The Vortex, July 2024 – Blocksidge Takes Euro Junior Gold For Britain In 1500 Free - StateOfSwimming (2024)

• News

Craig Lord2024-07-03No commentsReading Time: 6 minutes

^{The Vortex is SOS’ digest and soak of swimming news, views and links to noteworthy mainstream media coverage of the sport as the Paris 2024 Olympic Games approach; additions to the file made most days and collated in one monthly file.}

The Vortex, June 2024 / The Vortex, May 2024 / The Vortex, April 2024

Wednesday Vortex, July 3 – Amelie Blocksidge, 15, claimed Great Britain’s first gold of the 2024 European Junior Championships in Vilnius this evening with a 16:10.23 effort in the 1500m freestyle.

After shadowing Italy’s Emma Giannelli to the 300m mark, Blocksidge, born in the last season of shiny suits in 2009, took charge of the race and pulled away steadily on her way to victory.

Giannelli took silver in 16:17.19, the bronze to day 1 winner of the 400IM (see lower down in. the Vortex), Vivien Jackl, of Hungary, in 16:19.22.

Blocksidge retained the British 1500 title when still 14 in April, the Salford SC swimmer, at 16:13.39, swifter that the greatKatie Ledeckywas back in 2011 at the same age.

Hungary had already celebrated gold in the second session of finals at the championships in Lithuania, Minna Abraham the standout winner of the 200m freestyle in 1:57.52, having led all the way. Romania’s Rebecca-Aimee Diaconescu, 1:58.97, and the champion’s teammate Dora Molnar, 1:59.45, completed the podium.

The hosts cheered their charge home to gold in the men’s 200m free, Kristupas Trepocka the champion in 1:47.74 ahead of Turkey’s Ahmet Burak, 1:48.04, and Denmark’s Nicholas Castella, 1:48.41.

Romanian Vlad-Stefan Mihalache got his hand to the wall first in the 200 ‘fly, his 1:57.42 keeping Slovakia’s Samuel Kostal at bay by 0.2sec, the bronze only a further 0.05sec away, Hungarian David Antal taking bronze in 1:57.67, just 0.25 from gold.

In the mixed 4x100m free, Italy maintained its relay bull run, adding to its two golds on day 1 (see below in the Vortex), with a 3:28.34 Championship-record victory, courtesy of Carlos D’Ambrosio, 49.12, Lorenzo Ballarati, 48.96, Cristiana Stevenato, 55.52, and Sara Curtis, 54.74.

Germany (Michael Raje, Julian Koch, Lise Seidel, Julianna Dora Bocska) took silver in 3:28.83, France (Ethan Dumesnil, Alexandre Chalendar, Albane Cachot, Giulia Rossi-Bene) the bronze in 3:29.11, Great Britain fourth in 3:30.39.

Day 2 Dash champions:

50m backstroke:
Women: Sara Curtis (ITA) 27.94
Men: Mantas Kauspedas (LTU) 24.68
50m breaststroke:
Women: Smilte Plytnkaite (LTU) 31.27
Men: Nusrat Allaverdi (TUR) 27.60

Tuesday Vortex, July 2

Cate Campbell Gets Paris Call-Up After All, With Team Nine

Cate Campbell will go to the Games after all: having announced her retirement last week, the matriarch of Aussies sprinters for over a decade, is off to Paris as a commentator for Australia’s Nine Network‘s coverage of the Olympics and Paralympics.

She will join some folk she’s very familiar with: fellow former Dolphins, such as Ian Thorpe and Gianne Rooney on the panel of experts sitting alongside the station’s pro-commentators, Mat Thompson, Nine’s chief rugby league commentator, and Roz Kelly, host of the network’s Sports Sunday show. On news of her Paris call-up for Team Nine, Campbell noted an aspect of being a busy Olympian often overlooked: you don’t get to actually see much of the action in the pool yourself. She said:

“While I might have missed out on being part of the Australia Olympic team and competing in Paris, I am so excited to still be heading over the Games as part of the Channel Nine broadcast team. This will be the first Olympic Games I have watched since Athens 2004 and I can’t wait to cheer on our swimmers as they hit the pool. I hope Australia falls in love with our swimmers and I look forward to shining a spotlight on the incredible talent we have on the Olympic team.”

Cate Campbell. Photo: Cate Campbell – a golden sprinter for Australia heading into the rest of life after the sunset of her stellar swim career as Dolphin No 286

Action in the Games pool at Paris La Defense Arena gets underway on July 27, the day after the Opening Ceremony on the River Seine.

Americans have obsessed for the best part of a year since Campbell’s somewhat more-than tongue-in-cheek comments about them and her dislike of the cowbells swimmers in Stars and Stripes have long brought to international meets as part of their team support and ways of making their presence felt.

More cowbells have been promised for Paris. SOS will be there to hear them and we look forward to the Didgeridoo response, perhaps the odd Alphorn when the Swiss team floats in and so on and so forth. The only sound that will count in the end is the symphony of the swimming itself.

Jackl Takes 400IM Crown In Euro Junior Mark As Italy Lands Relay Double

Vivien Jackl set a European Junior Championships record of 4:39.28 to retain the continental youth showcase crown on an opening day in Vilnius, Lithuania, that witnessed a relay double from Italy.

Jackl’s time compares to the 4:34.96 in which she qualified for the Paris Olympics at Hungarian trials in April, and took 1.36sec off the 4:40.64 championship mark set by Spain’s Alba Vasquez Ruiz in 2019.

The 15-year-old Hungarian took charge of the race on backstroke after turning fourth after the opening 100 ‘fly. The podium was completed by Belgium’s Sarah Dumont, in a national record of 4:42.44, and Spain’s Laura Cabanes Garzas, in 4:43.62.

Results in Full

The other highlight of day 1 was Italy’s retention of both 4×100 free titles.

Chiara Sama (56.27), Sara Curtis (54.74), Cristiana Stevenato (55.12) and Caterina Santambrogio (54.99) summed up to 3:41.12, in a thriller with France: just 0.01sec shy of gold came Maeline Bessard, Giulia Rossi, Alix Predine, and Albane Cachot for 3:41.13, Germany close for bronze in 3:41.60, courtesy of Linda Roth, Julianna Dora Bocska, Selina Muller and Lise Seidel.

Gabriele Valente led the Italian men with a 50.28. Seventh soon turned to pace-setting as Carlos D’Ambrosio, the baby of the Team Azzurri men’s squad heading to the Paris Olympics, split a sizzling 48.48 before Mirko Chiaversoli (49.07) and Lorenzo Ballarati (49.21) summed up to gold in 3:17.04 ahead of a 3:18.83 from France (Alexandre Chalendar, Neo Dutriaux, Evan Galle-Michon and Ethan Dumesil) and a 3:19.49 from Great Britain (Gabriel Shepherd, Nicholas Finch, Stefan Krawiec and Jacob Mills).

French Sport As A Giant Potemkin Village

France is not only shaken by political turmoil, the far-right RN could take power even before the Olympic Games in Paris. French sport is characterised by mismanagement and scandals almost everywhere, writes my colleague Romain Molina over at The Inquisitor.

One of many pressing questions: Where did the audit of French fencing go?

Romain explains: “Since March 2023, the French Fencing Federation (FFE) has been under investigation by the Inspection générale de l’Éducation, du Sport et de la Recherche (IGÉSR), the General Inspectorate of Education, Sport and Research. 15 months later and despite a deficit approaching one million euros, no results have yet been published because of political instructions.”

‘We close the lid’, is an expression used by some current and past employees of the Ministry of Sports. It summarises the state of French sport a few weeks out from the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Romain writes: “Politically, the Élysée was clear: it was not necessary to make waves, even if it meant covering particularly embarrassing files.

“With seven sports leaders accused of perjury and a report by a committee of inquiry of the National Assembly pointing out the inter-so-so, inaction, bad governance and the omertà of its federations – particularly in terms of sexual abuse of minors – the French sport family has been shaken like never before publicly recently. Athletics, basketball, canoeing, horseback riding, gymnastics, football, kick-boxing, wrestling, rugby, taekwondo, tennis, no discipline has been spared by scandals, and especially not fencing, the first historical provider of medals for France at the Olympic Games.”

He recalls President Emmanuel Macron pinning a goal of 80 medals and a top-5-nation finish to the home-nation’s mast for Paris 2024. That’s a big ask: France hauled 42 medals in Rio for 7th and and 33 medals in Tokyo for 8th on the medals table.

Read Romain Molina’s deeper understanding, context and insight at The Inquisitor:

Protecting the Games: France’s sport as a giant Potemkin village

Monday Vortex, July 1

Coach Hulme Off To U.S. After Giving Loughborough Notice Of Next Chapter Beyond Work With Paris Olympians

Coach Ian Hulme has handed in his notice at the University of Loughborough ahead of taking up a post at a university program in the United States after the Paris Olympic Games.

The coach will remain at Loughborough until the Games are done in order to see through his work with swimmers heading to the Paris Games, which get underway in the pool on July 27.

Trials 200 back winner Honey Osrin and sprinter Alex Cohoon, a member of the Britain 4x100m free relay are among Hulme’s charges, while his successes have included the efforts of sprinters Lauren Cox and Lewis Burras, American teamster Paige Madden and Irish champion Conor Ferguson.

A former international and British record holder, Hulme studied Physics and Sports Science at Loughborough and during his time on the staff there has coached Louise Hansson and Sophie Hansson, the Swedish sibling speedsters.