Mattsson won the heat with a time of 2:11.51.
Matti Mattsson continues in his main event in the 200-meter breaststroke to the semi-finals at the European Swimming Championships in Rome. Mattsson swam in the heats of the morning with a time of 2:11.51 and was the second fastest in the heats.
“The effort was to swim as quietly as possible, and it came true quite well,” Mattsson said in a Yle TV interview.
The Czech Republic was the fastest at the start Matej Zabojnik on 2.11.16.
The European Championships are swum in an outdoor pool, and the semi-finals of the trip start today at 20:04 Finnish time. The final is on Sunday evening.
“I don’t think anything magical is needed to make it to tomorrow night,” Mattsson said.
He thought that he would start harder in the semi-final than in the heat, in order to get to the second hundred meters with a good rhythm.
“At a slow pace, it often happens that the swim starts to sink. Now that (quiet speed) was a conscious risk,” Mattsson said.
Last year, Mattsson swam Olympic bronze in Tokyo. His Finnish record is 2:07.13 from Tokyo.
The Dutchman who won silver at the 100-meter breaststroke World Cup in Budapest in June Arno Kamminga pulled back from 200 meters, but Mattsson didn’t make a mistake yet to claim the medal for himself.
“Let’s go one swim at a time and see what the situation will be. In the final, the eight guys on the line can all win,” Mattsson reminded Yle.
At the European Championships in Rome, Kamminga was only seventh out of 100, but won Olympic silver in Tokyo in 100 meters and 200 meters.
Jenna Laukkanen swam her best speed of the season in the women’s 50-meter backstroke, but the next place escaped the river-mouthed swimmer in the EC pool. Laukkanen’s time in the heats was 29.13, and it brought 25th place. 16 swimmers advanced to the semi-finals.
“For a long time I had a smile on my face when I touched the end of the pool,” Laukkanen said in a Yle TV interview.
Rarely competes in backstroke Laura Lahtinen was the last of the bunch, i.e. the 35th. Lahtinen’s time was 31.36.
France’s Analia Pigree was the fastest in the heats with a time of 27.53.
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