Greek swimmer Andreas Vazaios has successfully defended his SC Euros title in the 200 individual medley in the day four finals of the European Short Course Championships, touching in 1:51.70 to take gold.
O Εθνικός Υμνος για τον Ανδρέα Βαζαίο 🥇🇬🇷💪#TeamHellas #gold #swimming #kazan2021 #EuropeanChampionships #euroswim2021 pic.twitter.com/19M5SeDZPC
— Ηellenic Olympic Committee (@HellenicOlympic) November 5, 2021
At the Short Course Championships, taking place in Kazan, Russia, from the 2nd to the 7th November, Greek record holder Vazaios swam a 27.05 second backstroke and 32.29 second breast split, putting himself a full second ahead of the pool at the 150 metre mark to win by three quarters of a second.
The swim was just slightly slower his own meet and European Record of 1:50.85, which he set in 2019.
Italian swimmers Thomas Ceccon and Alberto Razzetti both closed hard with Ceccon swimming the field’s fastest closing split of 26.87 seconds to finish second, and Razetti having the second fastest at 27.22 seconds to finish for the bronze.
18 year old Hungarian Hubert Kos, who lead at the halfway mark, finished up in fourth place.
Men’s 200 IM Final
SC Euros Record: Andreas Vazaios (GRE) – 1:50.85 (2019)
European Record: Andreas Vazaios (GRE) – 1:50.85 (2019)
World Record: Ryan Lochte (USA) – 1:49.63 (2012)
Top 3 Finishers
Gold: Andreas Vazaios (GRE): 1:51.70
Silver: Thomas Ceccon (ITA): 1:52.49
Bronze: Alberto Razzetti (ITA) 1:52.75
Born in Athens in May 1994, Andreas Vazaios is a two-time Olympian. At the 2012 Olympic Games, he competed in the 200 individual medley and placed 26th respectively. Four years later, he qualified for the semi-final in the same event and finished 11th overall with a time of 1:59.54.
Vazaios also won the European Championship title in the 200 IM at the 2016 European Championships. Most recently, he placed 9th in the 200 IM at the 2017 FINA World Championships in Budapest.
