Top Japanese swimmer Kosuke Kitajima's confidence level went up as he completed a breaststroke double for the second straight Mare Nostrum European Grand Prix event with a 100-meter victory in Barcelona on Thursday. Kitajima touched the wall in 1 minute, 0.96 seconds in the final, 0.35 ahead of Australian runnerup Brenton Rickard and 0.14 faster than his winning time in the Grand Prix series opener in Canet, France last weekend. "It's a good sign I clocked under 1:01," said the Athens Olympic double gold medalist, who won the 200 meters a day earlier. "I haven't felt good like this about my swim for a while," Kitajima said.
