Michael Phelps, Laure Manaudou and Leila Vaziri obliterated world records in Melbourne on Wednesday on another sensational night at the World Swimming Championships, but Grant Hackett’s reign as king of the 800m freestyle ended.
Phelps (21) carved a huge 1,71 seconds off his own 200m butterfly world record to set a new mark of one minute 52,09 seconds and leave China’s top swimmer, Wu Peng (1:55,13), and Russian Nikolay Skvortsov (1:55,22) in his wake.
But there was disappointment for the once-invincible Hackett, who faded badly to finish seventh behind Tunisian winner Oussama Mellouli (7:46,95) in an event he was defending and in which he holds the world record.
Hackett was sluggish and never in the race with only the 1 500m, where he is unbeaten in a decade, now left to salvage his championships.
Poland’s Przemyslaw Stanczyk took the 800m silver in 7:47,91 while Craig Stevens of Australia grabbed the bronze 7:48,67.
Phelps’s phenomenal success made him the only swimmer to win a 200m butterfly world title three times and keeps him on track for eight gold medals in Melbourne as he gears up to challenge Mark Spitz’s seven Olympic titles in Beijing next year.
”I surprised myself, I went so fast,” said the American. ”I wanted to go 1:52,00 but I didn’t expect to swim 1:52,00.
”I’m showing I’m in solid shape now. I had a really good swim earlier in the season where I broke the world record.
”I wanted to take it out tonight [Wednesday], so I’m pretty happy.”
He has now set two world records at the meet after his stunning win over Pieter van den Hoogenband in Tuesday’s 200m freestyle final and returned later on Wednesday to qualify fastest in the 200m individual medley semifinals.
Manaudou (20) was equally impressive, leading from the gun to win her second gold medal of the championships in a new world record time of 1:55,52.
Annika Lurz of Germany fought her to the wall to take silver in 1:55,68 while Italy’s Federica Pellegrini, who set a new world mark in the semifinals on Tuesday, grabbed the bronze in 1:56,97.
Manaudou dropped out of the 50m backstroke semifinals Wednesday to focus on the 200m and it paid rich dividends.
”I didn’t expect to set another world record but Pellegrini is a great swimmer and she will get it again next time,” Manaudou said.
”The 400m freestyle is my race. There is stress for me to perform and I put pressure on myself. I just performed exceptionally well.”
Despite seeing her record snatched away Pellegrini was content.
”I just wanted to improve on yesterday [Tuesday], which was a perfect race and you can’t improve on a perfect race,” Pellegrini said. ”There’s still time for me to do it again.”
Vaziri unexpectedly set a new world record in the women’s 50m backstroke, touching in 28,16 during a lightning semifinal swim to qualify for the final fastest, shaving 0,03 off the time set by Germany’s Janine Pietsch in 2005.
In the night’s other final, Oleg Lisogor won the men’s 50m breaststroke gold medal ahead of US star Brendan Hansen and South Africa’s Cameron van der Burgh, but his 27,66 seconds was outside world record time.
Japan’s reigning Olympic 100m breaststroke champion Kosuke Kitajima was fifth.
In other semifinals, world record holder Pieter van den Hoogenband cruised into Thursday’s 100m freestyle final as the third fastest qualifier behind American Jason Lezak and Italy’s Filippo Magnini. — AFP
