 |
| Sun Yang was fastest in the men's 400m freestyle heats. - EPA |
The 21-year-old Sun Yang clocked 3:44.67 in Barcelona with Canada’s Ryan Cochrane, who finished second to the Chinese at both the 2012 Olympics and 2011 Shanghai World Championships, second fastest in 3:45.74.
Teenager Katie Ledecky, the 800m freestyle Olympic champion, was the fastest into the 400m women’s final as the American swam 4:03.05 – a second faster than her nearest rival.
Ledecky has a punishing schedule in Barcelona, including the 400m, 800m and 1,500m freestyles, after winning the trio of events at the USA’s Olympic trials.
“I’ve put in the work in preparation this year, so I am ready for it,” said the 16-year-old.
France’s Olympic champion Camille Muffat finished sixth fastest, leaving something in reserve.
“I expected the heats before mine to be faster, I watched each one, so I knew not to go too fast,” said Muffat.
“This evening will be another race.”
The USA men’s relay team, the Olympic silver medallists, threw down a strong marker in the 4x100m heats ahead of the evening’s final.
The Americans were fastest qualifiers, winning their heat in 3:11.69, with Australia third fastest through in 3:13.04.
Russia were second fastest to take their heat in 3:12.43, with Olympic champions France fourth fastest in 3:14.01.
In the women’s 4x100m freestyle relay heats, the USA were the fastest qualifiers into the final in 3:36.22 with Olympic champions Australia just 0.24 of a second behind them.
There was disappointment in the 50m butterfly for South Africa’s Olympic 200m champion Chad le Clos, who failed to qualify for the semi-finals and finished only 23rd in the heats.
Compatriot Roland Shoeman was the fastest qualifier with 23.02 with defending world champion Cesar Cielo of Brazil eighth fastest.
South Africa’s Olympic champion Cameron van der Burgh qualified seventh in 100m breaststroke semi-finals with Australia’s Christian Sprenger fastest in 59.53.
“I feel good, but I know I can still do better,” admitted Van der Burgh.
Ye Shiwen, China’s 17-year-old world and Olympic 200m individual medley champion was second fastest to qualify for the semi-finals behind Hungary’s Katinka Hosszu, the 2009 world champion in the 400m IM.
Australia’s Alicia Coutts, doubling up after also qualifying fourth fastest in the morning’s 50m butterfly heats, finished seventh fastest in the 200m IM heats.
“I feel better now I have the heats out of the way, I can rest up now,” said the 25-year-old Coutts, who won Olympic 200m IM silver in London behind Shiwen.
America’s Elizabeth Beisel, the Olympic 400m IM silver medallist, finished fourth fastest in the 200m IM heats.
Australia’s Coutts and Dana Vollmer of the USA re-established their 100m butterfly rivalry with the American the fastest into last night’s semi-finals.
Vollmer, the reigning world and Olympic champion who set the world record in London last year, swam 57.22, with Coutts, who won world silver behind her two years ago in Shanghai, fourth fastest in 57.56.
“I’ll take that, I’m always a bit more nervous, but every race I have I’ll hopefully get calmer and go faster,” said Vollmer.
Sweden’s Sarah Nostromo was second fastest in the heats, ahead of today’s 100m butterfly final, after clocking 57.28, while China’s Lu Yung, the Olympic silver medallist went through as 12th fastest. — AFP
No comments:
Post a Comment