COUNTRY TIDBITS Editor’s Note: Other than splitting the Americas into north and south regions, Swimming World follows the FINA region and national federation structure as part of its regional previews. Unless otherwise indicated, the performances for each of the following swimmers were swum at last year’s World Championships in Shanghai, China (July 24-31, 2011).
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Albania (ALB)
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Noel Borshi topped Albania’s efforts with a 33rd-place time of 2:29.16 in the women’s 200 fly and a 43rd-place finish in the 100 fly (1:05.71).
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Hocine Haciane took 35th in the men’s 200 fly (2:04.14) and 36th in the 200 IM (2:07.14).
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Austria (AUT)
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Austria finished 29th in the team standings, largely based on the top-8 finishes from Dinko Jukic and Markus Rogan. Jukic took seventh in the 200 fly (1:55.48), while Rogan placed fifth in the 200 IM (1:58.14).
Belarus (BLR) One woman’s performance was responsible for Belarus placing 21st among all countries competing in Shanghai. Aliaksandra Herasimenia tied Jeanette Ottesen for the women’s 100 free title in 53.45. Herasimenia also took fifth in the 50 free (24.65) and tied for sixth in the 50 back (28.09).
Belgium (BEL) Belgium finished in a 36th-place tie with Chile at last summer’s Worlds. Fanny Lecluyse and Francois Heersbrandt each made the semifinals, with Lecluyse finishing 14th in the women’s 200 IM (2:13.86) and 10th in the 200 breast (2:25.92). Heersbrandt was 13th in the men’s 50 fly (23.68).
Bulgaria (BUL) Ekaterina Avramova led Bulgaria to a 41st-place tie with Estonia in the team standings with a pair of semifinal performances: 15th in the women’s 100 back (1:01.10) and 12th in the 50 back (28.64).
Bosnia and Herzegovina (BIH) Ivana Ninkovic competed in two events, taking 23rd in the women’s 50 breast (32.86) and 37th in the 100 breast (1:14.32).
Croatia (CRO) Mario Todorovic paced the Croatians with a 20th-place finish in the men’s 50 fly (24.05). He also took 33rd in the 100 fly (53.56) and 38th in the 100 free (50.16).
Czech Republic (CZE) The Czech Republic, which finished in a tie for 29th place with Austria and the Republic of Serbia, was paced by one final and four semifinal performances. Barbora Zavadova led the way by finishing seventh in the women’s 400 IM (4:38.04) and 15th in the 200 IM (2:14.03). Petra Chocova finished 12th in the women’s 50 breast (31.75) and 13th in the 100 breast (1:08.40), while Petr Bartunek took 15th in the men’s 50 breast (27.87). — continued on 8 April 2012
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