World record holder Kosuke Kitajima finished in a disappointing third in the men's 100-meter breaststroke final at the European Grand Prix meet held in Rome on Sunday.
After marking the fastest time in the qualifying heats, Kitajima, who settled for second in the 200 breaststroke a day earlier, made the halfway turn in fourth and clocked 1 minute, 1.47 seconds while Ukraine's Oleg Lisogor won the top honors in 1:01.13.
In the men's 1,500 freestyle, 19-year-old Takeshi Matsuda prevailed in 15:10.97 and in the women's 400 freestyle, Sachiko Yamada cruised to victory in 4:08.18.