Popovici breaks world 100m freestyle record at European Championships

Popovici had eased into the final earlier with a new European record of 46.98 seconds but today the 17-year-old Romanian double world champion swam 46.86sec.

In June, Popovici became the first man to complete the 100-200m freestyle double at the World Championships in nearly 50 years. (AFP)

David Popovici broke the men's 100m freestyle world record to win gold at the European Championships in Rome.

The 17-year-old Romanian double world champion swam 46.86sec on Saturday to slice 0.05sec off the old mark set by Brazilian Cesar Cielo in the same pool at the 2009 World Championships in the era of buoyant body suits.

The fastest time in a textile suit had been 46.96 set by American Olympic champion Caeleb Dressel at the 2019 World Championships.

Hungary's Kristof Milak was second on Saturday with Italy's Alessandro Miressi third.

Popovici had eased into the final on Friday with a new European record of 46.98 seconds.

Only two other swimmers managed to dip under 48sec on Friday, Milak and Miressi in the other semi-final, but both were some way off Popovici.

In June, Popovici became the first man to complete the 100-200m freestyle double at the World Championships in nearly 50 years.

In a golden summmer, he also won three European junior titles in his home town of Bucharest.

The fastest 100 freestyle in history by the 17-year-old phenom David Popovici. 46.86. Absolutely insane.pic.twitter.com/NDYQiPXalC

— Kyle Sockwell (@kylesockwell) August 13, 2022

Another 17-year-old world champion also added European gold on Saturday.

Italian Benedetta Pilato won the women's 100m breaststroke in 1:05.97, more than a second-and-half outside the world record set by American Lilly King in 2017.

Pilato was followed home by compatriot Lisa Angiolini and Lithuania's Ruta Meilutyte, the 50m world champion.

Pilato imitated her compatriot Federico Poggio, who won the men's 200m breaststroke on Friday.

Italy with the 1️⃣, 2️⃣ finish!

Benedetta Pilato led the Women's 100m Breaststroke heats to qualify with a time of 1:05.77 🇮🇹

Swimming continues at 18:00 CEST. Catch the events LIVE on LEN TV 🖥 pic.twitter.com/QMnT0gj0a3

— LEN - European Aquatics (@LENaquatics) August 12, 2022

Swedish veteran Sarah Sjostrom won the women's 50m butterfly gold for the fifth time in 24.96. The 28-year-old is the only woman to go under 25 seconds in the events in a 50m pool.

France's Marie Wattel won silver in 25.33 with Maaike de Waard of the Netherlands a distant third in 25.62.

Frenchman Yohann Ndoye Brouard won the opening final of the evening when he took the men's 200m backstroke in 1 min 55.62 sec.

Ndoye Brouard had to swim his semi-final twice on Friday because of a problem with his starting block and ended up qualifying on time in an empty pool.

He beat Hungary's Benedek Kovacs in 1:56.03 and England's Luke Greenbank (1:56.15). 

READ MORE: Aysu Turkoglu becomes youngest Turkish swimmer to cross the English Channel

Source: AFP

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Russian Chess-playing Robot Breaks Child Prodigy’s Fingers

A Russian chess robot latched onto and broke a child prodigy’s finger during a tournament in Moscow, news outlets have reported.

Video shared by the Baza Telegram channel Thursday showed the robot arm squeezing the boy’s finger and adults rushing to his help.

The news outlet identified the victim as 7-year-old Kristofer, one of Moscow’s 30 strongest chess players under the age of 9.

Chess officials said the child player returned the next day to finish the week-long Moscow tournament and attend an awards ceremony after his finger was placed in a cast.

“The robot broke the child’s finger — that’s of course bad,” Sergei Lazarev, president of the Moscow Chess Federation, told the state-run TASS news agency Thursday. 

But he and his deputy appeared to place some of the blame on the boy’s swift maneuvering on the board.

“The kid made a move and then should have given time for the robot to respond, but the boy rushed it and robot grabbed him,” Lazarev was quoted as saying. 

“There are certain safety rules. The kid probably broke them in time trouble and didn’t notice when he made his move,” Sergei Smagin, Vice President of the Moscow Chess Federation, told the state-run RIA Novosti news agency Thursday.

Smagin said it was the first incident in the chess robot’s 15 years playing against humans.

Source https://www.globalcourant.com/russian-chess-playing-robot-breaks-child-prodigys-fingers/?feed_id=1686&_unique_id=62de3018e5f13

Nigeria's Tobi Amusan breaks world record in 100m hurdles

Fast News

Amusa streaks to winning time of 12.12 seconds at World Athletics championships in Oregon, US, smashing previous best of 12.20 seconds set by American Kendra Harrison in 2016.

While most athletes aim to conserve their energy in the semi-final, the 25-year-old Amusan held nothing back at Hayward field, a day after she set the African record in the opening heats. (Reuters)

Nigeria's Tobi Amusan has broken the women's 100 metres hurdles world record in a stunning semi-final effort at the World Championships.

The record time of 12.12 seconds broke on Sunday Kendra Harrison's mark of 12.20, as the American finished second in the heat.

While most athletes aim to conserve their energy in the semi-final, the 25-year-old Amusan held nothing back at Hayward field, a day after she set the African record in the opening heats.

"It is a strong feeling. I wanted to get out and go," she told reporters. "I did what I had to do. Looking forward to the finals."

She shocked the crowd at Eugene in US state of Oregon, putting on the kind of superb performance usually reserved for prime time in the opening race of the Sunday evening schedule.

Other qualifiers 

Jamaican Britany Anderson won her semi-final in a national record 12.31 seconds, with Puerto Rico's Jasmine Camacho-Quinn also advancing (12.32).

American Alia Armstrong and Devynne Charlton of the Bahamas also advanced to the final later on Sunday.

"That was a crazy race," said Britain's Cindy Sember, who advanced on time. 

"I have been in shape and I knew it was coming when it matters the most."

Source: Reuters

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