GILCHRIST CONTINUES GB'S GOLD RUSH
Britain's Kris Gilchrist dominated his final to become Britain's
third gold medallist of the World Swimming Championships (25m)
in Manchester as the host nation took third place in the medal
standings.
Gilchrist had an excellent start but found himself in second
place as the race entered the 100m mark. The British champion
pushed on in the final 50m as his desire for success showed
through and he took the lead over Ukraine's Igor Borysik.
The final 25m saw the home-crowd urging Gilchrist on and
as he touched in a time of 2:06.18 he claimed the top spot
and his first international short-course gold medal.
"Walking out on pool side and hearing all those people
cheering just for you makes such a difference," Gilchrist
said. "It made me go out faster than usual but that wasn't
a bad thing, it wasn't my plan but it worked. I got really
excited about this meet after last weeks trials and to grab
gold is very special."
Borysik had to settle for the silver medal in a time of 2:06.21
and the bronze medal went to William Diering after finishing
in 2:06.85.
The men's 200m Individual Medley saw Britain's Liam Tancock
touch first at the 50m mark after an impressive start with
America's Ryan Lochte just behind him in a final that smashed
the world record.
The race saw Tancock and Lochte swimming length for length
as they battled for the all-important number one spot.
Lochte took the lead from Tancock in the second leg but as
they entered the Backstroke lap the British Champion powered
on and re-claimed the lead. But Lochte showed impressive turns
as he took the gold medal from Tancock in the final 25m.
Lochte touched in a time of 1:51.56 to take the gold medal
and shave a second off the world record, while Tancock took
his second medal of the competition, the silver, in a time
of 1:53.10.
"I had to go out hard on that one just to try to hang
on," Tancock said. "Lochte is a class above the
rest. What the USA team is doing here in Manchester is inspirational
and I want to play my part. To stand there with James on the
podium is fantastic."
Britain's James Goddard took the bronze medal in a time of
1:55.15.
The men's 50m Freestyle saw Mark Foster claim his 7th World
Short Course medal in four years after taking the second place
in this evening's world record breaking final.
The 37-year-old, who last week qualified as the oldest member
of the British Olympic squad, swam well to show his power
in short-course competitions to take the silver medal in a
time of 21.31.
"I'm really pleased with the silver, to be beaten by
half a second and a world record isn't too bad at 37,"
Foster said. "I knew he was going to be the one to beat,
I've trained with him in the states and knew he was in great
shape."
Croatia's Duje Draganja took the gold medal in the new world
record time of 20.81.
Bronze was taken by Russia's Gerhard Zandberg in 21.33.
Britain's Elizabeth Simmonds became the second fastest woman
in history over 200m Backstroke as she swam an excellent race
in this evening's final.
Simmonds went into the final as the second fastest athlete
behind Zimbabwe's Kirsty Coventry.
The double world champion, Coventry, hit the 100m mark well
within world record time and claimed her third gold medal
and second world record in a time of 2:00.91.
The British record holder, who also swam within the previous
world standard time, touched in a time of 2:02.60 to claim
the silver medal and smash the Commonwealth record by almost
two seconds.
"I'm so delighted, it's so special to be in a race like
that and to get a medal," Simmonds said.
"I wanted to maintain my own race and it went well. I
closed kirsty down at the end. To go under the world record
with someone like Kirsty is a real honour."
The bronze medal was claimed by America's Margaret Hoelzer
in a time of 2:03.85.
On the eve of her 18th birthday Britain's Fran Halsall claimed
the silver medal in the final of the women's 100m Freestyle.
In a race that Marleen Veldhuis dominated Halsall held her
own and kept up with the high pace of the European champion.
Veldhuis turned for the final 50m within world record time,
and after dropping her pace slightly in the last 25m claimed
a championship record after touching in a time of 52.17.
Halsall smashed the British record she set in last night's
semi-final after finishing in 52.79 to claim the silver medal.
"It was great to have everyone cheering, it pushed me
all the way," Halsall said. "It's hard to get into
lane four but once there its so choppy but I put in a good
back end to take that silver."
Bronze went to Hanna-Maria Seppala in a time of 52.94.
The men's 400m Freestyle final saw two British athletes battling
for a medal winning as they looked to continue Britain's good
form.
David Carry had a strong start as he gave himself a good
lead in the first 150m, but Russia's Yuriy Prilukov's strength
over distance races showed through as he pushed for the lead
in the final 200m. Prilukov carved out a lead of over one
second and he claimed his first gold medal of the competition
with a time of 3:37.35.
Carry and Renwick found themselves in a tough battle for
the third spot as the power of Italy's Massimiliano Rosolino
was too much for them and he claimed silver in a time of 3:39.60.
Renwick proved to have the stronger finish of the two British
athletes and claimed the bronze medal in a time of 3:40.22.
"I'm really happy with that it's a huge bonus for me,"
Renwick said. "To go 2 seconds under my personal best
from heats is unbelievable. To come third to two of the world's
greatest swimmers is an honour. I knew I had that in me and
I'm happy with bronze for now."
The final of the women's 4x100m Medley relay saw Britain's
team get off to an excellent start as Elizabeth Simmonds gave
the girls the lead after the first 100m.
With Australia in the next lane, the young British team pushed
on but found themselves over taken in the second leg by both
the Australian and American teams.
The British girls showed their strength as they kept their
high pace going to remain in place for a medal.
As they entered the final 100m, Fran Halsall showed no signs
of fatigue as she powered on to claim Britain's fifth bronze
of the competition in a time of 3:53.02.
The gold medal was claimed by the United States of America
in a new world record time of 3:51.36 and silver was taken
by Australia in 3:52.01.
Joanne Jackson looked strong in the final of the women's
400m Freestyle as she got an excellent start to position herself
in third place as she touched for 100m.
Australia's Kylie Palmer dominated the race as she gained
an early lead and extended it in the final 200m to almost
one second.
Jackson showed her strength as she moved up to second place
as she reached the 200m mark. She pushed hard but could not
catch Palmer and the World Championship medallist took the
gold in 3:59.23 to claim the new championship record.
As Jackson she entered the final 25m the finish of Romania's
Alina Camelia Potec was too much for her and Potec took the
silver in a time of 4:01.06, while Jackson took the final
podium place with a time of 4:01.11.
"I thought I could go quicker out there tonight but
I'm glad to better my British record and get a medal. I wish
it was a different colour but I'm very tired after two tough
weeks that last 25m were excruciating.
This evening saw three British athletes look strong in the
semi-finals to proceed to tomorrow night's finals.
Liam Tancock smashed the Championship record in the men's
50m Backstroke semi-final after finishing in a time of 24.41
to also lower the British record for the second time in one
day. He goes into the final as the fastest qualifier overall.
Matt Clay just missed out on a place in the final after touching
in a time of 23.96 and to finish in 13th place overall.
The men's 50m Butterfly semi-final saw Britain's Mark Foster
prove his power through the water to finish second in his
heat in a time of 23.00. Foster qualified as the slowest swimmer
for this evening's semi-finals but showed his strength to
come back and qualify as the third fastest athlete for the
final.
Matt Bowe swam a personal best time in the semi-final but
failed to progress to the final after touching in a time of
23.65.
Kate Haywood lowered the British record twice through the
heats and the semi-final of the women's 100m Breaststroke.
She touched in her semi-final in a time of 1:05.95 to take
almost a second off the previous national standard. For the
second time in two days she touched in the same time as a
competitor and was touched alongside Austria's Mirna Jukic.
Kirsty Balfour finished in 10th place overall after touching
in a time of 1:07.22 and just missed out on a place in tomorrow's
final.
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