ELEVEN records have been broken in the first two days at the World Championships, including five Monday night in Rome, Italy.
The new world order also featured a shock result: No Aaron Peirsol in the final of the 100-meter backstroke.
Sarah Sjostrom of Sweden broke the world record she set a day earlier to win the 100-meter butterfly Monday. Sjostrom clocked 56.06 seconds, beating her semifinal time of 56.44. Australia’s Jess Schipper got the silver in 56.23 and China’s Jiao Liuyang had the bronze in 56.86.
Two of the latest world records were by Americans, Rebecca Soni and Ariana Kukors. Soni went 1 minute 4.84 seconds in the semifinals of the 100-meter breaststroke, and Kukors won the 200 individual medley in 2:06.15, beating Olympic champion Stephanie Rice of Australia.
Three men went under the existing world record in the 100 breaststroke. Two women were under the old world record in the 100 backstroke, and for the kicker, two-time Olympic champion and world-record holder Peirsol did not make the final in the 100 backstroke, placing ninth in 53.22.
“It was just a huge miscalculation,” Peirsol said. “I thought I was in a much better place in that race than I was. I just completely thought I was in a place I wasn’t in.”
His semifinal was slower than his morning heat time (53.08) and eons off his world-record 51.94, set earlier this month at the nationals.
The backstroke king had a rare bad race at the international level.
“In the backstroke, you are looking straight up,” he said. “You don’t see much. So you really have to go by feel. It is what it is.”
Peirsol’s misstep served as a reminder that it simply isn’t possible to keep much in reserve. Not with the fast swimming by old foes — and new ones.
(SD-Agencies)