Re-posted from FINA Facebook
Here's to an amazing comeback for Michael Phelps: he won the 100m fly prelims, finished 2nd in the finals. Not bad after 628 days without competing!
Showing posts with label FINA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label FINA. Show all posts
Friday, 25 April 2014
FINA : Amazing Comeback for Michael Phelps
Re-posted from FINA Facebook
Here's to an amazing comeback for Michael Phelps: he won the 100m fly prelims, finished 2nd in the finals. Not bad after 628 days without competing!
Thursday, 7 November 2013
The NST : Bego encouraged by Singapore show
By Ajitpal Singh
DANIEL Bego received an early boost ahead of next month's Myanmar Sea Games by finishing strongly in the ongoing FINA Swimming World Cup short-course meet in Singapore.
Bego, who was the star performer for Malaysia when he bagged five gold medals in the 2009 Laos Sea Games, managed to qualify for the men's 400m freestyle final en route to finishing sixth in 3:50.87. World 50m record holder Robert Hurley of Australia won the gold in 3:38.68.
Bego was five seconds slower in the heats but sneaked into the final by narrowly beating compatriot Vernon Lee (3:55.84).
The Sarawak swimmer had to lay off the sport for more than a year after undergoing surgery on both his shoulders in 2011. He missed the 2011 Sea Games in Indonesia and also failed to qualify for last year's London Olympics.
Bego had to go for a third surgery to correct a long-standing bone spur problem in his right shoulder and only returned to competition in February.
Bego, however, has been showing signs of returning to his best in several meets this year. He bagged his first title in the 100m butterfly at the Malaysian Open in May.
He then continued his momentum at the World University Games, posting 50.86 in the 100m freestyle to qualify for the Sea Games.
Compatriots Christina Loh, Khoo Cai Lin and Yap See Tuan also posted top eight finishes in Singapore. Christina clocked 1:08.94 to settle for fifth in the women's 100m breaststroke, five seconds behind gold medallist Alia Atkinson of Jamaica (1:03.48).
See Tuan (2:14.53) and Cai Lin (8:42.73) finished seventh in the men's 200m breaststroke and women's 800m freestyle respectively.
Read more: Bego encouraged by Singapore show - Other - New Straits Times http://www.nst.com.my/sports/other/bego-encouraged-by-singapore-show-1.394019#ixzz2jwsD2POn
DANIEL Bego received an early boost ahead of next month's Myanmar Sea Games by finishing strongly in the ongoing FINA Swimming World Cup short-course meet in Singapore.
Bego, who was the star performer for Malaysia when he bagged five gold medals in the 2009 Laos Sea Games, managed to qualify for the men's 400m freestyle final en route to finishing sixth in 3:50.87. World 50m record holder Robert Hurley of Australia won the gold in 3:38.68.
Bego was five seconds slower in the heats but sneaked into the final by narrowly beating compatriot Vernon Lee (3:55.84).
The Sarawak swimmer had to lay off the sport for more than a year after undergoing surgery on both his shoulders in 2011. He missed the 2011 Sea Games in Indonesia and also failed to qualify for last year's London Olympics.
Bego had to go for a third surgery to correct a long-standing bone spur problem in his right shoulder and only returned to competition in February.
Bego, however, has been showing signs of returning to his best in several meets this year. He bagged his first title in the 100m butterfly at the Malaysian Open in May.
He then continued his momentum at the World University Games, posting 50.86 in the 100m freestyle to qualify for the Sea Games.
Compatriots Christina Loh, Khoo Cai Lin and Yap See Tuan also posted top eight finishes in Singapore. Christina clocked 1:08.94 to settle for fifth in the women's 100m breaststroke, five seconds behind gold medallist Alia Atkinson of Jamaica (1:03.48).
See Tuan (2:14.53) and Cai Lin (8:42.73) finished seventh in the men's 200m breaststroke and women's 800m freestyle respectively.
Read more: Bego encouraged by Singapore show - Other - New Straits Times http://www.nst.com.my/sports/other/bego-encouraged-by-singapore-show-1.394019#ixzz2jwsD2POn
The Star Online : Daniel's all set to make SEA Games return
PETALING JAYA: Swimmer Daniel Bego underlined his intentions ahead of his return to the SEA Games scene in Myanmar next month with a strong performance in the FINA Swimming World Cup short course meet in Singapore.The 24-year-old, who missed the last SEA Games in Indonesia to recover from a shoulder operation, managed to qualify for the 400m freestyle final en route to finishing sixth in 3:50.87. 50m backstroke short course world record holder Robert Hurley of Australia won the event in 3:38.68.
Daniel was about five seconds slower in Wednesday morning’s heat and narrowly beat compatriot Vernon Lee (3:55.84) to sneak into the final as the eighth and last qualifier on 3:55.52.
The Sarawakian is best remembered for his five gold medal splash at the Laos SEA Games in 2009, winning the 100m, 200m and 400m freestyle, and 100m and 200m butterfly. Four of the victories came along with SEA Games records.
Daniel will surely be out to make up for lost time after undergoing two shoulder surgeries to correct a long-standing bone spur problem that prevented him from defending his titles at the last SEA Games.
He only returned to competitive action early this year after a long period of rehabilitation and the first sign of improvement was when he bagged his first gold medal in the 100m butterfly at the Malaysian Open in May.
He then continued his momentum at the Kazan Universiade, clocking a good time of 50.86 in the 100m freestyle to qualify for SEA Games.
The Myanmar SEA Games qualifying mark is based on the silver medal time from the previous edition in Palembang (50.92) and it was refreshing to see Daniel posting his season best in Kazan.
Daniel was not the only national swimmer to impress on the first day as Christina Loh, Khoo Cai Lin and Yap See Tuan also posted top eight finishes, too.
Christina, who is entrusted with replacing Siow Yi Ting as breaststroke queen of the region, touched the wall at 1:08.94 to settle for a strong fifth in the women’s 100m breaststroke, five seconds behind winner Alia Atkinson of Jamaica (1:03.48).
See Tuan (2:14.53) and Cai Lin (8:42.73) finished seventh respectively in the men’s 200m breaststroke and women’s 800m freestyle.
National coach Paul Birmingham wants the swimmers to participate in some races to build up their competitive spirit ahead of the Myanmar SEA Games where they will renew their rivalry with regional counterparts.
Short course timings on a 25m pool are generally faster than those set on long course as the swimmers get extra speed when they push off the wall.
Wednesday, 25 September 2013
New FINA Rules effective 25 Sept 2013
FINA has revised its rules and regulations for 2013-2017 effective today, 25 September 2013.See the General Rules (wef. 26 Sept 2013) and FINA Swimming Rules (wef. 25 Sept 2013).
You may also read the comments on the changes from swimswam.com, where it's worth noting the excerpt below :
"In breaststroke and butterfly, two-hand touches can no longer be overlapping. The hands must be separated when the wall is touched.
In backstroke, FINA took out the wording that a swimmer is allowed to be completely submerged at the finish of a race (though they can still do so at the turn). This means that the big lunges we see, most often in younger age groups, that put the swimmer entirely underwater into the wall are now eliminated. This is important for all coaches to keep an eye on."
Monday, 5 August 2013
Star Online :Missy motors to record sixth gold in Barcelona
BARCELONA (Reuters) - The final day of the world swimming championships belonged to Missy Franklin as the American teenager became the first woman to win six golds at a single edition thanks to the U.S. triumph in the medley relay on Sunday.
In a frenetic session at Barcelona's Palau Sant Jordi, there was high drama when the U.S. men were disqualified from their medley relay after finishing well ahead of France, while China's Sun Yang won a second consecutive gold in the men's 1,500 freestyle to complete a rare treble of distance titles.
Among the men, there were triumphs for Frenchman Camille Lacourt in the 50 backstroke and Japanese teenager Daiya Seto in the 400 individual medley, while Russia's Yuliya Efimova won gold in the women's 50 breaststroke to add to her title over 200 metres.
Ranomi Kromowidjojo of the Netherlands claimed the 50 freestyle gold and Katinka Hosszu of Hungary followed up her victory over 200 metres to win the 400 medley.
After a flurry of finals, the women's medley relay was the final event on the eighth day of racing in the hilltop pool and Franklin and her team mates did not disappoint.
The 18-year-old swam a blistering opening backstroke leg to give the Americans a healthy lead they never relinquished and their success followed her titles in 100 and 200 backstroke, 200 freestyle and the 4x100 and 4x200 freestyle relays. She was fourth in Friday's 100 freestyle.
"I think the whole week was kind of difficult swimming this many events but I think I've proven a lot to myself and being able to swim as much as I swam," the perpetually chirpy Colorado native told a news conference.
"Moving forward I'm excited for more opportunities to swim like this again."
Franklin's sixth gold in Barcelona is one more than the previous record of five she jointly held with compatriot Tracy Caulkins and Australia's Libby Trickett.
The only other woman to win six golds at a single major meet is East German Kristin Otto at the 1988 Seoul Olympics.
After her three world titles at the 2011 championships in Shanghai, Franklin is also tied for the most golds overall with Trickett on nine. She also owns four Olympic titles.
WILD CELEBRATIONS
The biggest shock of the night came immediately before Franklin took to the pool when a misjudgement by her male compatriots handed France relay victory.
The Americans touched well ahead before the stadium announcer drew gasps from the crowd and prompted wild celebrations among the French when he announced the winners had been disqualified "for an early exchange".
Official results showed 19-year-old Kevin Cordes, swimming the second, breaststroke leg, had gone 0.04 seconds too early.
"A relay disqualification is not a particular individual's fault," U.S. team member Nathan Adrian told reporters.
"It's Team USA's fault and it falls on all of our shoulders," he added.
"It will really motivate him. In the next couple of years we're going to have the fastest breaststroker in the world."
The Americans were denied what would have been a 12th triumph in the event in 15 championships since the inaugural edition in Belgrade in 1973 and Ryan Lochte missed out on a fourth gold of the week.
The drama echoed an incident at the world championships in Melbourne in 2007.
Michael Phelps' bid to win eight golds was ruined when the U.S. team was disqualified from the heats of the medley relay.
Phelps had already won a record-equalling six titles and was expected to win his final two events on the last day of competition to make it eight from eight.
He safely qualified for the 400 individual medley but lost his chance to compete in an eighth final when Ian Crocker left the starting blocks one-hundredth of a second too early.
RELATIVELY SLOW
Many had expected Chinese Sun to challenge the world record he set to win Olympic 1,500 freestyle in London last year.
In a relatively slow race he stayed on the shoulder of Canada's Ryan Cochrane before pulling inexorably away in the final 100 metres.
The Olympic champion and world record holder matched American teenager Katie Ledecky in winning 400, 800 and 1,500 freestyle titles in the Catalan capital.
The towering 22-year-old is only the second man to achieve the feat at a world championships after Australian Grant Hackett at the 2005 edition in Montreal.
The French men's relay triumph capped a fine day for the European nation, who pipped the U.S. to win last Sunday's 4x100 freestyle event.
Lacourt's team mate Jeremy Stravius tied for silver in the 50 backstroke with American Matt Grevers, only the second time two swimmers have finished equal second at a world championships after it happened the 100 backstroke in 2003.
Athletes thoughts now turn to the next edition in Kazan, Russia in 2015 before they gear up for the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro a year later.
(Additional reporting by Emma Pinedo in Madrid, Gregory Blachier in Paris and Josh Reich in London, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
 |
| (Centre, from L to R) Missy Franklin, Jessica Hardy, Dana Vollmer and Megan Romano of the U.S. pose with their gold medals at the women's 4x100m medley relay victory ceremony during the World Swimming Championships at the Sant Jordi arena in Barcelona August 4, 2013. REUTERS/Albert Gea |
In a frenetic session at Barcelona's Palau Sant Jordi, there was high drama when the U.S. men were disqualified from their medley relay after finishing well ahead of France, while China's Sun Yang won a second consecutive gold in the men's 1,500 freestyle to complete a rare treble of distance titles.
Among the men, there were triumphs for Frenchman Camille Lacourt in the 50 backstroke and Japanese teenager Daiya Seto in the 400 individual medley, while Russia's Yuliya Efimova won gold in the women's 50 breaststroke to add to her title over 200 metres.
Ranomi Kromowidjojo of the Netherlands claimed the 50 freestyle gold and Katinka Hosszu of Hungary followed up her victory over 200 metres to win the 400 medley.
After a flurry of finals, the women's medley relay was the final event on the eighth day of racing in the hilltop pool and Franklin and her team mates did not disappoint.
The 18-year-old swam a blistering opening backstroke leg to give the Americans a healthy lead they never relinquished and their success followed her titles in 100 and 200 backstroke, 200 freestyle and the 4x100 and 4x200 freestyle relays. She was fourth in Friday's 100 freestyle.
"I think the whole week was kind of difficult swimming this many events but I think I've proven a lot to myself and being able to swim as much as I swam," the perpetually chirpy Colorado native told a news conference.
"Moving forward I'm excited for more opportunities to swim like this again."
Franklin's sixth gold in Barcelona is one more than the previous record of five she jointly held with compatriot Tracy Caulkins and Australia's Libby Trickett.
The only other woman to win six golds at a single major meet is East German Kristin Otto at the 1988 Seoul Olympics.
After her three world titles at the 2011 championships in Shanghai, Franklin is also tied for the most golds overall with Trickett on nine. She also owns four Olympic titles.
WILD CELEBRATIONS
The biggest shock of the night came immediately before Franklin took to the pool when a misjudgement by her male compatriots handed France relay victory.
The Americans touched well ahead before the stadium announcer drew gasps from the crowd and prompted wild celebrations among the French when he announced the winners had been disqualified "for an early exchange".
Official results showed 19-year-old Kevin Cordes, swimming the second, breaststroke leg, had gone 0.04 seconds too early.
"A relay disqualification is not a particular individual's fault," U.S. team member Nathan Adrian told reporters.
"It's Team USA's fault and it falls on all of our shoulders," he added.
"It will really motivate him. In the next couple of years we're going to have the fastest breaststroker in the world."
The Americans were denied what would have been a 12th triumph in the event in 15 championships since the inaugural edition in Belgrade in 1973 and Ryan Lochte missed out on a fourth gold of the week.
The drama echoed an incident at the world championships in Melbourne in 2007.
Michael Phelps' bid to win eight golds was ruined when the U.S. team was disqualified from the heats of the medley relay.
Phelps had already won a record-equalling six titles and was expected to win his final two events on the last day of competition to make it eight from eight.
He safely qualified for the 400 individual medley but lost his chance to compete in an eighth final when Ian Crocker left the starting blocks one-hundredth of a second too early.
RELATIVELY SLOW
Many had expected Chinese Sun to challenge the world record he set to win Olympic 1,500 freestyle in London last year.
In a relatively slow race he stayed on the shoulder of Canada's Ryan Cochrane before pulling inexorably away in the final 100 metres.
The Olympic champion and world record holder matched American teenager Katie Ledecky in winning 400, 800 and 1,500 freestyle titles in the Catalan capital.
The towering 22-year-old is only the second man to achieve the feat at a world championships after Australian Grant Hackett at the 2005 edition in Montreal.
The French men's relay triumph capped a fine day for the European nation, who pipped the U.S. to win last Sunday's 4x100 freestyle event.
Lacourt's team mate Jeremy Stravius tied for silver in the 50 backstroke with American Matt Grevers, only the second time two swimmers have finished equal second at a world championships after it happened the 100 backstroke in 2003.
Athletes thoughts now turn to the next edition in Kazan, Russia in 2015 before they gear up for the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro a year later.
(Additional reporting by Emma Pinedo in Madrid, Gregory Blachier in Paris and Josh Reich in London, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
Star Online :Wonder woman Missy has the world at her outsized feet
BARCELONA (Reuters) - Missy Franklin has already equalled the women's record for the most world championship golds of nine and the six she claimed in Barcelona this week were more than any female swimmer has won before at a single edition.
It is small wonder one breathless rival dubbed the teenager a "wonder woman without a cape".
After blazing a trail in the Catalan capital, following up on her four golds and a bronze at last year's London Olympics, the perpetually chirpy 18-year-old from Colorado is poised to embark on a new adventure at the University of California at Berkeley in a few weeks.
If all goes well she can expect another hatful of medals at the next world championships in Kazan, Russia in 2015 before gearing up for the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro a year later.
She has spent more than a decade with coach Todd Schmitz but will now join up with Teri McKeever at Berkeley's prestigious facilities overlooking San Francisco Bay and follow in the footsteps of the likes of Olympic champions Natalie Coughlin, Dana Vollmer and Jessica Hardy.
"My last year with Todd is very bitter-sweet because we're in our 11th year together now," Franklin, who says her favourite event is the 200 backstroke, told reporters before racing started in Barcelona.
"A very, very long time but I couldn't be more excited to go to Berkeley and to work with coach McKeever."
Franklin's exploits in Barcelona have inevitably prompted comparisons with decorated compatriot Michael Phelps, though she still has some way to go to match his 18 Olympic golds and 26 world championship titles.
Phelps won seven titles at the 2007 worlds in Melbourne before his astonishing haul of eight golds at the Olympics in Beijing a year later.
Asked on Sunday whether she was ready to step into Phelps' shoes as the new face of swimming, Franklin said she wanted to make her own mark.
"I just feel like Missy," she told a news conference.
"I think that's all I ever want to be is just Missy. I don't want to take after someone else because everyone leaves their own unique mark and no one will ever do what Michael did and how Michael did it.
GOOD GENES
"It's been incredible watching him and I kind of have my own unique traits that make me known for just being me in the swimming world instead of anyone else."
She was also quizzed about what she has that sets her apart from other swimmers.
At around 6-feet-1 (1.85 metres), with a "wing span" of some six feet four and size 13 shoes she admitted before the championships she was "a bit different than your average 18-year-old girl".
"It was actually kind of difficult growing up and being a little bit different than everyone else, always being a head above the boys," she said.
"It's such an incredible blessing to be born with what I have been born with because I don't think I would be sitting here today if I didn't have the genes."
Expanding on the theme on Sunday, she said she wasn't really sure what made her a champion.
"I think every swimmer has things that set them apart from other swimmers.
"We're all unique and I think that's what makes swimming so much fun is we're all so different.
"I think that's what makes it fun to race, what makes it fun to watch.
"I think my coaches and team mates might know better than I do but all I know is that when I get up behind the block I just race my heart out and have a blast while I'm doing it."
Franklin's only setback in Barcelona was a fourth-placed finish in the 100 freestyle. She also withdrew from the 50 backstroke.
"My most challenging race was probably the 100 metres freestyle," she said on Sunday.
"There was an unbelievable field in that event and I think I learned the most from that race even though it was the hardest."
Australia's Cate Campbell took gold in that race and joked with reporters that Franklin's prowess "terrified" her.
"She's wonder woman without a cape," the 21-year-old said on Sunday.
"Honestly I'm exhausted just watching her. She's definitely given me the motivation to go and train just a little bit harder."
(Editing by Pritha Sarkar)
 |
| Missy Franklin of the U.S. (R) hugs her team mate Megan Romano after winning the women's 4x100m medley final during the World Swimming Championships at the Sant Jordi arena in Barcelona August 4, 2013. REUTERS/Michael Dalder |
After blazing a trail in the Catalan capital, following up on her four golds and a bronze at last year's London Olympics, the perpetually chirpy 18-year-old from Colorado is poised to embark on a new adventure at the University of California at Berkeley in a few weeks.
If all goes well she can expect another hatful of medals at the next world championships in Kazan, Russia in 2015 before gearing up for the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro a year later.
She has spent more than a decade with coach Todd Schmitz but will now join up with Teri McKeever at Berkeley's prestigious facilities overlooking San Francisco Bay and follow in the footsteps of the likes of Olympic champions Natalie Coughlin, Dana Vollmer and Jessica Hardy.
"My last year with Todd is very bitter-sweet because we're in our 11th year together now," Franklin, who says her favourite event is the 200 backstroke, told reporters before racing started in Barcelona.
"A very, very long time but I couldn't be more excited to go to Berkeley and to work with coach McKeever."
Franklin's exploits in Barcelona have inevitably prompted comparisons with decorated compatriot Michael Phelps, though she still has some way to go to match his 18 Olympic golds and 26 world championship titles.
Phelps won seven titles at the 2007 worlds in Melbourne before his astonishing haul of eight golds at the Olympics in Beijing a year later.
Asked on Sunday whether she was ready to step into Phelps' shoes as the new face of swimming, Franklin said she wanted to make her own mark.
"I just feel like Missy," she told a news conference.
"I think that's all I ever want to be is just Missy. I don't want to take after someone else because everyone leaves their own unique mark and no one will ever do what Michael did and how Michael did it.
GOOD GENES
"It's been incredible watching him and I kind of have my own unique traits that make me known for just being me in the swimming world instead of anyone else."
She was also quizzed about what she has that sets her apart from other swimmers.
At around 6-feet-1 (1.85 metres), with a "wing span" of some six feet four and size 13 shoes she admitted before the championships she was "a bit different than your average 18-year-old girl".
"It was actually kind of difficult growing up and being a little bit different than everyone else, always being a head above the boys," she said.
"It's such an incredible blessing to be born with what I have been born with because I don't think I would be sitting here today if I didn't have the genes."
Expanding on the theme on Sunday, she said she wasn't really sure what made her a champion.
"I think every swimmer has things that set them apart from other swimmers.
"We're all unique and I think that's what makes swimming so much fun is we're all so different.
"I think that's what makes it fun to race, what makes it fun to watch.
"I think my coaches and team mates might know better than I do but all I know is that when I get up behind the block I just race my heart out and have a blast while I'm doing it."
Franklin's only setback in Barcelona was a fourth-placed finish in the 100 freestyle. She also withdrew from the 50 backstroke.
"My most challenging race was probably the 100 metres freestyle," she said on Sunday.
"There was an unbelievable field in that event and I think I learned the most from that race even though it was the hardest."
Australia's Cate Campbell took gold in that race and joked with reporters that Franklin's prowess "terrified" her.
"She's wonder woman without a cape," the 21-year-old said on Sunday.
"Honestly I'm exhausted just watching her. She's definitely given me the motivation to go and train just a little bit harder."
(Editing by Pritha Sarkar)
Star Online :France win medley gold after U.S. disqualified
BARCELONA (Reuters) - France were handed a shock victory in the men's 4x100 metres medley relay when gold-medal favourites United States were disqualified at the world championships in Barcelona on Sunday.
The Americans touched first in three minutes 30.06 seconds before the stadium announcer drew gasps from the crowd and prompted wild celebrations among the French when he announced the U.S. had been disqualified "for an early exchange".
Official results showed 19-year-old Kevin Cordes, swimming the second, breaststroke leg, had jumped early by 0.04 seconds.
"A relay disqualification is not a particular individual's fault," U.S. team member Nathan Adrian told reporters.
"It's Team USA's fault and it falls on all of our shoulders," he added.
"It will really motivate him. In the next couple of years we're going to have the fastest breaststroker in the world."
France clocked a time of 3:31.51 to take gold, with Australia winning silver in 3:31.64 and Japan bronze in 3:32.26.
The Americans were denied what would have been a 12th triumph in the event in 15 championships since the inaugural edition in Belgrade in 1973.
The drama echoed an incident at the world championships in Melbourne in 2007.
Michael Phelps' bid to win eight golds was ruined when the U.S. team was disqualified from the heats of the medley relay.
Phelps had already won a record-equalling six titles and was expected to win his final two events on the last day of competition to make it eight from eight.
He safely qualified for the 400 individual medley but lost his chance to compete in an eighth final when Ian Crocker left the starting blocks one-hundredth of a second too early.
(Editing by Pritha Sarkar)
 | |
| Team France pose with their gold medals at the men's 4x100m medley relay victory ceremony during the World Swimming Championships at the Sant Jordi arena in Barcelona August 4, 2013. |
Official results showed 19-year-old Kevin Cordes, swimming the second, breaststroke leg, had jumped early by 0.04 seconds.
"A relay disqualification is not a particular individual's fault," U.S. team member Nathan Adrian told reporters.
"It's Team USA's fault and it falls on all of our shoulders," he added.
"It will really motivate him. In the next couple of years we're going to have the fastest breaststroker in the world."
France clocked a time of 3:31.51 to take gold, with Australia winning silver in 3:31.64 and Japan bronze in 3:32.26.
The Americans were denied what would have been a 12th triumph in the event in 15 championships since the inaugural edition in Belgrade in 1973.
The drama echoed an incident at the world championships in Melbourne in 2007.
Michael Phelps' bid to win eight golds was ruined when the U.S. team was disqualified from the heats of the medley relay.
Phelps had already won a record-equalling six titles and was expected to win his final two events on the last day of competition to make it eight from eight.
He safely qualified for the 400 individual medley but lost his chance to compete in an eighth final when Ian Crocker left the starting blocks one-hundredth of a second too early.
(Editing by Pritha Sarkar)
FINA Live Blog :Swimming, Day 8 – Seven nations with gold in eight finals
The eighth and last day of the swimming competitions at the 15th FINA World Championships was marked by the variety of nations getting gold in the eight finals in the programme. Only one country – France - clinched two gold medals, thanks to the performance of Camille Lacourt in the men’s 50m backstroke, and after the surprising disqualification of USA in the men’s 4x100m medley relay. With this final outcome, the French delegation arrived third (nine podium presences, including four titles) in the swimming medals’ table, behind USA (29, comprising 13 gold) and China (also nine awards, but five wins).
In the women’s 50m breaststroke, the duel between the two world record performers Yulia Efimova (RUS) and Ruta Meilutyte (LTU) ended up in the Russian’s favour, while Japan got the gold in the men’s 400m IM: but when everyone expected a win from Kosuke Hagino, it was his teammate Daiya Seto who got the crown.
Ranomi Kromowidjojo (NED) was the best in the 50m free (Fran Halsall, in bronze, gave the only medal for Great Britain in the swimming competition), and in the men’s 1500m free Yang Sun (CHN) comfortably won but could not approach his World Record set precisely one year ago at the 2012 Olympics.
Hungary has good reasons to celebrate with the victory of Katinka Hosszu in the women’s 400m IM, but the home crowd also vibrantly cheered the silver performance of Mireia Belmonte (ESP). The only US title of the day happened in the women’s 4x100m medley, with Franklin, Hardy, Vollmer and Romano perfectly controlling the operations in the water and… on the starting blocks!
At the end of the session, were given the FINA Championships Trophies to the best Male and Female swimmer, as well as the best Team of the competition.
Among men, the award went to Yang Sun (CHN), while Katie Ledecky (USA) was the winner in the women’s field. Both athletes medalled in the same events: 400m, 800m, 1500m free and 4x200m free relay – all in gold for Ledecky and titles for Yang in the individual events and bronze in the relay. Moreover, the US and Chinese star were the second swimmers in the history of the Championships to have won in the same edition the longest free events in the programme: before Ledecky and Sun, only Hannah Stockbauer (GER) in 2003 and Grant Hackett (AUS) in 2005 respectively, had achieved the same feat.
The Trophy for the best Team went without surprise to the USA.
In the women’s 50m breaststroke, the duel between the two world record performers Yulia Efimova (RUS) and Ruta Meilutyte (LTU) ended up in the Russian’s favour, while Japan got the gold in the men’s 400m IM: but when everyone expected a win from Kosuke Hagino, it was his teammate Daiya Seto who got the crown.
Ranomi Kromowidjojo (NED) was the best in the 50m free (Fran Halsall, in bronze, gave the only medal for Great Britain in the swimming competition), and in the men’s 1500m free Yang Sun (CHN) comfortably won but could not approach his World Record set precisely one year ago at the 2012 Olympics.
Hungary has good reasons to celebrate with the victory of Katinka Hosszu in the women’s 400m IM, but the home crowd also vibrantly cheered the silver performance of Mireia Belmonte (ESP). The only US title of the day happened in the women’s 4x100m medley, with Franklin, Hardy, Vollmer and Romano perfectly controlling the operations in the water and… on the starting blocks!
At the end of the session, were given the FINA Championships Trophies to the best Male and Female swimmer, as well as the best Team of the competition.
Among men, the award went to Yang Sun (CHN), while Katie Ledecky (USA) was the winner in the women’s field. Both athletes medalled in the same events: 400m, 800m, 1500m free and 4x200m free relay – all in gold for Ledecky and titles for Yang in the individual events and bronze in the relay. Moreover, the US and Chinese star were the second swimmers in the history of the Championships to have won in the same edition the longest free events in the programme: before Ledecky and Sun, only Hannah Stockbauer (GER) in 2003 and Grant Hackett (AUS) in 2005 respectively, had achieved the same feat.
The Trophy for the best Team went without surprise to the USA.
FINA Live Blog : Swimming, Day 8 - Women's 4x100m medley relay: Record sixth gold for Franklin in US victory
Missy Franklin became the first woman to win six gold medals at a single FINA World Championships when she led the United States off to victory in the 4x100m medley relay. The tally carried the 18-year-old American past Tracy Caulkins (USA) and Libby Trickett (AUS), who both won five golds at a single Worlds, Caulkins in 1978 and Trickett in 2007. It was Franklin's ninth world gold in total (three from 2011 and six from 2013), a women's record, surpassing the eight acquired by Trickett and Kornelia Ender (GDR). Franklin, who also claimed four gold medals at the 2012 London Olympics, led the USA off on the backstroke leg inside world record pace and Jessica Hardy, Dana Vollmer and Megan Romano saw them safely home after the US men's medley quartet had been disqualified in the previous race after touching first.
The advantage in the battle for silver and bronze in the women's race changed hands throughout but there was never any doubt about the destination of gold. The United States won in 3:53.23, their fifth victory in the event, which took them past the four of the former GDR (East Germany). Australia, Olympic silver medallists behind the Americans in 2012, ultimately claimed the world silver, Cate Campbell coming through on the freestyle to bring them home in 3:55.22. Russia took bronze in 3:56.47, Yulia Efimova claiming her fourth medal of the championships to go with her 50m and 200m breaststroke golds and 100m breaststroke silver. Franklin's gold medals in Barcelona came in the 4x100m freestyle relay, 100m backstroke, 200m freestyle, 4x200m freestyle relay, 200m backstroke and 4x100m medley relay. Among the men, Michael Phelps won seven golds at the 2007 Worlds and Ian Thorpe (AUS) six in 2001.
World Record: United States, 3:52.05 – August 4, 2012 in London (GBR)
Championships Record: China, 3:52.19 – August 1, 2009 in Rome (ITA)
2003-2011 winners in this event: 2003 – China (3:59.89); 2005 – Australia (3:57.47); 2007 – Australia (3:55.74); 2009 – China (3:52.19); 2011 – United States (3:52.36)
The best in this event (1. most victories or 2. fastest time): United States (1978, 1991, 1998, 2011 & 2013)
2012 Olympic podium: 1. United States (3:52.05), 2. Australia (3:54.02), 3. Japan (3:55.73)
The advantage in the battle for silver and bronze in the women's race changed hands throughout but there was never any doubt about the destination of gold. The United States won in 3:53.23, their fifth victory in the event, which took them past the four of the former GDR (East Germany). Australia, Olympic silver medallists behind the Americans in 2012, ultimately claimed the world silver, Cate Campbell coming through on the freestyle to bring them home in 3:55.22. Russia took bronze in 3:56.47, Yulia Efimova claiming her fourth medal of the championships to go with her 50m and 200m breaststroke golds and 100m breaststroke silver. Franklin's gold medals in Barcelona came in the 4x100m freestyle relay, 100m backstroke, 200m freestyle, 4x200m freestyle relay, 200m backstroke and 4x100m medley relay. Among the men, Michael Phelps won seven golds at the 2007 Worlds and Ian Thorpe (AUS) six in 2001.
World Record: United States, 3:52.05 – August 4, 2012 in London (GBR)
Championships Record: China, 3:52.19 – August 1, 2009 in Rome (ITA)
2003-2011 winners in this event: 2003 – China (3:59.89); 2005 – Australia (3:57.47); 2007 – Australia (3:55.74); 2009 – China (3:52.19); 2011 – United States (3:52.36)
The best in this event (1. most victories or 2. fastest time): United States (1978, 1991, 1998, 2011 & 2013)
2012 Olympic podium: 1. United States (3:52.05), 2. Australia (3:54.02), 3. Japan (3:55.73)
FINA Live Blog :Swimming, Day 8 - Men’s 4x100m medley: France world champion after US disqualification
With a roll of honour consisting in 11 victories out if the 14 FINA World Championships contested, the USA were ready to get a 12th crown in Barcelona. All was going apparently well, and the North American quartet touched first in 3:30.06, but a less than a minute later, the verdict was displayed on the scoreboard: dsq, disqualified. The mistake happened in the breaststroke leg, when Kevin Cordes left the blocks -0.04 before the arrival of Matt Grevers. The tolerance being until -0.03, the US team lost the race by the tiniest possible precipitation margin: 0.01!
Already in 2007, the name of USA is missing from the list of medallists in this event: in Melbourne, the mistake had happened in the preliminaries, when Ian Crocker, leaving for the butterfly leg also departed too early: -0.04!
The title in Barcelona came to France (Lacourt, Perez-Dortona, Stravius and Gilot), in a time of 3:31.51. The French team is now the first European quartet to have won this event, after the 11 titles of USA and the three crowns of Australia (1998, 2001 and 2007). Australia (3:31.64, silver) and Japan (3:32.26, bronze) completed the podium.
World Record: United States, 3:27.28 – August 2, 2009 in Rome (ITA)
Championships Record: United States, 3:27.28 – August 2, 2009 in Rome (ITA)
2003-2011 winners in this event: 2003 – United States (3:31.54); 2005 – United States (3:31.85); 2007 – Australia (3:34.93); 2009 – United States (3:27.28); 2011 – United States (3:32.06)
The best in this event (1. most victories or 2. fastest time): United States (1973, 1975, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1991, 1994, 2003, 2005, 2009 & 2011)
2012 Olympic podium: 1. United States (3:29.35), 2. Japan (3:31.26), 3. Australia (3:31.58)
Already in 2007, the name of USA is missing from the list of medallists in this event: in Melbourne, the mistake had happened in the preliminaries, when Ian Crocker, leaving for the butterfly leg also departed too early: -0.04!
The title in Barcelona came to France (Lacourt, Perez-Dortona, Stravius and Gilot), in a time of 3:31.51. The French team is now the first European quartet to have won this event, after the 11 titles of USA and the three crowns of Australia (1998, 2001 and 2007). Australia (3:31.64, silver) and Japan (3:32.26, bronze) completed the podium.
World Record: United States, 3:27.28 – August 2, 2009 in Rome (ITA)
Championships Record: United States, 3:27.28 – August 2, 2009 in Rome (ITA)
2003-2011 winners in this event: 2003 – United States (3:31.54); 2005 – United States (3:31.85); 2007 – Australia (3:34.93); 2009 – United States (3:27.28); 2011 – United States (3:32.06)
The best in this event (1. most victories or 2. fastest time): United States (1973, 1975, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1991, 1994, 2003, 2005, 2009 & 2011)
2012 Olympic podium: 1. United States (3:29.35), 2. Japan (3:31.26), 3. Australia (3:31.58)
FINA Live Blog :Swimming, Day 8 - Women's 400m individual medley: Hosszu wins second Barcelona gold
Katinka Hosszu (HUN) claimed her second gold medal of the FINA World Championships when she added the 400m individual medley title to the 200m IM she won on Day 2 in the pool. Hosszu, who had won the 400 IM in 2009, reclaimed the crown in style, leading throughout, inside world record pace until the concluding freestyle leg.
Fourth in the 400 IM at the 2012 London Olympics, Hosszu won the world crown in 4:30.41, holding off a stirring challenge from home favourite Mireia Belmonte (ESP), who could not catch the Hungarian on the freestyle and took the silver in 4:31.21. It was the third medal for each swimmer in the same three events, Hosszu bagging gold in the 200 and 400m IM and bronze in the 200m butterfly and Belmonte collecting silver in the 200m butterfly and 400 IM and bronze in the 200m IM. Elizabeth Beisel (USA), the defending 400 IM world champion and Olympic silver medallist, claimed the bronze in 4:31.69.
Double Olympic champion Shiwen Ye (CHN), who had ceded to Hosszu the 200 IM world crown she had won at 15 at the 2011 Shanghai Worlds, once again finished outside the medals. Ye, who won both Olympic IM titles at the 2012 Olympics, came fourth in the 200 event but fared worse in the 400m. She clocked 4:38.51 for seventh place, way outside the 4:28.43 world mark she set in London. Hannah Miley (GBR), silver medallist at the 2011 Worlds, was fifth in 4:34.16.
World Record: Shiwen Ye (CHN), 4:28.43 – July 28, 2012 in London (GBR)
Championships Record: Katinka Hosszu (HUN), 4:30.31 – August 2, 2009 in Rome (ITA)
Best performance of the current season (since January 2013): Katinka Hosszu (HUN), 4:30.41 – August 4, in Barcelona (ESP)
2003-2011 winners in this event: 2003 – Yana Klochkova (UKR, 4:36.74); 2005 – Katie Hoff (USA, 4:36.07); 2007 – Katie Hoff (USA, 4:32.89); 2009 – Katinka Hosszu (HUN, 4:30.31); 2011 – Elizabeth Beisel (USA, 4:31.78)
The best in this event (1. most victories or 2. fastest time): Yana Klochkova (UKR, 2001 & 2003), Katie Hoff (USA, 2005 & 2007) and Katinka Hosszu (HUN, 2009 & 2013)
2012 Olympic podium: 1. Shiwen Ye (CHN, 4:28.43), 2. Elizabeth Beisel (USA, 4:31.27), 3. Xuanxu Li (CHN, 4:32.91)
Fourth in the 400 IM at the 2012 London Olympics, Hosszu won the world crown in 4:30.41, holding off a stirring challenge from home favourite Mireia Belmonte (ESP), who could not catch the Hungarian on the freestyle and took the silver in 4:31.21. It was the third medal for each swimmer in the same three events, Hosszu bagging gold in the 200 and 400m IM and bronze in the 200m butterfly and Belmonte collecting silver in the 200m butterfly and 400 IM and bronze in the 200m IM. Elizabeth Beisel (USA), the defending 400 IM world champion and Olympic silver medallist, claimed the bronze in 4:31.69.
Double Olympic champion Shiwen Ye (CHN), who had ceded to Hosszu the 200 IM world crown she had won at 15 at the 2011 Shanghai Worlds, once again finished outside the medals. Ye, who won both Olympic IM titles at the 2012 Olympics, came fourth in the 200 event but fared worse in the 400m. She clocked 4:38.51 for seventh place, way outside the 4:28.43 world mark she set in London. Hannah Miley (GBR), silver medallist at the 2011 Worlds, was fifth in 4:34.16.
World Record: Shiwen Ye (CHN), 4:28.43 – July 28, 2012 in London (GBR)
Championships Record: Katinka Hosszu (HUN), 4:30.31 – August 2, 2009 in Rome (ITA)
Best performance of the current season (since January 2013): Katinka Hosszu (HUN), 4:30.41 – August 4, in Barcelona (ESP)
2003-2011 winners in this event: 2003 – Yana Klochkova (UKR, 4:36.74); 2005 – Katie Hoff (USA, 4:36.07); 2007 – Katie Hoff (USA, 4:32.89); 2009 – Katinka Hosszu (HUN, 4:30.31); 2011 – Elizabeth Beisel (USA, 4:31.78)
The best in this event (1. most victories or 2. fastest time): Yana Klochkova (UKR, 2001 & 2003), Katie Hoff (USA, 2005 & 2007) and Katinka Hosszu (HUN, 2009 & 2013)
2012 Olympic podium: 1. Shiwen Ye (CHN, 4:28.43), 2. Elizabeth Beisel (USA, 4:31.27), 3. Xuanxu Li (CHN, 4:32.91)
FINA Live Blog :Swimming, Day 8 - Men’s 1500m free: Sun (CHN) confirms supremacy since 2011
Dominating the longest event of the programme since 2011, Yang Sun (CHN) was the predictable winner of the 1500m free. The only possible question remaining was: will he get close to his own World Record of 14:31.02 established in the Olympic final in London? The answer after the final was clear: no. Leaving most of the initiative to Ryan Cochrane from Canada, Sun managed his effort until the 1400m-mark and then applied some more vigour to clinch the gold in 14:41.15, roughly 10 seconds slower than one year ago in the British capital.
He couldn’t threat either his Championships record from Shanghai 2011, when he had swum in a WR time of 14:34.14. Finally, as Katie Ledecky (USA) among women, Sun manages to win in the same edition of the Championships the three longest free events of the programme, the 400m , 800m and 1500m (only Grant Hackett, from Australia, has done the same, in Montreal 2005).
The silver went precisely to Cochrane (14:4248), also second at the Games, while Gregorio Paltrinieri (ITA) was the bronze medallist in 14:45.37. It was his first success at this level – the 18-year-old had been fifth at the Olympics and improved in Barcelona his personal best and record of Italy.
Even before the final, the surprise of the day was the elimination (11th) in the heats for Oussama Mellouli (TUN), the 2008 Olympic champion and bronze medallist in 2012.
World Record: Yang Sun (CHN), 14:31.02 – August 4, 2012 in London (GBR)
Championships Record: Yang Sun (CHN), 14:34.14 – July 31, 2011 in Shanghai (CHN)
Best performance of the current season (since January 2013): Yang Sun (CHN), 14:41.15 – August 4, in Barcelona (ESP)
2003-2011 winners in this event: 2003 – Grant Hackett (AUS, 14:43.14); 2005 – Grant Hackett (USA, 14:42.58); 2007 – Mateusz Sawrymowicz (POL, 14:45.94); 2009 – Oussama Mellouli (TUN, 14:37.28); 2011 – Yang Sun (CHN, 14:34.14)
The best in this event (1. most victories or 2. fastest time): Grant Hackett (AUS, 1998, 2001, 2003 & 2005)
2012 Olympic podium: 1. Yang Sun (CHN, 14:31.02), 2. Ryan Cochrane (CAN, 14:39.63), 3. Oussama Mellouli (TUN, 14:40.31)
He couldn’t threat either his Championships record from Shanghai 2011, when he had swum in a WR time of 14:34.14. Finally, as Katie Ledecky (USA) among women, Sun manages to win in the same edition of the Championships the three longest free events of the programme, the 400m , 800m and 1500m (only Grant Hackett, from Australia, has done the same, in Montreal 2005).
The silver went precisely to Cochrane (14:4248), also second at the Games, while Gregorio Paltrinieri (ITA) was the bronze medallist in 14:45.37. It was his first success at this level – the 18-year-old had been fifth at the Olympics and improved in Barcelona his personal best and record of Italy.
Even before the final, the surprise of the day was the elimination (11th) in the heats for Oussama Mellouli (TUN), the 2008 Olympic champion and bronze medallist in 2012.
World Record: Yang Sun (CHN), 14:31.02 – August 4, 2012 in London (GBR)
Championships Record: Yang Sun (CHN), 14:34.14 – July 31, 2011 in Shanghai (CHN)
Best performance of the current season (since January 2013): Yang Sun (CHN), 14:41.15 – August 4, in Barcelona (ESP)
2003-2011 winners in this event: 2003 – Grant Hackett (AUS, 14:43.14); 2005 – Grant Hackett (USA, 14:42.58); 2007 – Mateusz Sawrymowicz (POL, 14:45.94); 2009 – Oussama Mellouli (TUN, 14:37.28); 2011 – Yang Sun (CHN, 14:34.14)
The best in this event (1. most victories or 2. fastest time): Grant Hackett (AUS, 1998, 2001, 2003 & 2005)
2012 Olympic podium: 1. Yang Sun (CHN, 14:31.02), 2. Ryan Cochrane (CAN, 14:39.63), 3. Oussama Mellouli (TUN, 14:40.31)
FINA Live Blog :Swimming, Day 8 - Women's 50m freestyle: Kromowidjojo adds world triumph to Olympic gold
Double Olympic gold medallist Ranomi Kromowidjojo sprinted to the 50m freestyle world crown, beating Australian favourite Cate Campbell to bring the Netherlands their first title in the pool on the last day of the FINA World Championships. Kromowidjojo, who won the 50m and 100m freestyle at the 2012 London Olympics, sped away, holding the edge throughout, and touched first in 24.05. Campbell, who had won the Barcelona 100m freestyle title and was fastest in both heats and semi-finals of the 50m, picked up silver in 24.14. Francesca Halsall gave Britain their first medal in the Palau Sant Jordi pool, claiming the bronze in 24.30 a day after she finished fourth in the 50m butterfly.
Kromowidjojo, bronze medallist in the 100m freestyle and 50m butterfly in Barcelona, took silver in the 50m freestyle and bronze in the 100m freestyle at the 2011 Worlds. Jeanette Ottesen Gray (DEN), who had won the 50m butterfly 24 hours earlier, finished joint fifth with Campbell's younger sister Bronte. Sarah Sjostrom (SWE), who regained the 100m butterfly world title in Barcelona and took the silver medal in the 100m freestyle, was fourth in 24.45, 0.15 seconds behind bronze medallist Halsall, who was world 100m freestyle silver medallist in 2009.
World Record: Britta Steffen (GER), 23.73 – August 2, 2009 in Rome (ITA)
Championships Record: Britta Steffen (GER), 23.73 – August 2, 2009 in Rome (ITA)
Best performance of the current season (since January 2013): Ranomi Kromowidjojo (NED), 24.05 – August 4, in Barcelona (ESP)
2003-2011 winners in this event: 2003 – Inge de Bruijn (NED, 24.47); 2005 – Lisbeth Lenton (AUS, 24.59); 2007 – Lisbeth Lenton (AUS, 24.53); 2009 – Britta Steffen (GER, 23.73); 2011 – Therese Alshammar (SWE, 24.14)
The best in this event (1. most victories or 2. fastest time): Inge de Bruijn (NED, 2001 & 2003) and Lisbeth Lenton (AUS, 2005 & 2007)
2012 Olympic podium: 1. Ranomi Kromowidjojo (NED, 24.05), 2. Aliaksandra Herasimenia (BLR, 24.28), 3. Marleen Veldhuis (NED, 24.39)
Kromowidjojo, bronze medallist in the 100m freestyle and 50m butterfly in Barcelona, took silver in the 50m freestyle and bronze in the 100m freestyle at the 2011 Worlds. Jeanette Ottesen Gray (DEN), who had won the 50m butterfly 24 hours earlier, finished joint fifth with Campbell's younger sister Bronte. Sarah Sjostrom (SWE), who regained the 100m butterfly world title in Barcelona and took the silver medal in the 100m freestyle, was fourth in 24.45, 0.15 seconds behind bronze medallist Halsall, who was world 100m freestyle silver medallist in 2009.World Record: Britta Steffen (GER), 23.73 – August 2, 2009 in Rome (ITA)
Championships Record: Britta Steffen (GER), 23.73 – August 2, 2009 in Rome (ITA)
Best performance of the current season (since January 2013): Ranomi Kromowidjojo (NED), 24.05 – August 4, in Barcelona (ESP)
2003-2011 winners in this event: 2003 – Inge de Bruijn (NED, 24.47); 2005 – Lisbeth Lenton (AUS, 24.59); 2007 – Lisbeth Lenton (AUS, 24.53); 2009 – Britta Steffen (GER, 23.73); 2011 – Therese Alshammar (SWE, 24.14)
The best in this event (1. most victories or 2. fastest time): Inge de Bruijn (NED, 2001 & 2003) and Lisbeth Lenton (AUS, 2005 & 2007)
2012 Olympic podium: 1. Ranomi Kromowidjojo (NED, 24.05), 2. Aliaksandra Herasimenia (BLR, 24.28), 3. Marleen Veldhuis (NED, 24.39)
FINA Live Blog :Swimming, Day 8 - Men’s 400m individual medley: Hagino (JPN) starts strong, but title goes to teammate Seto
Swimming his seventh final in Barcelona, Kosuke Hagino (JPN), who won the silver in the 400m free and in the 200m IM, was the man to beat after setting the best 2013 performance in April in a time of 4:07.61. His tiredness came perhaps to surface after the 300m-mark, when he lost the lead of the race, finishing only fifth in 4:10.77. Hagino was the 2012 Olympic bronze medallist in this event. Instead, it was compatriot Daiya Seto who shone in Barcelona, getting his first individual medal (4:08.69) at a FINA World Championships. He had previously swum the heats of the winning Japanese 4x200m free relay at the Palau Sant Jordi.
The silver went to 19-year-old Chase Kalisz (USA), who touched home in 4:09.22. It is his first success at this level. Thiago Pereira (BRA), silver medallist in London last year, got this time the bronze, finishing in 4:09.48. It was his second podium presence in the Catalan capital, after ranking third in the 200m IM. This way, Pereira got the fifth medal for his country at these Championships.
World Record: Michael Phelps (USA), 4:03.84 – August 10, 2008 in Beijing (CHN)
Championships Record: Michael Phelps (USA), 4:06.22 – April 1, 2007 in Melbourne (AUS)
Best performance of the current season (since January 2013): Kosuke Hagino (JPN), 4:07.61 – April in Niigata (JPN)
2003-2011 winners in this event: 2003 – Michael Phelps (USA, 4:09.09); 2005 – Laszlo Cseh (HUN, 4:09.63); 2007 – Michael Phelps (USA, 4:06.22); 2009 – Ryan Lochte (USA, 4:07.01); 2011 – Ryan Lochte (USA, 4:07.13)
The best in this event (1. most victories or 2. fastest time): Andras Hargitay (HUN, 1973 & 1975), Tamas Darnyi (HUN, 1986 & 1991), Tom Dolan (USA, 1994 & 1998), Michael Phelps (USA, 2003 & 2007) and Ryan Lochte (USA, 2009 & 2011)
2012 Olympic podium: 1. Ryan Lochte (USA, 4:05.18), 2. Thiago Pereira (BRA, 4:08.86), 3. Kosuke Hagino (JPN, 4:08.94)
The silver went to 19-year-old Chase Kalisz (USA), who touched home in 4:09.22. It is his first success at this level. Thiago Pereira (BRA), silver medallist in London last year, got this time the bronze, finishing in 4:09.48. It was his second podium presence in the Catalan capital, after ranking third in the 200m IM. This way, Pereira got the fifth medal for his country at these Championships.
World Record: Michael Phelps (USA), 4:03.84 – August 10, 2008 in Beijing (CHN)
Championships Record: Michael Phelps (USA), 4:06.22 – April 1, 2007 in Melbourne (AUS)
Best performance of the current season (since January 2013): Kosuke Hagino (JPN), 4:07.61 – April in Niigata (JPN)
2003-2011 winners in this event: 2003 – Michael Phelps (USA, 4:09.09); 2005 – Laszlo Cseh (HUN, 4:09.63); 2007 – Michael Phelps (USA, 4:06.22); 2009 – Ryan Lochte (USA, 4:07.01); 2011 – Ryan Lochte (USA, 4:07.13)
The best in this event (1. most victories or 2. fastest time): Andras Hargitay (HUN, 1973 & 1975), Tamas Darnyi (HUN, 1986 & 1991), Tom Dolan (USA, 1994 & 1998), Michael Phelps (USA, 2003 & 2007) and Ryan Lochte (USA, 2009 & 2011)
2012 Olympic podium: 1. Ryan Lochte (USA, 4:05.18), 2. Thiago Pereira (BRA, 4:08.86), 3. Kosuke Hagino (JPN, 4:08.94)
FINA Live Blog :Swimming, Day 8 - Women's 50m breaststroke: Efimova wins second Barcelona title
Yulia Efimova (RUS), who saw her newly minted world record from the heats broken by Ruta Meilutyte (LTU) in the semi-finals, took revenge by beating the Lithuanian in the women's 50m breaststroke final to win her second gold medal of the FINA World Championships. Efimova, gold medallist in the 200m breaststroke and silver medallist behind Meilutyte in the 100m event, edged her 16-year-old rival out by just 0.07 seconds, winning in 29.52 - inside the 29.78 world mark she set in the heats on the day before but a fraction outside the 29.48 posted by Meilutyte in the semi-finals. Meilutyte had to settle for silver in 29.59, with Jessica Hardy, 50m breaststroke world champion in 2007 and 2011, taking bronze in 29.80. That time matched the former world mark she brought to Barcelona before her European rivals rewrote the record book.Olympic 200m breaststroke bronze medallist Efimova, who also won the 50m world title in 2009 and was second in 2011, leaves Barcelona with gold in the 50m and 200m breaststroke and silver in the 100m. Meilutyte won the 100m breaststroke on Day 3, having set a world record in the semi-finals. She now holds both the 50m and 100m world marks.
World Record: Ruta Meilutyte (LTU), 29.48 – August 3, 2012 in Barcelona (ESP)
Championships Record: Ruta Meilutyte (LTU), 29.48 – August 3, 2012 in Barcelona (ESP))
Best performance of the current season (since January 2013): Ruta Meilutyte (LTU), 29.48 – August 3, in Barcelona (ESP)
2003-2011 winners in this event: 2003 – Xuejuan Luo (CHN, 30.67); 2005 – Jade Edminstone (AUS, 30.45); 2007 – Jessica Hardy (USA, 30.63); 2009 – Yulia Efimova (RUS, 30.09); 2011 – Jessica Hardy (USA, 30.19)
The best in this event (1. most victories or 2. fastest time): Xuejuan Luo (CHN, 2001 & 2003), Jessica Hardy (USA, 2007 & 2011) and Yulia Efimova (RUS, 2009 & 2013)
Not in the Olympic programme
FINA Live Blog : Swimming, Day 8 - Men’s 50m backstroke: Explosive Lacourt (FRA) captures gold in 24.42
Fastest of the semis in a 2013 best performance of 24.39, Camille Lacourt (FRA) confirmed his good shape and got the gold in 24.42, upgrading the silver of 2011. When in Shanghai, Lacourt was the runner-up behind Liam Tancock. In second, his teammate Jeremy Stravius touched with the same time of US Matt Grevers, in 24.54.
Stravius knows well what it means to be sharing a medal: two years ago, in the Chinese metropolis, he had precisely shared the gold with Lacourt in the 100m backstroke. Here in Barcelona, it is already Stravius' third podium presence after the bronze in the 100m and the gold in the 4x100m free relay. For Lacourt, this is his first award in the competition.
Grevers, champion in the 100m in the Catalan capital, adds a fourth medal to his World Championships tally after his two relay titles in 2009 in Rome. The Spanish fans will regret this joint medal for the second position, as their best representative – Aschwin Wildeboer – finished with the third best time of the final (24.58) but was naturally ranked fourth.
World Record: Liam Tancock (GBR), 24.04 – August 2, 2009 in Rome (ITA)
Championships Record: Liam Tancock (GBR), 24.04 – August 2, 2009 in Rome (ITA)
Best performance of the current season (since January 2013): Camille Lacourt (FRA), 24.39 – August 3, in Barcelona (ESP)
2003-2011 winners in this event: 2003 – Thomas Rupprath (GER, 24.80); 2005 – Aristidis Grigoriadis (GRE, 24.95); 2007 – Gerhard Zandberg (RSA, 24.98); 2009 – Liam Tancock (GBR, 24.04); 2011 – Liam Tancock (GBR, 24.50)
The best in this event (1. most victories or 2. fastest time): Liam Tancock (GBR, 2009 & 2011)
Not in the Olympic programme
Stravius knows well what it means to be sharing a medal: two years ago, in the Chinese metropolis, he had precisely shared the gold with Lacourt in the 100m backstroke. Here in Barcelona, it is already Stravius' third podium presence after the bronze in the 100m and the gold in the 4x100m free relay. For Lacourt, this is his first award in the competition.
Grevers, champion in the 100m in the Catalan capital, adds a fourth medal to his World Championships tally after his two relay titles in 2009 in Rome. The Spanish fans will regret this joint medal for the second position, as their best representative – Aschwin Wildeboer – finished with the third best time of the final (24.58) but was naturally ranked fourth.
World Record: Liam Tancock (GBR), 24.04 – August 2, 2009 in Rome (ITA)
Championships Record: Liam Tancock (GBR), 24.04 – August 2, 2009 in Rome (ITA)
Best performance of the current season (since January 2013): Camille Lacourt (FRA), 24.39 – August 3, in Barcelona (ESP)
2003-2011 winners in this event: 2003 – Thomas Rupprath (GER, 24.80); 2005 – Aristidis Grigoriadis (GRE, 24.95); 2007 – Gerhard Zandberg (RSA, 24.98); 2009 – Liam Tancock (GBR, 24.04); 2011 – Liam Tancock (GBR, 24.50)
The best in this event (1. most victories or 2. fastest time): Liam Tancock (GBR, 2009 & 2011)
Not in the Olympic programme
Sunday, 4 August 2013
Star Online : Swimmers fail to make a big splash in Barcelona
By Lim Teik Huat
PETALING JAYA: Barcelona was the stage where backstroker Lim Keng Liat made a mighty splash for Malaysia by reaching into the top eight final at the World Championships exactly a decade ago but it failed to rub off on the current batch of swimmers.
None of the six swimmers who qualified for the world meet, which concluded yesterday, managed to go near their personal bests.
While they were not targeted to make the top 16 semis in the first place, aiming for their personal bests were only to be expected from them and this indicates how far Malaysia have fallen behind regional rivals Singapore and Thailand.
Kevin Yeap, who was the first and last Malaysian to go into action at the Palau Sant Jordi pool, clocked 3:59.08 in the 400m freestyle heats to finish 36th out of 48 competitors. It was way off his national record of 3:53.26 he set at the Malaysian Open in Bukit Jalil in May this year.
The only consolation for Kevin, the defending SEA Games champion, was that he was the top swimmer from South East Asia ahead of Vietnam’s Pham Thanh Nguyen, who was placed 43rd with a time of 4:13.91.
Kevin made a tame effort in the 1,500m freestyle heats on Saturday, clocking 15:46.73 to finish 33rd overall and well outside his personal best of 15:32.51 clocked earlier this year.
Khoo Cai Lin swam in the same heat as American favourite Katie Ledecky in the women’s 400m freestyle but failed to be inspired as she clocked 4:23.67 to be placed 30th overall.
Cai Lin, who holds the national record of 4:10.75, will have to work harder now to bridge the gap ahead of the Myanmar SEA Games in December as she has fallen behind Lynette Lim of Singapore (22nd, 4:14.76) and Natthanan Junkrajang of Thailand (30th, 4:19.77).
Cai Lin completed the 800m freestyle event without much to show, clocking 8:51.87 for 25th overall, six seconds off her personal best of 8:45.36 set at the Laos SEA Games in 2009.
As for Siow Yi Ting, she got to swim the most – four events altogether (100m and 200m breaststroke and 200m and 400m medley) but did not make any headway. Still credit goes to Yi Ting, who despite already 28, is showing no signs of fading away and she is still a good gold medal prospect in the breaststroke disciplines come SEA Games in Myanmar.
Christina Loh only clocked 33.10 for 47th placing in women’s 50m breaststroke and it was not something to be proud of considering she was placed 20th with 32.29 in her world meet debut in Shanghai in 2001, which is still a national record until now.
Lim Chin Hwang and Shaun Yap also did not made good debuts in their respective men’s 200m freestyle and 50m breaststroke races.
The world meet is just not Malaysia’s cup of tea and Amateur Swimming Union of Malaysia secretary Edwin Chong did not disagree but said it was also due to the fact that the swimmers were not programmed to peak in the morning.
“We expected it more or less as our swimmers trained to focus on peaking in the evening when the semis and finals are held.
“The SEA Games will be a different kettle of fish and we expect our swimmers to be competitive there as that is the real gauge of our standards.”
PETALING JAYA: Barcelona was the stage where backstroker Lim Keng Liat made a mighty splash for Malaysia by reaching into the top eight final at the World Championships exactly a decade ago but it failed to rub off on the current batch of swimmers.
None of the six swimmers who qualified for the world meet, which concluded yesterday, managed to go near their personal bests.
While they were not targeted to make the top 16 semis in the first place, aiming for their personal bests were only to be expected from them and this indicates how far Malaysia have fallen behind regional rivals Singapore and Thailand.
Kevin Yeap, who was the first and last Malaysian to go into action at the Palau Sant Jordi pool, clocked 3:59.08 in the 400m freestyle heats to finish 36th out of 48 competitors. It was way off his national record of 3:53.26 he set at the Malaysian Open in Bukit Jalil in May this year.
The only consolation for Kevin, the defending SEA Games champion, was that he was the top swimmer from South East Asia ahead of Vietnam’s Pham Thanh Nguyen, who was placed 43rd with a time of 4:13.91.
Kevin made a tame effort in the 1,500m freestyle heats on Saturday, clocking 15:46.73 to finish 33rd overall and well outside his personal best of 15:32.51 clocked earlier this year.
Khoo Cai Lin swam in the same heat as American favourite Katie Ledecky in the women’s 400m freestyle but failed to be inspired as she clocked 4:23.67 to be placed 30th overall.
Cai Lin, who holds the national record of 4:10.75, will have to work harder now to bridge the gap ahead of the Myanmar SEA Games in December as she has fallen behind Lynette Lim of Singapore (22nd, 4:14.76) and Natthanan Junkrajang of Thailand (30th, 4:19.77).
Cai Lin completed the 800m freestyle event without much to show, clocking 8:51.87 for 25th overall, six seconds off her personal best of 8:45.36 set at the Laos SEA Games in 2009.
As for Siow Yi Ting, she got to swim the most – four events altogether (100m and 200m breaststroke and 200m and 400m medley) but did not make any headway. Still credit goes to Yi Ting, who despite already 28, is showing no signs of fading away and she is still a good gold medal prospect in the breaststroke disciplines come SEA Games in Myanmar.
Christina Loh only clocked 33.10 for 47th placing in women’s 50m breaststroke and it was not something to be proud of considering she was placed 20th with 32.29 in her world meet debut in Shanghai in 2001, which is still a national record until now.
Lim Chin Hwang and Shaun Yap also did not made good debuts in their respective men’s 200m freestyle and 50m breaststroke races.
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| Lim Ching Hwang exits the pool after the men's 200m freestyle swimming heats event in the 15th FINA World Championships at Palau Sant Jordi on July 29, 2013 in Barcelona, Spain. GLENN GUAN/The Star (Barcelona) |
The world meet is just not Malaysia’s cup of tea and Amateur Swimming Union of Malaysia secretary Edwin Chong did not disagree but said it was also due to the fact that the swimmers were not programmed to peak in the morning.
“We expected it more or less as our swimmers trained to focus on peaking in the evening when the semis and finals are held.
“The SEA Games will be a different kettle of fish and we expect our swimmers to be competitive there as that is the real gauge of our standards.”
Star Online : Ryan rolls with the punches
BARCELONA: American star Ryan Lochte claimed two gold medals to take his career world championship tally to 15 as team-mate Missy Franklin’s bid to win seven golds in Barcelona unravelled on Friday.
Lochte, swimming an unprecedented three times in the evening, first won the 200m backstroke before progressing to the final of the 100m butterfly and rounding the evening off with another gold medal in the 4x200m freestyle relay.
“I survived,” said the exhausted 28-year-old Lochte after a long but successful evening.
“I don’t know anyone in swimming that has done a triple in one night. No matter what the outcome was in the first and second race, I had to pull it together for the team in the relay.
“When you get together for a relay, you don’t care about the pain you just have to get up there and do it for the other guys.”
Lochte’s feat was lauded by his American team-mates and also by 200m butterfly world champion Chad Le Clos, who is aiming to beat the 28-year-old after also qualifying for the 100m butterfly final.
“It is great what he is doing for the sport. It is good to show the youngsters that they should swim all the races because he is still able to do this at his age.”
There wasn’t to be a fifth gold of the meet for Franklin though as she failed to even make the podium in the women’s 100m freestyle as Australia’s Cate Campbell claimed gold ahead of Sweden’s Sarah Sjostrum and Dutch Olympic champion Ranomi Kromowidjojo.
“It’s a strange feeling, it still hasn’t sunk in yet,” said a shocked Campbell who cried as she stood atop the podium.
“It’s strange to strive your whole life for something and then achieve it in under a minute!”
Franklin, meanwhile, was philosophical about losing her unbeaten record in Barcelona – having pulled out of the 50m backstroke earlier in the week – and insisted she will challenge for gold in the 100m freestyle come the next Olympics in Rio.
“I was fifth in London and I was fourth tonight so I’m happy with that although I would have loved a personal best.
“Most importantly I learned a lot. The 100m freestyle is definitely the event that I have most to improve so it will be fun to see what I’ll be able to do one day in this event.”
In the women’s 200m breaststroke Denmark’s Rikke Moller Pedersen couldn’t repeat her world record breaking effort from Thursday as she was pipped to victory by Russia’s Yuliya Efimova, who claimed her second medal of the championships after taking silver in the 100m breaststroke.
Hungarian Daniel Gyurta retained his world title for the third consecutive championships in the men’s 200m breaststroke as Marco Koch claimed Germany’s first medal of the championships with silver and 19-year-old Matti Mattsson scored a surprise bronze.
In the evening’s semi-final action there was a shock in the men’s 50m freestyle as fresh from success in the 100m, Australia’s James Magnussen failed to even make the final.
Olympic champion Florent Manaudou qualified fastest with the American duo of Anthony Ervin and Nathan Adrian and Olympic and world 50m butterfly champion Cesar Cielo Filho also expected to be in contention for the medals. — AFP
| American swimmer Ryan Lochte claimed two gold medals in Barcelona. - EPA |
Lochte, swimming an unprecedented three times in the evening, first won the 200m backstroke before progressing to the final of the 100m butterfly and rounding the evening off with another gold medal in the 4x200m freestyle relay.
“I survived,” said the exhausted 28-year-old Lochte after a long but successful evening.
“I don’t know anyone in swimming that has done a triple in one night. No matter what the outcome was in the first and second race, I had to pull it together for the team in the relay.
“When you get together for a relay, you don’t care about the pain you just have to get up there and do it for the other guys.”
Lochte’s feat was lauded by his American team-mates and also by 200m butterfly world champion Chad Le Clos, who is aiming to beat the 28-year-old after also qualifying for the 100m butterfly final.
“It is great what he is doing for the sport. It is good to show the youngsters that they should swim all the races because he is still able to do this at his age.”
There wasn’t to be a fifth gold of the meet for Franklin though as she failed to even make the podium in the women’s 100m freestyle as Australia’s Cate Campbell claimed gold ahead of Sweden’s Sarah Sjostrum and Dutch Olympic champion Ranomi Kromowidjojo.
“It’s a strange feeling, it still hasn’t sunk in yet,” said a shocked Campbell who cried as she stood atop the podium.
“It’s strange to strive your whole life for something and then achieve it in under a minute!”
Franklin, meanwhile, was philosophical about losing her unbeaten record in Barcelona – having pulled out of the 50m backstroke earlier in the week – and insisted she will challenge for gold in the 100m freestyle come the next Olympics in Rio.
“I was fifth in London and I was fourth tonight so I’m happy with that although I would have loved a personal best.
“Most importantly I learned a lot. The 100m freestyle is definitely the event that I have most to improve so it will be fun to see what I’ll be able to do one day in this event.”
In the women’s 200m breaststroke Denmark’s Rikke Moller Pedersen couldn’t repeat her world record breaking effort from Thursday as she was pipped to victory by Russia’s Yuliya Efimova, who claimed her second medal of the championships after taking silver in the 100m breaststroke.
Hungarian Daniel Gyurta retained his world title for the third consecutive championships in the men’s 200m breaststroke as Marco Koch claimed Germany’s first medal of the championships with silver and 19-year-old Matti Mattsson scored a surprise bronze.
In the evening’s semi-final action there was a shock in the men’s 50m freestyle as fresh from success in the 100m, Australia’s James Magnussen failed to even make the final.
Olympic champion Florent Manaudou qualified fastest with the American duo of Anthony Ervin and Nathan Adrian and Olympic and world 50m butterfly champion Cesar Cielo Filho also expected to be in contention for the medals. — AFP
Star Online : China's Ye happier after 400 metres medley heats
BARCELONA (Reuters) - Chinese teenager Ye Shiwen was third-quickest in heats for the 400 metres individual medley at the world championships on Sunday as she looks to make up for the disappointment of missing out on a medal over 200 metres.
The 17-year-old, Olympic champion over both distances in London last year, could only manage fourth in Monday's 200 final, Katinka Hosszu of Hungary taking the gold.
Ahead of the 400 final later on Sunday, the last day of racing in Barcelona, Hosszu posted the fastest qualifying time of four minutes 32.72 seconds, with Spain's Mireia Belmonte Garcia second in 4:34.64 and Ye third in 4:34.93.
"It was a smoother swim this time," Ye told reporters.
"My coach told me just to do my best and relax more because I was too nervous," she added. "I have to put up more of a fight and make sure I do it right in the final."
In heats for the men's 400 medley, American Chase Kalisz posted the fastest time of 4:11.87, with Daiya Seto of Japan second in 4:12.96 and American Tyler Clary third in 4:13.55.
There were few surprises in qualifying for the men's 4x100 medley relay final, with the United States, Australia, Russia and France quickest.
However, the French and Italian women's teams were disqualified from their 4x100 medley heats as the Americans, Australians and Chinese advanced to the final with the fastest times.
(Editing by John O'Brien)
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| China's Ye Shiwen swims in the women's 400m individual medley heats during the World Swimming Championships at the Sant Jordi arena in Barcelona August 4, 2013. REUTERS/Albert Gea |
The 17-year-old, Olympic champion over both distances in London last year, could only manage fourth in Monday's 200 final, Katinka Hosszu of Hungary taking the gold.
Ahead of the 400 final later on Sunday, the last day of racing in Barcelona, Hosszu posted the fastest qualifying time of four minutes 32.72 seconds, with Spain's Mireia Belmonte Garcia second in 4:34.64 and Ye third in 4:34.93.
"It was a smoother swim this time," Ye told reporters.
"My coach told me just to do my best and relax more because I was too nervous," she added. "I have to put up more of a fight and make sure I do it right in the final."
In heats for the men's 400 medley, American Chase Kalisz posted the fastest time of 4:11.87, with Daiya Seto of Japan second in 4:12.96 and American Tyler Clary third in 4:13.55.
There were few surprises in qualifying for the men's 4x100 medley relay final, with the United States, Australia, Russia and France quickest.
However, the French and Italian women's teams were disqualified from their 4x100 medley heats as the Americans, Australians and Chinese advanced to the final with the fastest times.
(Editing by John O'Brien)
Star Online : American Franklin goes for record sixth gold
BARCELONA (Reuters) - American Missy Franklin can set a record of six golds for the most won at a world championships by a woman in a single edition when she races for favourites the United States in the 4x100 metres medley relay on Sunday.
The last of eight days of racing at the Palau Sant Jordi will also be a chance for Sun Yang of China to match Franklin's compatriot Katie Ledecky in winning a rare treble of distance freestyle titles when the Olympic champion and world record holder goes in the final of the 1,500 metres.
Teenager Franklin won her fifth gold this week in Saturday's 200 metres backstroke, matching the record for golds at a single championships jointly held by fellow American swimmer Tracy Caulkins (1978) and Australian Libby Trickett (2007).
"The competition here is absolutely incredible and they push me in every race I have," Franklin told reporters.
"The 200 back, although it's my favourite, is probably my most painful race," she added.
"It hurt more I think than any other race here has hurt so I'm feeling it a little bit but I'm excited for the relay tomorrow."
There are six more finals on Sunday.
Lithuanian teenager Ruta Meilutyte has another crack at the women's 50 metres breaststroke world record after setting a new best in Saturday's qualifying and Cate Campbell of Australia can win the sprint double in the 50 freestyle after her gold in the 100 on Friday.
Frenchman Camille Lacourt, the 2011 silver medallist, and compatriot Jeremy Stravius were quickest in the 50 backstroke semi-finals and Kosuke Hagino of Japan is among the favourites in the men's 400 metres individual medley.
The final event of the championships sees Franklin competing in the 4x100 medley, immediately after the men's version.
(Reporting by Iain Rogers, editing by Ken Ferris)
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| Missy Franklin of the U.S. reacts after winning the women's 200m backstroke final during the World Swimming Championships at the Sant Jordi arena in Barcelona August 3, 2013. REUTERS/Albert Gea |
The last of eight days of racing at the Palau Sant Jordi will also be a chance for Sun Yang of China to match Franklin's compatriot Katie Ledecky in winning a rare treble of distance freestyle titles when the Olympic champion and world record holder goes in the final of the 1,500 metres.
Teenager Franklin won her fifth gold this week in Saturday's 200 metres backstroke, matching the record for golds at a single championships jointly held by fellow American swimmer Tracy Caulkins (1978) and Australian Libby Trickett (2007).
"The competition here is absolutely incredible and they push me in every race I have," Franklin told reporters.
"The 200 back, although it's my favourite, is probably my most painful race," she added.
"It hurt more I think than any other race here has hurt so I'm feeling it a little bit but I'm excited for the relay tomorrow."
There are six more finals on Sunday.
Lithuanian teenager Ruta Meilutyte has another crack at the women's 50 metres breaststroke world record after setting a new best in Saturday's qualifying and Cate Campbell of Australia can win the sprint double in the 50 freestyle after her gold in the 100 on Friday.
Frenchman Camille Lacourt, the 2011 silver medallist, and compatriot Jeremy Stravius were quickest in the 50 backstroke semi-finals and Kosuke Hagino of Japan is among the favourites in the men's 400 metres individual medley.
The final event of the championships sees Franklin competing in the 4x100 medley, immediately after the men's version.
(Reporting by Iain Rogers, editing by Ken Ferris)
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