By Sahan Bidappa/Doha
The short-course world championships, which concluded in Doha last night, could well go down in the history books as a world-record meet.
An astonishing 23 world records were set during the five-day championships at the Hamad Aquatic Centre, making it the highest ever. The previous highest was 17 at the 2008 Worlds in Manchester.
On the final day alone, five records were broken with Sarah Sjostrom of Sweden hammering down two in breath-taking fashion. Sjostrom set the 25-metre pool on fire as she shattered records in 100m butterfly and 200m freestyle.
The other record-breakers were Brazil’s Etiene Medeiros, who became the fastest woman to swim 50-metre backstroke, Markus Deibler, who set a new mark in winning the 100m medley and the Netherlands women, who scooped up the 4x50 freestyle.
Sjostrom had witnessed both Mireia Belmonte Garcia and Katinka Hosszu break two world records in one evening, and yesterday she added a couple of her own.
In her first race, Sjostrom cruised to victory in 54.61 seconds, erasing Diane Bui Duyet’s 55.05, achieved in shiny suits in 2009. It was a remarkable swim from Sjostrom, who came into the competition with a lifetime best of 55.78 in the event.
China’s Ying Lu (55.25) and Denmark’s Jeanette Ottesen (55.32) took silver and bronze respectively.
In the 200m freestyle, Sjostrom came back with enough energy as she touched ahead of Hosszu by over half a second, taking the lead from the Hungarian in the final 50 meters.
Sjostrom won in 1:50.78, breaking the previous mark of 1:51.17 set by Federica Pellegrini of Italy. Hosszu was 0.01 seconds shy off Pellegrini’s mark. The Netherlands’ Femke Heemskerk took bronze in 1:51.69.
“I am delighted with the record. I was very eager for it. I was not happy with my performance yesterday, so was keen to do well today. I had to sort out my techniques, as I was making mistakes in my turns. So was focused to do well,” said Sjostrom.
Meanwhile, Medeiros became the first Brazilian woman to win a short-course Worlds individual gold. She finished in 25.67 seconds to shave 0.03 seconds off Croatian Sanja Jovanovic’s time set in Istanbul in 2009. Earlier in the week, Medeiros anchored the Brazilian mixed 4x50m medley relay, which won the gold.
Emily Seebohm of Australia came second in 25.83, and Hosszu third in 25.96. Hosszu ended the meet with four golds, three silvers and two bronzes.
Deibler of Germany not only dethroned Ryan Lochte but also took away the US star’s record in the 100m medley. Deibler finished in 50.66, slicing 0.05 seconds off Lochte’s 2012 effort in Istanbul.
Lochte won bronze this time in 51.24, behind Russian Vladimir Morozov 50.81.
The Netherlands women had opened the night with a record, improving on the mark they had set hours earlier in the heats.
Ranomi Kromowidjojo, Inge Dekker, Femke Heemskerk and Maud van der Meer combined to finish in 1:34.24 seconds, wiping 1.50 off of their morning effort.
The United States, which led for most part of the race before Kromowidjojo blitzed through, took silver in 1:34.61. Denmark got bronze in 1:35.48, with both the timings under previous record mark.
Chad le Clos justified his world swimmer of the year crown, as he swept the butterfly events at the meet. Yesterday, the South African picked up his fourth gold, winning the 200m butterfly after a close fight with Japan’s Daiya Seto.
Le Clos clocked 1:48.61, ahead of Seto’s 1:48.92. Pawel Korzeniowski of Poland was third with 1:50.21.
Brazilian men enjoyed a great night as well, winning three golds. Cesar Cielo edged Florent Manaudou to 100m freestyle gold, while Felipe Franca Silva won 50m breaststroke. Brazil later won the 4x100m medley relay too.
Manaudou was the favourite going into the final, but Cielo surprised by touching home in 45.75 to 45.81 for the Frenchman. The bronze went to Russia’s Danila Izotov in 46.09.
Radoslaw Kawecki of Poland surprised the field to win the 200m backstroke. The other gold medallists on the final night were Kromowidjojo (50m freestyle), Kanako Watanabe of Japan (200m breaststroke), Gregorio Paltrinieri of Italy (1500m freestyle) and Denmark women (4x100 medley relay).
RESULTS:
Women’s 4x50m Freestyle: 1. Netherlands (Inge Dekker, Femke Heemskerk, Maud Van Der Meer, Ranomi Kromowidjojo) 1:34.24 WR; 2. USA (Madison Kennedy, Abbey Weitzeil, Natalie Coughlin, Amy Bilquist) 1:34.61; 3. Denmark (Jeanette Ottesen, Larsen Julie, Ostergaard Mie, Pernille Blume) 1:35.48
Men’s 100m Freestyle: 1. Cesar Cielo Filho (Brazil) 45.75; 2. Florent Manadou (France) 45.81; 3. Danila Izotov (Russia) 46.09
Women 50m Backstroke: 1. Etiene Medeiros (Brazil) 25.67 WR; 2. Emily Seebohm (Australia) 25.83; 3. Katinka Hosszu (Hungary) 25.96
Men’s 200m Backstroke: 1. Radoslaw Kawecki (Poland) 1:47.38; 2. Ryan Lochte (USA) 1:48.20; 3. Mitchell James Larkin (Australia) 1:48.35
Women’s 200m Backstroke: 1. Watanabe Takuro (Japan) 2:16.92; 2. Rie Kaneto (Japan) 2:17.43; 3. Moller Rikke Pedersen (Denmark) 2:17.83
Men’s 100m Individual Medley: 1. Markus Deibler (Germany) 50.66 WR; 2. Vladmir Morozov (Russia) 50.81; 3. Ryan Lochte (USA) 51.24
Women’s 100m Butterfly: 1. Sarah Sjostrom (Sweden) 54.61 WR; 2. Ying Lu (China) 55.25; 3. Jeanette Ottesen (Denmark) 55.32
Men’s 50m Breaststroke: 1. Felipe Franca Silva (Brazil) 25.63; 2. Adam Peaty (Great Britain) 25.87; 2. Cameroon Van Der Burgh (South Africa) 25.87
Women’s 50m Freestyle: 1. Ranomi Kromowidjojo (Netherlands) 23.32; 2. Bronte Campbell (Australia) 23.62; 3. Dorothea Brandt (Germany) 23.77
Men’s 200m Butterfly: 1. Chad Le Clos (South Africa) 1:48.61; 2. Daiya Seto (Japan) 1:48.920; 3. Pawel Korzeniowski (Poland) 1:50.21
Men’s 1500m Freestyle: 1. Gregorio Paltrinieri (Italy) 14:16.10; 2. Oussama Mellouli (Tunisia) 14:18.79; 3. Ryan Cochrane (Canada) 14:23.35
Women’s 200m Freestyle: 1. Sara Sjostorm (Sweden) 1:50.78 WR; 2. Katinka Hosszu (Hungary) 1:51.18; 3. Femke Heemskerk (Netherlands) 1:51.69
Men’s Medley 4x100m: 1. Brazil (Guilherme Guido, Felipe Franca Silva, Marcos Macedo, Cesar Celo Filho) 3:21.14; 2. USA (Matt Grevers, Cody Miller, Tom Shields, Ryan Lochte) 3:21.49); 3. France (Florent Manadou, Giacomo Perez-Dortona, Mehdy Metella, Clement Mignon) 3:22.26
Women’s Medley 4x100m: 1. Denmark (Ostergard Nielsen, Moller, Jeanette Ottesen, Pernille Blume) 3:48.46; 2. Australia (Madi Wilson, Sally Hunter, Emily Seebohm, Bronte Campbell) 3:50.31; 3. Japan (Sayaka Akase, Kanako Watanabe, Rino Hosoda, Miki Uchida) 3:50.50
(From left) Dutch swimmers Inge Dekker, Femke Heemskerk, Maud van der Meer and Ranomi Kromowidjojo won gold in 4x50m freestyle yesterday. (AFP)
