SWIMMING: Lochte Breaks Third World Record at FINA Short Course World Swimming Championships

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Saturday, April 12, 2008 Contact: Karen Linhart (719-440-2424, /klinhart@usaswimming.org) Lochte Breaks Third World Record at FINA Short Course World Swimming Championships Jessica Hardy and Peter Marshall win gold; Hardy and women's 400m free relay sets American record MANCHESTER, England-Ryan Lochte (Daytona Beach, Fla.) proved his dominance in the pool once again Saturday by breaking the world record in the men's 100m I.M. at the 9th FINA Short Course World Swimming Championships in Manchester, England. Lochte bested the previous record by more than four tenths with a time of 51.25. Team USA's Jessica Hardy (Long Beach, Calif.) and Peter Marshall (Atlanta, Ga.) took home individual gold medals, bringing the U.S. overall medal count to 11 (eight gold, two silver and one bronze). Lochte earned his third world record of the meet during the semifinals of the 100m I.M., qualifying as the top seed for Sunday's final. Doug Van Wie (Charlotte, N.C.) finished 13th with a time of 54.67. Hardy, who swam in three events Saturday night, earned her third gold medal of the meet in the women's 100m breast. Hardy led throughout the race to finish in 1:04.22, setting an American and championship record. Australia's Jade Edmistone won silver in 1:04.93 and South Africa's Suzaan Van Biljon won the bronze in 1:05.38."I'm really happy,"Hardy said after her race."I was hoping to set a world record, but it was still a great time so I am very happy with that."In the men's 50m back, Marshall took home his first individual World Championship gold medal with a time of 23.49. Great Britain's Liam Tancock, who won gold in the 100m back on Thursday, claimed the silver in 23.53 and Australia's Ashley Delaney earned bronze in 23.57."It feels great to watch the flag go up,"Marshall said following his medal ceremony."I've never been up there by myself before so I tried to take it all in."In the women's 400m free final, Team USA broke the American record and placed fifth with a time of 3:34.96. The team of Hardy, Rachel Komisarz (Louisville, Ky.), Emily Silver (Bainbridge Island, Wash.), and Kara Denby (Simi Valley, Calif.) bested the previous American record by just over one tenth. The Netherlands took gold and set a world record with a time of 3:29.42. Australia claimed the silver in 3:32.00 and Great Britain earned the bronze in 3:32.88. In the other two finals of the night, Team USA's Silver placed eighth in the 200m I.M. with a time of 2:10.90. Zimbabwe's Kirsty Coventry broke another world record with her gold medal swim of 2:06.13, taking more than a second off the previous record. Spain's Mireia Belmonte earned the silver in 2:07.47 and Great Britain's Hannah Miley won bronze in 2:08.79. In the men's 50m fly, Australia's Adam Pine won gold in 22.78, Ukraine's Sergii Breus claimed silver in 22.86, and Russia's Evgeny Korotyshkin earned bronze in 22.94. In semifinal action, both U.S. swimmers advanced in the men's 100m free. Bryan Lundquist (Marietta, Ga.) qualified fourth for the final with a time of 47.84 and Nathan Adrian (Bremerton, Wash.) qualified sixth in 48.19. Komisarz qualified third for the women's 100m fly final. The 2004 Olympian swam a 57.08 and will look for her first individual medal of the meet in Sunday's final. In the women's 50m free, Hardy also claimed a top qualifying spot, finishing with a time 24.35. Carrie Ellis (Valrico, Fla.) finished 12th with a time of 25.13. Mark Gangloff (Akron, Ohio) qualified for the final in the men's 50m breast with a semifinal time of 27.07. Lochte did not qualify for the final, placing tenth in 27.25. Margaret Hoelzer (Huntsville, Ala.) placed 14th in the 50m back with a time of 28.04. Swimming competition at the 9th FINA World Short Course Swimming Championships wraps up Sunday with finals starting at 9 a.m. BST. Finals begin at 3:00 p.m. BST. During the evening session, medals will be awarded in the men's 100m free, 200m back, 100m I.M.,50m breast, 200m fly, 1500m free, and the 400m medley relay, and the women's 50m back, 200m breast, 100m fly, 50m free, and 200m free. World Championship Sports Network (WCSN) will provide a live broadcast of the 2008 FINA World Swimming Championships on WCSN TV and through a free webcast on www.wcsn.com or www.fina.org. About USA Swimming As the National Governing Body for competitive swimming in the United States, USA Swimming formulates the rules, implements policies and procedures, conducts national championships, disseminates safety and sports medicine information and selects athletes to represent the United States in international competition. USA Swimming has more than 300,000 members nationwide and sanctions more than 7,000 events each year. For more information, visit usaswimming.org.