Sloudnov rewrites his breaststroke World record

FUKUOKA (JAPAN), JULY 23. Russia's Roman Sloudnov broke his own 100m breaststroke World record in a semifinal of the World swimming championships here on Monday.

Sloudnov beat archrival Ed Moses of the United States to set a new World mark of 59.94, beating his previous record of 59.97 set at the Russian National championships.

He is the only man in history to swim below one minute. ``Just 20 days ago, I broke the world record and I said to myself that I should try to do it today, at this race again,'' he said. ``I feel very happy that I did it again. I want to swim under one minute in the final.

``I feel heavy pressure because I'm not competing in my home country but I feel quite comfortable in Japan and with the water here.'' Moses was the second fastest qualifier in 1:00.05, his best-ever time. The final takes place on Tuesday.

American Tom Malchow and France's Franck Esposito set a new joint World championship record in the 200m butterfly.

The pair touched home in 1:55.03 in their semifinal to smash the championship mark of 1:55.68 set by Stewart Melvin of the United States in Perth in 1991.

The World record of 1:54.92 is held by 15-year-old American Michael Phelps, who swam the first semifinal in 1:56.41. The final is scheduled for Tuesday in this event too.

Happy day for Hartley

Canadian Blythe Hartley held off the challenge of Chinese pair Wu Minxia and Zhang Jing to win the women's one-metre springboard gold medal.

Hartley led from start to finish and tallied a five- round total of 300.81 points to capture Canada's first gold medal on the eighth day of the meet.

Wu won the battle for the silver medal with an aggregate of 297.57 points, but only after Zhang, the bronze medallist at the 1998 World championships in Perth, slipped up on her final dive, leaving her on 294.15 points.

Meanwhile, Australia's Irina Lashko, who won the 1998 title under the Russian flag, finished last of six finalists with a disappointing 252.81 points.

Germany collected its second gold of the day when it won the women's 4x100m freestyle relay. Germany took the lead from Australia through Antje Buschschulte on the second leg and held off all challengers as Sandra Voelker brought it home in three minutes 39.58 seconds.

Karen Pickering swam a storming final leg to lift Britain to joint second place and silver medals shared with the United States, the deposed defending champion, in 3:40.80.

Germany had earlier picked up its first title of the main pool events when Hannah Stockbauer won the 800m freestyle.

Stockbauer, European champion in 1999, seized the lead from Diana Munz, who had set the pace for the first 200m, and surged away from her American rival after they had gone through the 400m-mark almost level.

Stockbauer swept on to win in eight minutes 24.66 seconds, leaving Munz with an all-too familiar silver medal in 8:28.84. Munz had finished second to compatriot Brooke Bennett in the 800m at the last World championships in Perth in 1998 and in the 400m freestyle at the Sydney Olympics.

Bennett, World and Olympic champion, missed the U.S. championships, which doubled as trials for Fukuoka, through illness.

Kaitlin Sandeno claimed the bronze for the U.S. in 8:31.45, just ahead of China's Chen Hua, who clocked 8:31.66. Olympic gold medallist Anthony Ervin added a World title to his collection when he won the men's 50m freestyle.

Ervin claimed the first U.S. title of the championships, sprinting through to win by a whisker from Olympic bronze medallist Pieter van den Hoogenband. Ervin clocked 22.09 seconds and van den Hoogenband, coming through in a late charge, took the silver in 22.16.

Tomohiro Yamanoi gave Japanese fans a medal to cheer, sharing bronze with South Africa's Roland Schoeman in the next lane as both touched in 22.18.

- Reuters & AFP

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