RIESA (Germany), Dec 13: Germany’s Thomas Rupprath retained his 100 metres butterfly title in great style at the European short-course championships on Friday.

The 25-year-old, who was competing in Australia only last weekend, hurtled to victory in 50.77 seconds to win by nearly a second. He did not threaten the short-course world record of 50.10 he set in Berlin last January.

Rupprath, winner of this event in 1996, 2000 and 2001, has set world short-course records in the 50 and 100 backstroke in the past fortnight, breaking the latter in Melbourne last Sunday.

Andriy Serdinov of Ukraine took the silver in 51.57 and Igor Marchenko of Russia the bronze in 51.61, 0.05 seconds ahead of Britain’s James Hickman, winner of the event in 1998.

European short course championships results

Leading results (* denotes new result):

Men

400 metres individual medley 1. Alessio Boggiatto (Italy) four minutes and 07.44 seconds 2. Jacob Carstensen (Denmark) 4:08.80 3. Laszlo Cseh (Hungary) 4:08.96 4. Istvan Bathazi (Hungary) 4:11.70 5. Dmytro Nazarenko (Ukraine) 4:12.07

100m breaststroke 1. Oleg Lisogor (Ukraine) 59.09 2. Hugues Duboscq (France) 59.18 3. Jarno Pihlava (Finland) 59.49 4. Dimitri Komornikov (Russia) 59.72 5. Maxim Podoprigora (Austria) 1:00.04

* 100m butterfly 1. Thomas Rupprath (Germany) 50.77 2. Andriy Serdinov (Ukraine) 51.57 3. Igor Marchenko (Russia) 51.61 4. James Hickman (Britain) 51.66 5. Yevgeny Korotyshkin (Russia) 51.97

Women

800 metres freestyle 1. Eva Risztov (Hungary) eight minutes and 14.72 seconds 2. Flavia Rigamonti (Switzerland) 8:16.16 3. Hannah Stockbauer (Germany) 8:20.92 4. Jana Henke (Germany) 8:21.76 5. Keri-Anne Payne (Britain) 8:25.87

200 metres breaststroke 1. Mirna Jukic (Austria) 2:21.66 2. Sarah Poewe (Germany) 2:21.99 3. Anne Poleska (Germany) 2:23.51 4. Yelena Bogomazova (Russia) 2:24.78 5. Agnes Kovacs (Hungary) 2:24.79

100m freestyle 1= Alena Popchanka (Belarus) 53.66 1= Martina Moracova (Slovakia) 53.66 3. Petra Dallmann (Germany) 54.03 4. Alison Sheppard (Britain) 54.04 5. Marleen Veldhuis (Netherlands) 54.19

* 100m backstroke 1. Antje Buschschulte (Germany) 58.60 2. Ilona Hlavackova (Czech Republic) 59.61 3. Sarah Price (Britain) 59.83 4. Stanislava Komarova (Russia) 59.92 5. Laure Manaudou (France) 59.93—Reuters