Hosszu and Sjostrom match gold medals with world records

Ryland James 06:59 04/08/2015
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Mail
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • WhatsApp
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • Different strokes: Katinka Hosszu dominated in the 200m IM final.

    Girl power prevailed at the world swimming championships as three women’s records fell and Hungary’s ‘Iron Lady’ Katinka Hosszu lived up to her nickname.

    After Katie Ledecky bettered her own 1500m freestyle world record in the morning’s heats and Sweden’s Sarah Sjostrom broke her 100m butterfly mark, Hosszu claimed the 200m individual medley record which has stood since 2009.

    The Hungarian’s achievement was all the more impressive as the 26-year-old clocked two mins 06.12 secs to take gold in the 200m IM final and shave 0.03 secs off Ariana Kukors’ previous record from the 2009 world championships in Rome.

    The US swimmer set the time in the era of the super-fast neoprene suits, which have since been banned and Hosszu has been chasing the record.

    Japan’s Kanako Watanabe took silver at 2.33s back with Britain’s Siobhan Marie O’Connor claiming bronze at 2.65.

    “Before the race, I was just trying to give my best and race as fast as possible, and then there was a record. It was just perfect,” said Hosszu.

    China’s Ye Shiwen, the Olympic 200m and 400m IM champion, finished eighth and last, at 7.89s behind Hosszu’s winning time having failed to recapture her form since her London 2012 triumph three years ago.

    Sjostrom was equally as delighted as she clocked 55.64 seconds to shave 0.15secs off the record she set in Sunday’s semi-final as she retained the world title she won two years ago in Barcelona.

    Kicking up a storm: Sjostrom defeated Danish rival Ottesen.

    Denmark’s Jeanette Ottesen, the 50m butterfly world champion, took silver in 57.05 with China’s Lu Ying claiming bronze with 57.48.

    “I have been waiting six years to break my personal best time and now I have taken a few more tenths of a second off it, so finally!” Sjostrom said.

    “We have been working hard for a long time, it gives me a lot of confidence, it gives me a receipt that all the work is for something.

    “I felt more pressure coming into the final.

    “There is always lots of emotions before the race, so I am very happy and I have shown myself I can swim faster even with all the pressure.”

    Sjostrom is hoping for more gold in Kazan as she also races in the 50m butterfly, the 50m and 100m freestyle later this week.

    “I think I have a good chance in the 50m fly, not to break the record as that’s a really fast time,” she said.

    – W. Champs: Osman hoping to relive Barcelona success
    – #360podcast: It’s going, going Gyan in AGL
    – W. Champs: Franklin and Ledecky spearhead US challenge

    “The freestyle will be a bit more difficult for me, because I don’t have the perfect technique, I feel more comfortable in the butterfly and I have a lot to work to do still in the free. I have two days off now to recover and then I will get ready for the 100m freestyle, 50m fly and the 50m free.

    “I am very happy I am not swimming the 200m free as well, I couldn’t be happier.

    “Now I can enjoy my gold medal and get ready for the other sprint events.”

    Katie’s shock record

    Ledecky, who also holds the 800m record, hinted she could yet send more records tumbling in today’s 1500m final after winning her heat by nearly 27 seconds.

    “It felt pretty easy,” said Ledecky, who also came within a second of her 400m freestyle world record while winning Sunday’s final.

    “I am pretty shocked that I was able to do that. I wasn’t kicking much.”

    Ledecky, 18, only recently finished high school in Maryland, but this is the eighth time the teenager has set a world record in her fledgling career.

    It is the fourth time the defending champion has broken the 1,500m record alone having first achieved the feat in Barcelona two years ago on her way to winning the world title.

    Recommended