Aug 15 (Reuters) – Kate Douglass smashed the 50 metre freestyle world record she set only hours before in the morning preliminaries with a blazing swim in the evening final on Saturday at the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships in Irvine, California.
Douglass got off to a blistering start and never let up, touching the wall in 23.19 seconds to obliterate the record of 23.49 she had set in the morning to reclaim the world record from fellow American Gretchen Walsh.
Douglass and Walsh, training partners and former University of Virginia teammates, have traded the world record this summer.
Douglass set it on June 19 in Indianapolis with a time of 23.59 only to see Walsh take it from her nine days later by clocking 23.55 in Rome.
Douglass snatched it back on the final day of the outdoor meet on Saturday morning before leaving no doubt with her stunning performance under the lights.
Walsh finished second in the final with a time of 23.74, and Australia’s Meg Harris was third.
Douglass also helped break the world record in the mixed 4×100 metres medley relay on the opening night, alongside Walsh, Van Mathias and Will Modglin.
Douglass is a five-time Olympic medallist and the championships are being viewed as an important early benchmark ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
Earlier during Saturday’s finals, China’s Yu Yiting emerged as the surprise winner of the women’s 200 metre individual medley final, holding off a late charge by world record holder and reigning Olympic champion in the event, Summer McIntosh.
Yu touched in 2:07.45 with Canada’s McIntosh 0.02 behind and American Alex Walsh in third.
(Reporting by Rory Carroll in Long Beach, California; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)
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