Korotyshkin and Skvortsov book London places

Russian swimming team skipper Yevgeny Korotyshkin clinched the national title in the men's 100-metre butterfly on the second day of the country's championships here on Wednesday. The 28-year-old short-course world record-holder at this distance clocked a time of 52.07sec to win the right to represent Russia at the 2012 Olympics in London later this year. Nikolai Skvortsov, who finished second (52.08), will also compete at London. Nikolai Konovalov was third (52.15) In the championships, which also double as Olympic qualifiers, Alexander Tikhonov of Moscow also obtained a ticket to London with a time of 4min 15.24sec in the men's 400m medley. The race also opened the way to the Olympics for second-placed Dmitry Gorbunov (4:20.88). Andrei Krylov came third (4:21.15). Beijing Olympics two-time bronze medal-winner Arkady Vyatchanin also qualified for the Olympics, winning the men's 100m backstroke in a time of 53.91. Second-placed Vladimir Morozov (53.93) also gained a pass to the Olympics, while Vitaly Borisov came third with a time of 54.80. Meanwhile, Veronika Popova of Saint Petersburg won the women's 100m freestyle to seal her Olympic berth in 55.15, while Margarita Nesterova and Natalia Lovtsova were second (55.91) and third (56.05) respectively. Maria Novikova won gold in the women's 200m butterfly, clocking 2:13.55 ahead of second-placed Irina Bespalova (2:13.79), while Sofia Gutnik took bronze (2:14.89).