Sport

Bree puts exit down to 'lack of fitness'

Swimming: Germany's Britta Steffan broke the 100 metres freestyle world record in Budapest yesterday while Ireland's disappointing…

John Kenny in Budapest
Thu Aug 03 2006 - 01:00

Swimming: Germany's Britta Steffan broke the 100 metres freestyle world record in Budapest yesterday while Ireland's disappointing run of results in these European championships continued when Andrew Bree put in an abject performance in his favourite event, the 200 metres breaststroke, and failed to emerge from the heats into the semi-finals.

Britta, also a member of the German 4x100 metre squad that set a world record on Monday, lowered the mark belonging to Australia's Liz Lenton by twelve-hundredths of a second, winning in 53.30.

The Dutch ace Pieter van den Hoogenband showed he was back to his best - after a two-year absence - with a stunning win in the 200 metres freestyle final.

While there was joy for the Germans and the Dutch, Bree's heat time of two minutes, 18.11 seconds was one of the worst swims of his international career.

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The 25-year-old, who earlier this year was ranked sixth in Europe, finished a distant 28th of the 41 swimmers and almost four seconds slower than his own Irish record. He had come into the event with high hopes, having been fifth in the Commonwealth Games in March in an Irish record-equalling time. And his 100 metres breaststroke time on Monday suggested Bree was on line to make his first objective, the semi-finals.

When he turned at the 100, however, he was a full second outside what he had expected, and down the last 50 he began to tie up as, in a vain effort to keep in touch with the heat winner, Kris Gilchrist of Britain, his stroke shortened and his race plan went.

Bree was the first to admit the swim was a poor one, especially considering his fine effort in the Commonwealth Games just five months ago, which seemed to put him among the medal contenders in Budapest.

"It hurt like hell down the last 50," said a devastated Bree after his swim. "I hold myself accountable really. I think just a lack of fitness. The last 50 was sore. I should be picking up the pace but it just wasn't there and I couldn't get it out of third gear.

"I hold myself responsible for it. It's back to the drawing-board and back to work.

"I felt pretty smooth up until the 150 mark but I saw Gilchrist pull away and I knew (I had) to pick it up, but I just wasn't moving. I felt low in the water and my lungs were burning. It's got to be a lack of fitness.

"Having said that, the quality of the swimming here is tougher than Melbourne," he added.

"And the heat time I did at the (Commonwealth) Games wouldn't even have been good enough to make the semi-finals here. I knew the standard would be higher than the Commonwealth Games but 2:18 ain't going to cut it."

Melanie Nocher was a bit more upbeat about her performance in the 100 metres backstroke, where she posted 64.99 seconds, just four-hundredths of a second off breaking her Irish senior record for a distance at which Michelle de Bruin was once the national-record holder.

Nocher's performances in the heats have shown fine progression, and at just 19 years of age she is fast emerging as Ireland's top female swimmer.

Irish participation in today's heats is limited to just one swimmer as Dublin's Barry Murphy goes in the heats of the men's blue riband, the 100 metres freestyle.

It's arguably the top event of the week, and Murphy's goal it seems should be to break Earl McCarthy's long-standing Irish record of 50.91 seconds, set at the German national championships way back in 1995.

Yesterday's Finals.

MEN - 200m Individual Medley Final: 1. L Cseh (Hungary) 1:58.17 2. A Boggiatto (Ita) 2:00.14 3. T Kerekjarto (Hun) 2:00.17 4. G Tait (Brit) 2:01.00 5. I Kokkodis (Gre) 2:02.22 6. E Dale (Brit) 2:02.27 7. L Wojt (Pol) 2:03.10 8. V Janusaitis (Lithuania) 2:03.25. 200m Freestyle Final: 1. P van den Hoogenband (Neth) 1:45.65 2. M Rosolino (Ita) 1:47.02 3. F Magnini (Ita) 1:47.57 4. D Carry (Brit) 1:47.58 5. S Burnett (Brit) 1:48.01 6. A Leveaux (Fra) 1:48.97 7. P Biedermann (Ger) 1:48.99 8. D Koll (Austria) 1:49.22.

WOMEN - 800m Freestyle Final: 1. L Manaudou (Fra) 8:19.29 AR 2. R Adlington (Brit) 8:27.88 3. R Cooke (Brit) 8:28.40 4. F Rigamonti (Swi) 8:30.51 5. S Huber (Fra) 8:30.81 6. C Potec (Rom) 8:36.30 7. I Cozma (Rom) 8:37.70 8. L Friis (Denmark) 8:40.61. 200m Backstroke Final: 1. E Baron (Fra) 2:10.07 2. I Amshennikova (Ukr) 2:12.13 3. M Marshall (Brit) 2:12.17 4. E Bernard (Spa) 2:12.37 5. E Simmonds (Brit) 2:13.02 6. E Verraszto (Hun) 2:13.07 7. S Komarova (Rus) 2:13.52 8. A Putra (Fra) 2:16.77. 100m Freestyle Final: 1. B Steffen (Ger) 53.30 WR 2. M Veldhuis (Neth) 54.32 3. N-M Niangkouara (Gre) 54.48 4. F Halsall (Brit) 54.88 5. H-M Seppaelae (Fin) 55.05 6. M Moravcova (Slv) 55.06 7. I Dekker (Neth) 55.20 8. A Popchanka (Bel) 55.25. 100m Breaststroke Final: 1. G Khlystunova (Ukr) 1:07.55 2. K Balfour (Brit) 1:07.95 3. A Kovacs (Hun) 1:08.60 4. Y Pidslina (Ukr) 1:08.73 5. K Haywood (Brit) 1:08.78 6. E Bogomazova (Rus) 1:08.83 7. S Poewe (Ger) 1:09.27 8. C Boggiatto (Italy) 1:09.47.