Relay record as Libby lights up Shanghai

SHANGHAI (Reuters) – Libby Lenton anchored a world record
4×200 medley effort and grabbed an individual gold on another
stellar night for the Australian women at the world short
course swimming championships on Friday.

The understrength United States team also had a good
evening with Ryan Lochte winning the men’s 200 medley in world
record time for his second title of the week, one of three
golds for Americans on the third day of competition in
Shanghai.

Brooke Hanson added to Australia’s medal haul and made up
for her disappointment in narrowly losing out to compatriot
Jade Edmistone in the 50 breastroke on Thursday by claiming the
100 medley in 1:00.16, but the evening belonged to Lenton.

The 21-year-old Queenslander opened the session by
retaining her 100 freestyle crown and closed it by joining Tay
Zimmer, Edmistone and Jessicah Schipper to knock more than
three seconds off the world mark she helped set in Indianapolis
two years ago.

Lenton, who won five golds and two silvers at the recent
Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, touched in 52.33 seconds to
win the 100 freestyle from Dutch swimmer Magdalena Veldhuis for
her second gold of the week after her contribution to
Wednesday’s 4×200 freestyle relay triumph.

“It’s been very hard to sustain my intensity but that was a
good time in a good field so to win was great,” said Lenton,
who will race in six events in five days in Shanghai.

The relay team then clocked 3:51.84 to beat the American
quartet by nearly four seconds. China’s bronze for third was
the only medal success of the day for the host nation.

Lochte followed his 400 individual medley success on
Thursday by claiming the 200 in 1:53.31 and just beating the
world mark of 1:53.46 set by Hungarian Laszlo Cseh last
December in Trieste.

Kate Ziegler beat Australian Bronte Barratt into second
place in the 400 freestyle and Margaret Hoelzer held off Zimmer
in the 200 backstroke for the other American successes.

Cullen Jones, however, had to settle for second in the 50
freestyle behind Croatia’s Duje Draganja after setting a
championship record in the heats on Thursday.

Therese Alshammar won the women’s 50 butterfly, while
Vladislav Polyakov of Kazakhstan struck gold in the men’s 200
breaststroke with his compatriot Yevgeniy Ryzhkov claiming
bronze behind Australian Brenton Rickard.

(Writing by Nick Mulvenney in Beijing)