van den Hoogenband, Franziska van Almsick, Mark Foster and Alex Popov, chose to pass on the meet this year, taking a bit of shine off its holiday glitter. But those who came were ready to swim fast...and that's what they did.

Eva Risztov, 17, who finished second a frustrating three times at last summer's European Long Course Championships in three very close races, wasted little time in making good her vow to hear the Hungarian national anthem played in her honor in Riesa. In her first event, the 200 fly, she took the lead at the start and never relinquished it, touching in 2:07.09. But that was only prelude.

In the 800 free, the determined teen broke the 16-year-old European mark, erasing one of the last continental records held by an East German, and fittingly did it in a pool in the former Communist German state.

Risztov took her second gold of the championships when she won an exciting duel with defending champion Flavia Rigamonti of Switzerland and SMU, pulling away in the final 100 meters to touch in 8:14.72. That bettered the drug-aided European mark of 8:15.34 set by East German Astrid Strauss in 1987, when Risztov was a year old. Risztov's time was the second-fastest in history, only behind Japan's Sachiko Yamada's world record set earlier in '02. Rigamonti finished in 8:16.16, fifth fastest all-time.

"That was my first European record, and even the world record was under threat. At 700 meters, I increased the pace again and felt that Rigamonti could not counter that," a joyful Risztov said.

That would have been enough for most athletes, but the hungry Hungarian had another ace up her sleeve. Battling defending champion Yana Klochkova in the 400 free, Risztov pulled away in the second half of the race to win in 4:01.95, not far off Klochkova's Euro standard of 4:01.26.

Risztov didn't have everything her way. Klochkova--the Olympic and world champion--had too much for the teen in the 400 IM, winning in 4:29.81 to the Hungarian's 4:33.09. Ukraine's Klochkova won a second gold in the 200 IM, touching in a very fast 2:08.28, a second ahead of Slovenia's and SMU's Alenka Kejzar (2:09.33).

The globe-trotting Thomas Rupprath, who had set a world record in the 100 meter backstroke only a week earlier, did not have any record swims left in his travel-weary body, but the 25-year-old German was still the class of the continent in the three events he contested: the 50 back (23.66), 100 back (51.51, 51.37sf) and the 100 fly (50.77). He was challenged only in the 100 back as teammate Stev Theloke's fast final 50 brought him within 2-tenths of a second of Rupprath's winning time.

With all the hoopla surrounding R&R, few noticed that Slovakia's Martina Moravcova quietly kept doing what she does so very well: winning. The 26-year-- old SMU grad student won the 100 fly in 56.82, the 100 IM in 1:00.21 and tied with Belarus' Elena Popchenka for the top spot in the 100 free (53.66). MM's fly swim earned her an extra 5,000 Euros (about 5,265 U.S. dollars) for the outstanding women's performance of the competition.