Photo: MAXIM THORE / BILDBYRÅN
The 27-year-old Swede swam six tenths faster than she had done before during the World Cup and hit the tile in a time of 55.46.
– I’m really happy to finish in 55 seconds. The goal was to swim faster for each sub-competition, says <a href="https://www.archysport.com/2022/08/european-swimming-championships-french-crown-in-mixed-relay-wattel-in-silver-brouard-in-withdrawal/” title=”European Swimming Championships: French crown in mixed relay, Wattel in silver, Brouard in withdrawal”>Louise Hansson in the Eurovision Sports broadcast.
She finished third over the distance in Shanghai and fourth in Incheon, South Korea. Now came the perfect match for this summer’s Olympic finalist.
The victory meant that she also stopped 21-year-old Finnish Laura Lahtinen from the bonus check of just over SEK 100,000 that goes to the swimmers who manage to take three straight victories in their discipline during the World Cup.
Lahtinen was only third and Hansson’s margin of victory to 17-year-old Japanese runner-up Mizuki Hirai was 35 hundredths.
Polished own world record
Sara Junevik also swam in the final and finished sixth in 56.99. Junevik doubled and finished fourth in the 100-meter free in 52.61, just over half a second from third place.
Louise Hansson’s younger sister Sophie missed the podium in the 50 meter breaststroke by 19 hundredths and was fourth in 29.98.
In the men’s 50 meter butterfly, the Swiss Noe Ponti improved his own world record already in the trials by 17 hundredths to 21.50.
Kate Douglass, USA, who broke double world records in the 200m breaststroke, won the overall World Cup and on the men’s side, Olympic king Leon Marchand, France, four golds in Paris, was the overall winner.
