BY FAWAD HUSSAIN
DOHA: Two world records by Swede Sarah Sjostrom’s and Brazilian swimmers grabbing four gold medals on the final day to top the medals table were the highlights of the 12th FINA World Swimming Championships (25m) yesterday.
Altogether five more world records were smashed at the Hamad Aquatic Centre here yesterday, taking the total tally to 23 — which surpasses the 18 world records that fell in Manchester in 2008.
Qatar Swimming Association (QFA) President Khalil Al Jabir was delighted on the roaring success of the championship.
“It’s a result of our hard work,” Al Jabir told reporters after the closing ceremony.
“We did a lot of homework and stayed in touch with FINA and officials and athletes to know about their priorities. The athletes were comfortable and that is why they performed and broke so many world records. We are now looking forward to hosting more such events,” he said.
Brazil made a dramatic comeback on the fifth day of the championships by winning four gold medals. They climbed to the top of the medals table with an aggregate of 10 medals (seven gold, one silver and a couple of bronze medals), surpassing Katinka Hosszu-powered Hungary which had to settle for second position with a total of 11 medals (six gold, three silver and two bronze medals). The Netherlands finished third.
However, the United States won the most number of medals — 17 — and walked away with the team trophy, according to the FINA website.
Cesar Cielo Filho heralded Brazil’s domination yesterday by winning the men’s 100m freestyle race followed by Etiene Medeiros, who broke the five-year old world record in women’s 50m backstroke, to add a gold medal for her country. She raced to victory in 25.67 seconds, just 0.3milliseconds ahead of Croatian Sanja Jovanovic’s record.
Felipe Franca Silva brought the third gold by winning the men’s 50m breaststroke while a premier medal in 4x100m men’s medley took Brazil to the top of the table.
Sweden’s Sjostrom displayed brilliance while breaking world records in women’s 100m butterfly and women’s 200m freestyle races. She clocked 54.61 seconds in the 100m butterfly, overcoming Frenchwoman Diane Bui Duyet’s record of 55.05 seconds which was set back in 2009.
The 21-year old then excelled to finish the 200m freestyle in just one minute and 50.78 seconds.
“I made a lot of mistakes yesterday (on Saturday) and today I was focusing on avoiding mistakes. That helped me in gaining my pace but still I was not expecting such a performance and I am very happy of my achievement.”
Sjostrom overshadowed Hosszu who was looking for her fifth gold medal. Hugary’s golden girl was confined to just a silver and bronze medal on the last day.
“Overall I am satisfied with my performance,” said Hosszu before giving a thumbs-up to Doha’s hospitality. “I was comfortable contesting here and I am thankful to supporters for giving me the huge support,” she said.
Meanwhile, South Africa’s swimming star Chad le Clos completed a sweep in the butterfly events by winning the 200m race — his fourth gold medal in the championships. He finished the race in one minute and 48.61 seconds — a new championship record.
Earlier, the day started with a new world record with Netherlands bettering their previous record of one minute and 34.24 seconds in the women’s 4x50m freestyle
Germany’s Markus Deibler was the other swimmer to create a new world record when he won the men’s 100m individual medley with a time of 50.71, 0.05 milliseconds ahead of his own earlier feat.
THE PENINSULA
