Australia scooped two gold medals on the opening day of the FINA
World Short Course (25m) Swimming Championships in Shanghai
yesterday.
But China's Qi Hui managed to claw one back for the home team
when she touched the wall first in the women's 400m individual
medley.
Overall, the night's action was essentially an Australia-China
affair, particularly in the women's events.
In the women's 200m butterfly event, Australia's Jessica
Schipper led from the start to finish first in a
championship-record time of 2:05:11. This was Schipper's first
world short course title.
Italy's Francesca Segat took the silver, finishing a hair's
breath behind Schipper, while China's Yang Yu was stretched full
length but finished about two seconds behind the Aussie to take the
bronze.
The 400m individual medley race provides the drama for the
evening. Qi, 21, started off poorly and had to play catch-up for
the first 200 meters in the butterfly and backstroke laps.
But roared on by a supportive home crowd, Qi, a former
breaststroke world record holder, finally found her rhythm and shot
into the lead in the last 100 meters, clinching the gold in
4:34:28, ahead of Italian Alessia Filippi and Anastasia Ivanenko of
Russia respectively.
"Yes, I won the race but I could have done better," Qi said.
"I only had three weeks to prepare because my health hasn't been
good. I could feel my strength draining in the second half of the
race, but I will be looking for even better results in the later
events."
Qi's golden answer to Schipper's earlier victory turned out to
be a prelude to another duel between the two countries.
China had its eye on the second gold of the night in the 4 x
200m freestyle relay. Yang Yu sprinted ahead in the second last
lap, but the team couldn't hold on to their lead. Australia's Libby
Lenton reiterated Australia's long-held domination in the pool with
a stunning come-from-behind last-lap victory.
Lenton clocked one of the fastest relay splits -- 1:53:78 in a
sensational anchor leg -- which helped the Aussies to win in a time
of 7:46:96, the second fastest time ever and just 0.66 outside
China's 2002 world mark.
In the closest finish of the night, the Aussie girls won by 0.11
of a second ahead of China, with the US coming in third.
In the men's events, South Africa's Ryk Neethling prevailed in
the 200m freestyle with a time of 1:43:51. Italy took the honors in
the 4 x 100m freestyle relay.
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(Shanghai Daily April 6, 2006)
