By ANDREW DAMPF (AP) – 50 minutes ago
ROME — Aaron Peirsol doesn't plan on making the same mistake twice.
Three days after the Olympic champion failed to qualify for the 100-meter backstroke final at the world championships, the American has a new strategy for Thursday's semifinals in the 200 back.
"It's my only individual swim now. I'll be gunning for it absolutely — probably more so than usual," Peirsol said after qualifying second in morning heats. "It will be much safer, much safer."
Ryosuke Irie of Japan led the heats in 1 minute, 55.20 seconds and Peirsol clocked 1:55.88 — well off his world record of 1:53.08 set at the U.S. championships in Indianapolis earlier this month but right up there with the other contenders.
"I've been waiting to get my heart rate up for a while now, so it feels good," Peirsol said.
Peirsol's teammate Ryan Lochte qualified third in 1:55.97. Lochte and Peirsol finished 1-2 in this event at last year's Olympics.
Lochte will also swim the 200 individual medley final Thursday night, after tying Hungary's Laszlo Cseh for first in the semifinals Wednesday.
"I wasn't really happy with last night's performance. For as much as I tried, I kind of wished it was a lot faster," Lochte said. "Tonight is going to be a good race. There's about four guys right there. All the world records are getting broken, so everybody is going to get ready."
Twenty-two world records have been set through the first four days of the worlds. At the last worlds in Melbourne, Australia, two years ago, only 15 records were set. The record rush has been attributed to 100 percent polyurethane bodysuits, which will be banned next year.
Peirsol has one of the new suits from Arena but he made an elementary miscalculation and finished ninth in the 100 back semis, one spot too low to make the final, which he watched from the stands at the Foro Italico.
Peirsol could have taken some consolation from the fact that the winner, Juny Koga of Japan, did not come close to breaking his world record.
"It was hard to swallow, but at the same time I had already moved on, I was already ready for (the 200)," Peirsol said. "I've just never seen a 100 back from the stands at world championships, so I thought it would be good to watch."
Michael Phelps had the day off, his only full day of rest of the championships.
Another American, Amanda Weir, led the women's 100 freestyle heats in 53.20 seconds, while Olympic champion Britta Steffen of Germany was fourth.
Steffen set a new world record of 52.22 seconds on Sunday in the first leg of the 400 freestyle relay.
Championship records were set in both the men's and women's 200 breaststroke heats.
Eric Shanteau of the United States, who put off cancer treatment to compete in Beijing, clocked 2:08.55 to eclipse Kosuke Kitajima's six-year-old mark from the 2003 worlds in Barcelona.
Kitajima, who has won this event at the last two Olympics, is taking this year off.
Olympic bronze medalist Hugues Duboscq of France qualified in 11th and Beijing silver medalist Brenton Rickard of Australia barely made it in 16th — the final qualifying spot.
In the women's heats, Annamay Pierse of Canada touched in 2:21.68, shaving four hundredths off Australian Leisel Jones' mark from the 2005 worlds in Montreal.
Olympic champion and world record holder Rebecca Soni of the United States qualified second in 2:22.09.
The bronze medalist from last year's Beijing Games, Sara Nordenstam of Norway, failed to qualify, finishing nearly six seconds behind Pierse in 22nd.
A third championship record in the session was set by Britain in the women's 800 freestyle relay.
Caitlin McClatchey, Jazmin Carlin, Hannah Miley and Rebecca Adlington posted a time of 7:49.04, improving the Americans' time in Melbourne by about a second.
The United States, which swam in the same heat as Britain, qualified second, while world record-holder and Beijing champion Australia was fifth. Italy, led by freshly crowned 200 and 400 free individual champion Federica Pellegrini in the anchor position, just made it to the final in eighth.
Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Εμφάνιση αναρτήσεων με ετικέτα Roma 2009. Εμφάνιση όλων των αναρτήσεων
Εμφάνιση αναρτήσεων με ετικέτα Roma 2009. Εμφάνιση όλων των αναρτήσεων
Πέμπτη 30 Ιουλίου 2009
Τρίτη 28 Ιουλίου 2009
Retain their names: Sjostrom (SWE) and Kukors (USA)
Retain their names: Sjostrom (SWE) and Kukors (USA)
Monday, 27 July 2009 18:49 , Source: www.fina.org
Jessicah Schipper (AUS), Sarah Sjostrom (SWE) and Liuyang Jiao (CHN)
Sarah Sjostrom (SWE, 15 years old) and Ariana Kukors (USA, 20) were the two protagonists of the second day of the swimming competitions at the Foro Italico. Winners of the women’s 100m butterfly and 200m individual medley respectively in World Record times, these two names made in the best possible way their entry into the elite of world swimming. In a session marked by five new WR, Milorad Cavic (SRB, men’s 50m butterfly) won the first gold ever for his country, and Brenton Rickard (AUS) was best in the men’s 100m breaststroke. Regarding deceptions, the non-qualification of Aaron Peirsol (USA) for the final of the men’s 100m backstroke was a negative surprise.
In the men’s 100m breaststroke, Brenton Rickard (AUS) - third fastest in the semi-final (59.27) - controlled the race very well, overcame his main challengers and touched first in a new World Record (WR) of 58.58. The previous official WR was established by Kosuke Kitajima (JPN) at the 2008 Olympic Games (58.91), although Ukraine’s Igor Borysik had clocked 58.67 on June 11, 2009 (a WR pending FINA approval). Rickard, who collected three medals at home, in Melbourne in 2007 (second in the 200m breaststroke, third in the 100m and first in the 4x100 medley relay), and two awards at the “Water Cube” (silver in the 200m breaststroke and 4x100m medley relay), has achieved in Rome his first gold at this level.
On this accomplishment, Rickard said he had come to Rome to race and he was happy to get his hands on the wall first. “This gold means everything to me,” he said, adding that he has been with the same coach since the age of 10, and thus it is a very special honour for them both. “We have both tracked along the same path, and to finally end up here with gold – individually – is great for both of us.” Rickard said that for him, “racing is racing”, and his award came only after training as hard as he physically (and mentally) could manage, and racing as fast as he physically could.
With a fantastic second half to the race, French Hugues Duboscq was very close to beating the Australian, but obtained the silver in 58.64 (after coming second in the event at the 2005 Worlds in Montreal and third at the 2008 Olympics), while Cameron van der Burgh of South Africa got bronze in 58.95. Curiously, neither Eric Shanteau (USA), the fastest of the semi-final, nor Igor Borysik reached the podium: the American was fourth in 58.98 and the Ukrainian was fifth in 59.23.
The second World Record of the day was established in the women’s 100m butterfly, with the success of the “revelation” of the championships so far - Sweden’s Sarah Sjostrom (15 years old). After setting a WR in the semi-final (56.44), Sjostrom swam even better in the decisive race, getting gold in 56.06. The silver medallist, Australia’s Jessicah Schipper, also swam under the previous best mark (56.23) but her effort was not enough to climb to the top position on the podium (she badly missed the last stroke). It was of course the first medal at this level for Sjostrom (and the second gold medal ever at the Worlds for a female Swedish swimmer, after the 2007 50m butterfly success of her compatriot Therese Alshammar), while for Schipper this success represented her eighth award at FINA World Championships (after one bronze in 2003, two gold and one silver in 2005, and two gold and one silver in 2007). She had also accumulated three medals in Beijing (gold in the medley relay and two bronze in the breaststroke events).
The bronze medal (56.86) went to China’s Liuyang Jiao, one of the revelations last year at the “Water Cube”, where she was silver medallist in the 200m butterfly.
The Stockholm based Sjostrom – coached by Carl Jenner – was in shock after her victory, and had few words to describe her feelings. “It will take a few days for this to sink in,” she said, but admitted that it was “awesome, and completely crazy” to be a world champion at her age. Her personal best in this event had considerably dropped in the last two days, she added, but not without a lot of hard work, which had resulted in massive improvements. To celebrate, she will “take some holidays after the competition”.
The third final of the day, the men’s 50m butterfly, constituted a test for Spain’s Rafael Munoz, world record holder in this event (since April 2009 with 22.43) and the fastest of the semi-final. For his first appearance at this level, Munoz did not confirm his credentials and finished third (22.88), behind Australia’s Matt Targett (silver in 22.73) and Milorad Cavic (SRB, first in 22.67, bettering by 0.01 the championships record established by the Spaniard in the semi-final). Cavic, one of the swimmers in evidence in Beijing after losing the gold medal to Phelps in the 100m butterfly by 0.01, earned in the Italian capital the first swimming gold (and medal) for his country (Serbia) at the Worlds (Darjan Petric, competing for Yugoslavia in 1978, had won one silver and one bronze in Berlin).
Cavic said he is very grateful for this medal, calling it an amazing way to start the championships and that there “is definitely something to being crowned the fastest butterflier in the world.” He proceeded to explain, however, that although he feels amazing and very happy, he is “overly focused on the 100m butterfly to enjoy this moment”. When Cavic was asked how he manages to win when it counts, he said that he has a very good coach, with whom he has a very open line of communication. Since the Olympics, he said, he has been “listening to [his] body and doing what [he] believed was the correct thing to do.” What happened in Beijing is behind him, he said, and he is now only looking forward.
In the fourth and last final of the second day of the swimming at the Foro Italico, Ariana Kukors gave USA its first individual gold medal, touching first in a new WR of 2:06.15 – she had already established a new best mark for this event in the semi-finals with 2:07.03, which was curiously the same time gained by the silver medallist in the final, a “certain” Stephanie Rice (AUS, Olympic champion in 2008). Kukors (20 years old) had as her best result a fifth place in the 400m IM at the 2007 Worlds in Melbourne. The bronze medal went to another newcomer at this level - Hungary’s Katinka Hosszu (2:07.46). Kirsty Coventry (ZIM), second in 2007, was fourth with a time of 2:08.94 (two years ago, her silver was obtained in a time of 2:10.76).
Afterwards, Kukors explained that she had only even been able to swim this event due to a scratch from one of her teammates – Elizabeth Pelton – because of a scheduling conflict. “I found out at the last minute of the trials that I would swim this event, and I did some last minute training, with more lifting to get my strength up and focusing on the small things, like my turns,” she explained, adding that the underwater aspect of her race, which is one of her strengths, was very strong. Nevertheless, she was surprised with the time of 2:06.15 and said that having Rice chase her home was a great motivation. “It was a great race for both of us,” she said.
Concerning the semi-finals, the highlight of the day was the WR of Rebecca Soni (USA), who qualified first for the final with the time of 1:04.84, better than the 1:05.09 obtained by Leisel Jones (AUS) in March 2006. Soni had been second to Jones at the 2008 Games in this event. The fourth WR of the session was set by Anastasia Zueva (RUS) in the first semi-final of the women’s 100m backstroke: the Russian clocked 58.48, improving the former best mark established by Kirsty Coventry (ZIM) at the 2008 Olympics (58.77). In the other semi-final, Coventry did not improve, and took second in 59.21.
One of the surprises of the day was the ninth place finish of Aaron Peirsol (USA) in the semi-finals of the men’s 100m backstroke, an event in which he was world champion in 2007 and Olympic champion in 2008. Peirsol clocked 53.22, far from the unofficial WR (pending FINA approval) he set on July 8, 2009 in Indianapolis in 51.94
Monday, 27 July 2009 18:49 , Source: www.fina.org
Jessicah Schipper (AUS), Sarah Sjostrom (SWE) and Liuyang Jiao (CHN)
Sarah Sjostrom (SWE, 15 years old) and Ariana Kukors (USA, 20) were the two protagonists of the second day of the swimming competitions at the Foro Italico. Winners of the women’s 100m butterfly and 200m individual medley respectively in World Record times, these two names made in the best possible way their entry into the elite of world swimming. In a session marked by five new WR, Milorad Cavic (SRB, men’s 50m butterfly) won the first gold ever for his country, and Brenton Rickard (AUS) was best in the men’s 100m breaststroke. Regarding deceptions, the non-qualification of Aaron Peirsol (USA) for the final of the men’s 100m backstroke was a negative surprise.
In the men’s 100m breaststroke, Brenton Rickard (AUS) - third fastest in the semi-final (59.27) - controlled the race very well, overcame his main challengers and touched first in a new World Record (WR) of 58.58. The previous official WR was established by Kosuke Kitajima (JPN) at the 2008 Olympic Games (58.91), although Ukraine’s Igor Borysik had clocked 58.67 on June 11, 2009 (a WR pending FINA approval). Rickard, who collected three medals at home, in Melbourne in 2007 (second in the 200m breaststroke, third in the 100m and first in the 4x100 medley relay), and two awards at the “Water Cube” (silver in the 200m breaststroke and 4x100m medley relay), has achieved in Rome his first gold at this level.
On this accomplishment, Rickard said he had come to Rome to race and he was happy to get his hands on the wall first. “This gold means everything to me,” he said, adding that he has been with the same coach since the age of 10, and thus it is a very special honour for them both. “We have both tracked along the same path, and to finally end up here with gold – individually – is great for both of us.” Rickard said that for him, “racing is racing”, and his award came only after training as hard as he physically (and mentally) could manage, and racing as fast as he physically could.
With a fantastic second half to the race, French Hugues Duboscq was very close to beating the Australian, but obtained the silver in 58.64 (after coming second in the event at the 2005 Worlds in Montreal and third at the 2008 Olympics), while Cameron van der Burgh of South Africa got bronze in 58.95. Curiously, neither Eric Shanteau (USA), the fastest of the semi-final, nor Igor Borysik reached the podium: the American was fourth in 58.98 and the Ukrainian was fifth in 59.23.
The second World Record of the day was established in the women’s 100m butterfly, with the success of the “revelation” of the championships so far - Sweden’s Sarah Sjostrom (15 years old). After setting a WR in the semi-final (56.44), Sjostrom swam even better in the decisive race, getting gold in 56.06. The silver medallist, Australia’s Jessicah Schipper, also swam under the previous best mark (56.23) but her effort was not enough to climb to the top position on the podium (she badly missed the last stroke). It was of course the first medal at this level for Sjostrom (and the second gold medal ever at the Worlds for a female Swedish swimmer, after the 2007 50m butterfly success of her compatriot Therese Alshammar), while for Schipper this success represented her eighth award at FINA World Championships (after one bronze in 2003, two gold and one silver in 2005, and two gold and one silver in 2007). She had also accumulated three medals in Beijing (gold in the medley relay and two bronze in the breaststroke events).
The bronze medal (56.86) went to China’s Liuyang Jiao, one of the revelations last year at the “Water Cube”, where she was silver medallist in the 200m butterfly.
The Stockholm based Sjostrom – coached by Carl Jenner – was in shock after her victory, and had few words to describe her feelings. “It will take a few days for this to sink in,” she said, but admitted that it was “awesome, and completely crazy” to be a world champion at her age. Her personal best in this event had considerably dropped in the last two days, she added, but not without a lot of hard work, which had resulted in massive improvements. To celebrate, she will “take some holidays after the competition”.
The third final of the day, the men’s 50m butterfly, constituted a test for Spain’s Rafael Munoz, world record holder in this event (since April 2009 with 22.43) and the fastest of the semi-final. For his first appearance at this level, Munoz did not confirm his credentials and finished third (22.88), behind Australia’s Matt Targett (silver in 22.73) and Milorad Cavic (SRB, first in 22.67, bettering by 0.01 the championships record established by the Spaniard in the semi-final). Cavic, one of the swimmers in evidence in Beijing after losing the gold medal to Phelps in the 100m butterfly by 0.01, earned in the Italian capital the first swimming gold (and medal) for his country (Serbia) at the Worlds (Darjan Petric, competing for Yugoslavia in 1978, had won one silver and one bronze in Berlin).
Cavic said he is very grateful for this medal, calling it an amazing way to start the championships and that there “is definitely something to being crowned the fastest butterflier in the world.” He proceeded to explain, however, that although he feels amazing and very happy, he is “overly focused on the 100m butterfly to enjoy this moment”. When Cavic was asked how he manages to win when it counts, he said that he has a very good coach, with whom he has a very open line of communication. Since the Olympics, he said, he has been “listening to [his] body and doing what [he] believed was the correct thing to do.” What happened in Beijing is behind him, he said, and he is now only looking forward.
In the fourth and last final of the second day of the swimming at the Foro Italico, Ariana Kukors gave USA its first individual gold medal, touching first in a new WR of 2:06.15 – she had already established a new best mark for this event in the semi-finals with 2:07.03, which was curiously the same time gained by the silver medallist in the final, a “certain” Stephanie Rice (AUS, Olympic champion in 2008). Kukors (20 years old) had as her best result a fifth place in the 400m IM at the 2007 Worlds in Melbourne. The bronze medal went to another newcomer at this level - Hungary’s Katinka Hosszu (2:07.46). Kirsty Coventry (ZIM), second in 2007, was fourth with a time of 2:08.94 (two years ago, her silver was obtained in a time of 2:10.76).
Afterwards, Kukors explained that she had only even been able to swim this event due to a scratch from one of her teammates – Elizabeth Pelton – because of a scheduling conflict. “I found out at the last minute of the trials that I would swim this event, and I did some last minute training, with more lifting to get my strength up and focusing on the small things, like my turns,” she explained, adding that the underwater aspect of her race, which is one of her strengths, was very strong. Nevertheless, she was surprised with the time of 2:06.15 and said that having Rice chase her home was a great motivation. “It was a great race for both of us,” she said.
Concerning the semi-finals, the highlight of the day was the WR of Rebecca Soni (USA), who qualified first for the final with the time of 1:04.84, better than the 1:05.09 obtained by Leisel Jones (AUS) in March 2006. Soni had been second to Jones at the 2008 Games in this event. The fourth WR of the session was set by Anastasia Zueva (RUS) in the first semi-final of the women’s 100m backstroke: the Russian clocked 58.48, improving the former best mark established by Kirsty Coventry (ZIM) at the 2008 Olympics (58.77). In the other semi-final, Coventry did not improve, and took second in 59.21.
One of the surprises of the day was the ninth place finish of Aaron Peirsol (USA) in the semi-finals of the men’s 100m backstroke, an event in which he was world champion in 2007 and Olympic champion in 2008. Peirsol clocked 53.22, far from the unofficial WR (pending FINA approval) he set on July 8, 2009 in Indianapolis in 51.94
Παρασκευή 24 Ιουλίου 2009
SILVER MEDAL FOR GEMMELL
Thursday, July 23, 2009
SILVER MEDAL FOR GEMMELL
Open Water events in Rome are in full swing under the hot Italian sun. Yesterday the course played host to the men's and women's 10k swims. Now an official Olympic event, the 10k is even more competitive than ever. Keri-Anne Payne of Great Britain took victory in the women's field amongst a sea of blueseventy suits. On the men's side Andrew Gemmell from the good old US of A came in second in blueseventy with American teammate Fran Crippen in third.
Up next are the daunting 25ks...not for the faint of heart.
SILVER MEDAL FOR GEMMELL
Open Water events in Rome are in full swing under the hot Italian sun. Yesterday the course played host to the men's and women's 10k swims. Now an official Olympic event, the 10k is even more competitive than ever. Keri-Anne Payne of Great Britain took victory in the women's field amongst a sea of blueseventy suits. On the men's side Andrew Gemmell from the good old US of A came in second in blueseventy with American teammate Fran Crippen in third.
Up next are the daunting 25ks...not for the faint of heart.
ROMA 2009, 10k Women's is underway.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
ROMA 2009, 10k Women's is underway.
Well what an incredible venue and atmosphere at this world championships. The 10k event was underway this morning under clear sky's and weather that will surely demand the English man cracks open some factor 35. Watching the events with the blueseventy team are Olympic Champion Maarten Van Der Weijden, His Girlfriend Daisy, Steve Munatones (The Oracle of open water swimming) Michelle form Australia and two very excited parents of the USA open water swimmer Emily Brunemann. Picture and videos will be streaming to the blog as as when between meeting some of the great people i the world of open water allow. (For latest updates go to www.thewaterisopen.com)
ROMA 2009, 10k Women's is underway.
Well what an incredible venue and atmosphere at this world championships. The 10k event was underway this morning under clear sky's and weather that will surely demand the English man cracks open some factor 35. Watching the events with the blueseventy team are Olympic Champion Maarten Van Der Weijden, His Girlfriend Daisy, Steve Munatones (The Oracle of open water swimming) Michelle form Australia and two very excited parents of the USA open water swimmer Emily Brunemann. Picture and videos will be streaming to the blog as as when between meeting some of the great people i the world of open water allow. (For latest updates go to www.thewaterisopen.com)
Rome Day 3 but Really Day 1 - Reporting: Guy Crawford and the ever chatty Dean Jackson
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Rome Day 3 but Really Day 1 - Reporting: Guy Crawford and the ever chatty Dean Jackson
Our very own Guy Crawford and Dean Jackson are already in Rome covering the open water races kicking off today with the Men's and Women's 5k. Check out Guy's blog entry below:
"The first day has seen a phenomenal success for all athletes wearing the blueseventy 10k swimskins.
Results: Bronze Medal for POLIANA OKIMOTO ( Brazil) in the Women’s 5km competition
Sadly no medals in the men’s race but with the blueseventy nero 10k suit being the only Open Water specific swimskin it was clear which swimsuit was the preferred brand.
Activities:
Maarten Van Der Weijden Olympic Gold Medalist joined myself (Guy) and Steve Munatones to give a live twitter update of the race that was witnessed by several thousand (so our sources lead us to believe)
We helped Maarten to gain a VIP pass for the duration of the event (can you believe a Gold Medalist didn’t get one!!) For this Guy had to show a nipple….
Additionally, strong and future profitable alliances were made with all National Governing Bodies partaking in Open Water events (Specifically GB, USA and Brazil)
Further conversations with the BBC are looking fruitful for a televised piece from our living room showing all our suits on Thursday. For this Guy had to show other nipple….
Update: Found that Italy does not believe in the internet, IT has a different meaning here. BUT we will find a way for more in-depth reporting following another day in the water. (thanks to Jane in our New Zealand office for typing this up via phone)
Signing off 10.50pm ROMA time 2009AD"
Stay tuned for more updates and be sure and check out Guy's blog at http://blueseventyguy.blogspot.com and Roque's 'Roque n' Roll' blog at www.roque-n-roll.blogspot.com for interviews and inside info!
at 3:35 PM 0 comments
Rome Day 3 but Really Day 1 - Reporting: Guy Crawford and the ever chatty Dean Jackson
Our very own Guy Crawford and Dean Jackson are already in Rome covering the open water races kicking off today with the Men's and Women's 5k. Check out Guy's blog entry below:
"The first day has seen a phenomenal success for all athletes wearing the blueseventy 10k swimskins.
Results: Bronze Medal for POLIANA OKIMOTO ( Brazil) in the Women’s 5km competition
Sadly no medals in the men’s race but with the blueseventy nero 10k suit being the only Open Water specific swimskin it was clear which swimsuit was the preferred brand.
Activities:
Maarten Van Der Weijden Olympic Gold Medalist joined myself (Guy) and Steve Munatones to give a live twitter update of the race that was witnessed by several thousand (so our sources lead us to believe)
We helped Maarten to gain a VIP pass for the duration of the event (can you believe a Gold Medalist didn’t get one!!) For this Guy had to show a nipple….
Additionally, strong and future profitable alliances were made with all National Governing Bodies partaking in Open Water events (Specifically GB, USA and Brazil)
Further conversations with the BBC are looking fruitful for a televised piece from our living room showing all our suits on Thursday. For this Guy had to show other nipple….
Update: Found that Italy does not believe in the internet, IT has a different meaning here. BUT we will find a way for more in-depth reporting following another day in the water. (thanks to Jane in our New Zealand office for typing this up via phone)
Signing off 10.50pm ROMA time 2009AD"
Stay tuned for more updates and be sure and check out Guy's blog at http://blueseventyguy.blogspot.com and Roque's 'Roque n' Roll' blog at www.roque-n-roll.blogspot.com for interviews and inside info!
at 3:35 PM 0 comments
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