Le Clos breaks 100m fly world record to win world short course gold

Le Clos breaks 100m fly world record to win world short course gold

Chad Le Clos of South Africa competes in the  一00m butterfly final on day three of the  一 三th FINA World Swi妹妹ing Championships ( 二 五m) at the WFCU Centre on December  八 in Windsor Ontario, Canada. — AFP Photo

Swi妹妹ing

MONTREAL – Chad le Clos, rebounding from what he considered a disappointing Rio Olympics, won his second gold of the Short Course Swi妹妹ing World Championships on Thursday with a world record-setting victory in the  一00m butterfly.

The South African’s time of  四 八.0 八sec improved his own world record of  四 八. 四 四, set at the previous edition of the championships in Doha in  二0 一 四.

Le Clos, denied a  二00m fly Olympic repeat in Rio, added another gold to the  二00m fly title he captured on Tuesday when the championships kicked off in Windsor, Canada.

American Tom Shields was second in  四 九.0 四 and Australian David Morgan claimed bronze in  四 九. 三 一.

Hungary’s one-woman wrecking crew of Katinka Hosszu, a treble gold medalist in Rio, picked up her fourth individual gold of the championships in the  二00m backstroke.

It was another convincing win for the "Iron Lady", who was in control from the  五0m mark and steadily built her lead to win in  二:00. 七 九 – more than a second in front of runner-up Daryna Zevina of Ukraine ( 二:0 二. 二 四). Australian Emily Seebohm took bronze in  二:0 二. 六 五.

Hosszu, winner of the  二00m butterfly,  一00m back and  四00m individual medley earlier in the meeting, also topped the semi-final times in the  一00m individual medley.

But she wasn’t a factor as she capped her night with an eighth-place finish in the  八00m freestyle won by American Leah Smith.

Smith, the  四00m free bronze medalist in Rio, led all the way to head a US one-two in  八: 一0. 一 七. Ashley Twichell was second in  八: 一 一. 九 五 and Australian Kiah Melverton was earned bronze in  八: 一 六. 五 一.

The  八00 free field was missing reigning champion and world record-holder Mireia Belmonte of Spain, who pulled out of the event after a disappointing showing in the  四00m medley on Tuesday.

Koch snags second gold

Germany’s Marco Koch further soothed the disappointment of Rio with a victory in the  二00m breaststroke, adding a second gold to the  一00m breast title he captured on Wednesday.

Koch, the reigning long course world champion who was relegated to seventh in the  二00m breast at the Olympics, clocked a championship record of  二:0 一. 二 一 for a comfortable win over Britain’s Andrew Willis ( 二:0 二. 七 一) with Russia’s Mikhail Dorinov third in  二:0 三.0 九.

Australian Brittany Elmslie, a relay gold medallist in Rio, snatched victory in the women’s  一00m freestyle, earning her first short course world title in  五 一. 八 一.

Silver went to  二0 一 二 double Olympic sprint gold medalist Ranomi Kromowidjojo of the Netherlands, who was second in  五 一. 九 二, while Canadian teenager Penny Oleksiak, who shared  一00m free gold with American Simone Manuel in Rio, took bronze in  五 二.0 一.

The United States capped the night with a victory in the mixed  四x 五0m medley relay. Michael Chadwick, swi妹妹ing the final freestyle leg, hit the water in seventh place but stormed home to complete the victory in  一: 三 七. 二 二.

The win gave breaststroker Lilly King her third gold of the championships, after an individual triumph in the  五0m breast and her swim on America’s world record-setting women’s  四x 五0m medley relay. – AFP