FUKUOKA, Japan -- Two world records, two individual gold
medals. If you think it can't get any better for Ian Thorpe at the
world swimming championships, just hang around another day.
|  | | Ian Thorpe churns his way to a second world record Tuesday in the 800 freestyle. |
On a night when American teenager Michael Phelps also joined
the world record parade -- breaking his own mark in the 200-meter
butterfly -- the 18-year-old Thorpe swam to his 11th long-course
world record Tuesday, taking gold in the 800-meter freestyle in 7
minutes, 39.16 seconds to break his own world mark by nearly 2.5
seconds.
It wasn't easy though. His Australian teammate Grant Hackett,
winner of the 1,500-meter gold at the Sydney Olympics, led for
nearly 750 meters in the race and both swimmers were two seconds
under the world record pace for most of the distance.
But Thorpe took the lead by .01 seconds at the last turn and
powered home in the final 25 meters. Hackett (7:40.34) also came in
under the previous world mark of 7:41.59. The next closest
finisher, Graeme Smith of Britain, was 11 seconds behind.
At the finish, the two teammates hugged each other and Thorpe
appeared to be offering Hackett, who had swum one of the best races
of his career, some consoling words.
"I swam probably the fastest 600 of my life," Thorpe said.
"These things happen," Hackett said. "I was trying to nudge
ahead, but Ian kept sticking there like glue."
On Sunday, Thorpe won gold in the 400-meter freestyle, again
breaking his own world mark, and won another gold with Australia's
400-meter freestyle relay team at the Marine Messe temporary pool.
Next up is the 200-meter freestyle Wednesday, a race he also
holds the world record in. Thorpe could make swimming history by
holding world championship titles in the 200, 400 and 800, all of
them in world record times.
Phelps of Baltimore, Maryland, was the youngest member of the
U.S. Olympic swim team in Sydney last year and although he didn't
win a medal, he said the trip had given him valuable "big meet"
experience.
"After last night I was disappointed and I went in feeling
`iffy," Phelps said about finishing second in his semifinal Monday
night in a time nearly two seconds slower than Tuesday.
"I just kept trying hard to get my hand on the wall. I feel
great."
Tom Malchow, from Ann Arbor, Mich., finished second and
conceded the world No. 1 position to Phelps, grabbing his
16-year-old teammate by the arm and hoisting it into the air at the
finish of their race.
"I was pretty comfortable throughout the race but I didn't come
home quite as I wanted to," Malchow said, adding that Phelps was
"a great racer and I'm just going to have to something special to
catch up with him."
Haley Cope of the United States followed the Thorpe-Hackett duel
by winning gold in the women's 50-meter backstroke.
"I thought I was really dying," Cope said. "I was just trying
to keep up with the girl next to me. I can't believe I'm the world
champion."
Also, Roman Sloudnov of Russia finished just outside his
100-meter breaststroke world record, but still won gold. Sloudnov
couldn't match the world mark of 59.94 he set in Monday night's
semifinals, finishing in 1:00.16.
"My next goal is 59 seconds," he said. "Training is the
secret to my success."
Italy's Domenico Fioravanti was second in 1:00.47 while former
world record holder Ed Moses of the United States, who was a
fraction under Sloudnov's world pace after 50 meters, took the
bronze in 1:00.61.
"I felt a little tired in the last 10 meters," Moses said. "I
knew from the semifinal that the other guys were good in the last
50 meters and I was prepared for it."
Thomas Rupprath of Germany led all qualifiers into Wednesday
night's 50-meter backstroke final, winning his semifinal in 25.31
ahead of Canada's Riley Janes. Randall Bal of the United States was
second fastest Tuesday, winning his semi in 25.59.
"I was sluggish on the start and I need to work on my finish a
little bit," Bal said. "I really want a medal."
Inge de Bruijn, the fastest woman in swimming, hit the pool for
her first events Tuesday. She was third in morning qualifying, but
won her semifinal in 55.37 to advance to Wednesday's final.
De Bruijn set world records in the 50 and 100 as she won both
gold medals at the Sydney Olympics. But Katrin Meissmer of Germany
was the fastest among the semifinalists, finishing in 55.15 in
winning her heat.
"I'm just aiming for a medal," de Bruijn said. "Physically I
felt good after this morning's race. I didn't feel any pressure."
Before Thorpe's 800-meter race, he finished second to Pieter van
den Hoogenband in a semifinal of the 200-meter freestyle. Van de
Hoogenband, who took gold in the 100 and 200 at Sydney, finished in
1:45.80, about 1.5 seconds ahead of a coasting Thorpe at the
finish.
Massimiliano Rosolino of Italy had qualified for the semifinals,
but pulled out after qualifying late Tuesday morning. Rosolino, who
won Olympic bronze last year in the 200 freestyle, said he wanted
to save himself for the 200-meter individual medley, the event he
won gold in at Sydney.
Beatrice Caslaru of Romania led all semifinalists in the women's
200-meter breaststroke, setting a championship record of 2:25.00.
She broke the previous mark of 2:25.45 set by Agnes Kovacs of
Hungary, who was second in Caslaru's heat in 2:25.83.
Russian Dmitry Saoutine, who won two Olympic diving medals last
year at Sydney, took the 3-meter springboard event.
Saoutine, who trailed China's Wang Tianling after the
preliminary round, but led after the semifinals, scored 725.82
points in the 12-man final at the Fukuoka Prefectual Pool. Wang
took the silver medal with 717.27 while Japan's Ken Terauchi was
third with 712.38.
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