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Popov poised for a big splash

Derek Parr

Alexander Popov can cap a decade of swimming excellence next week by completing an unprecedented winning streak at the European Championships.

Popov, double gold medallist at the 1992 and 1996 Olympics, is favourite to win the European 100 metres freestyle for the fifth time since his debut in 1991 and also collect his fourth successive victory in the 50 freestyle.

Nobody has won a single event more than four times in the 73-year history of the championships, which begin on Thursday amid enormous security because of the conflict between Turkish security forces and Kurdish guerrillas.

A spate of bomb attacks in Istanbul and across Turkey followed the capture of Kurdish guerrilla chief Abdullah Ocalan in February. Ocalan, held in an island prison south of Istanbul, has since been sentenced to death.

Thousands of police have been drafted in to step up security for around 1,000 swimmers and officials from 43 nations. Leading swimmers had expressed doubts about their safety and the German Swimming Federation at one point considered staying away from the 11-day championships.

In the pool, Popov suffered his only major long-course championship defeat of the 1990s when he was beaten into second place in the 50 by American Bill Pilczuk at the 1998 World Championships in Perth.

But the Canberra-based Russian has proved invincible in the showpiece 100 freestyle, with two Olympic, two World and four European titles to his name.

Sweden's Lars Frolander, who won the 100 freestyle and 100 butterfly in April's world short-course championships when Popov was easing his way back after knee surgery, will lead the challenge in the 100, while Briton Mark Foster hopes to pip Popov in the 50 and add long-course gold to his short-course World crown.

Popov's teammate Denis Pankratov, whose fortunes have plummeted since he won the 100 and 200 butterfly at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, has promised one last attempt at a comeback, although he suffered two resounding defeats by Anatoly Polyakov in last month's Russian championships. Pankratov will just swim the 200.

Also on the comeback trail is former World champion Franziska Van Almsick, who failed to qualify for the German team in her speciality 200 metres freestyle but luckily made it in the 100 freestyle by taking second place at the national trials after faster rival Antje Buschschulte was disqualified. She will also swim the 100 butterfly, as well as relays.

Germany's top contender will be Sandra Voelker, double Olympic freestyle medallist, who broke her own 50 metres backstroke World record in Monaco last month and picked up three individual medals at the 1997 European Championships in Seville.

She will swim the 100 freestyle and 50 and 100 backstroke but has decided not to contest the 50 freestyle.

The championships start tomorrow with synchronised swimming preliminaries. Diving and open-water swimming races begin on Friday and the main pool swimming events next Monday.

For the first time since the inaugural European Championships in 1926, all the water polo will be held at a different place and time from the other aquatic disciplines, taking place in Italy in September.

Popov and Voelker lead the parade of defending swimming champions but there will be no triumphant European return for triple Olympic gold medallist Michelle Smith-de Bruin, whose career collapsed with the failure last month of her appeal against a four-year ban for tampering with a urine sample.

UNI