World record-holder Jessica Hardy captured the 100m breaststroke title at the United States swimming championships on Saturday, edging 2000 Olympic champion Megan Quann Jendrick.
Hardy (18) set the world record of 1:06.20 in the semifinals of the world championships in Montreal last week.
She finished second in the final to Australian Leisel Jones, but her performance in her first major international meet saw her emerge as America’s latest breaststroke sensation.
It’s a role once occupied by Jendrick, who was just 16 when she won Olympic gold in the event in 2000.
”I’m not sure it gets more fun than that, racing in your home pool against some of the best breaststrokers in the world,” said Hardy, who won in 1:07.45.
”It has been a whirlwind,” she said of her homecoming. ”I don’t know if it will ever sink in.”
Jendrick was second in 1:08.05 and world championship bronze medallist Tara Kirk was third in 1:08.57.
After the world championships, Hardy said, she just wanted to be competitive and not worry about her time.
”The goal was to win,” she said, adding that she welcomed any increased expectations in the wake of her performance in Montreal.
”If there is pressure, I have to be thankful for it,” she said.
”Two weeks ago, no one had heard of me.”
Michael Phelps, no stranger to high expectations, helped his Club Wolverine teammates to victory in the 4x100m freestyle relay.
Phelps swam second, and put Wolverine in the lead against South African Roland Schoeman, who raced second for his Tucson, Arizona, club.
”I looked over and I thought ‘Oh, man, I’ve got Roland again?”’ Phelps said.
Schoeman, winner of the 50m freestyle and 50m butterfly in Montreal, was runner-up in a 100m free world championship final in which Phelps finished seventh.
He went into Saturday night’s relay shortly after winning the 100m butterfly in 53.08.
”He just got out of the 100m fly, so I had a little advantage,” Phelps said.
”But you know he’s going to put something together.”
But Peter Vanderkaay, Phelps, Davis Tarwater and Benjamin Michaelson emerged with the victory in 3:19.38, with South African Gerhard Zandberg, Schoeman, Kicker Vencill and Adam Ritter finishing second in 3:19.48.
Canadian Brittany Reimer won the women’s 400m freestyle, renewing her rivalry with American Kate Ziegler.
Ziegler won both the 800m and 1,500m free at the world championships, with Reimer taking silver and bronze.
On Saturday Reimer was able to hold off the American, leading from start to finish to win in 4:10.13 with Ziegler taking second in 4:10.41.
”It’s great, knowing you are racing against the best in the States is a good feeling,” she said, adding that her budding rivalry with Ziegler — both are 17 — was an extra spur.
”In the pool when we’re racing, there obviously is a big rivalry,” she said. ”We’re the same age. It’s a friendly rivalry, but once we’re in the pool we fight hard.”
Randall Bal, silver medallist in the 100m backstroke in Montreal behind world record-holder Aaron Peirsol, took full advantage of Peirsol’s absence from this meet, winning the 100m back in 54.09.
Klete Keller, who anchored America’s world title winning 4x200m freestyle relay in Montreal, picked up his second title of the week with a victory in the 400m freestyle in 3:46.20.
Matthew Lowe completed a breaststroke double with a victory in the 100m, and 16-year-old Elaine Breeden completed her sweep of the women’s butterfly titles with a win in the 100m. – Sapa-AFP