Swimming-Mixed results for local swimmers at the worlds |03 August 2011

Aurelie Fanchette (200m backstroke and 200m freestyle), Ryan Govinden (200m and 400m freestyle) and Shane Mangroo (50m and 100m freestyle) were Seychelles’ representatives in Shanghai, China where two world marks were beaten.

Fanchette was ranked 48th out of 49 swimmers in a time of 2 minutes 31.88 seconds (2:31.88) in the 200m freestyle won by Italian Frederica Pellegrini in 1:55.58.

She was also entered in the 200m backstroke, clocking 2:52.04 to finish 39th out of as many swimmers. American Melissa Franklin won the gold medal with a time 2:05.10.

Mangroo clocked 26.32 seconds to finish 77th out of 116 swimmers in the 50m freestyle won by Brazilian Cielo Filho Cesar with 21.62 seconds.

In the 100m freestyle, Mangroo stopped the clock at 57.85 seconds to be ranked 84th out of 105. Australian James Magnussen won the gold medal with 47.63 seconds.

Govinden finished last in 60 swimmers with 2:18.07 in the 200m freestyle dominated by American Ryan Lochte with 1:44.44.
He was 48th out of 49 in the 400m freestyle with a time of 4:55.10. Korean Park Tae Hwan won the event’s gold medal with 3:42.04.

American Lochte set the first world record since high-tech bodysuits were banned 19 months ago while winning five golds and a bronze over eight days at the Oriental Sports Center.

He beat Michael Phelps in the 200m individual medley as he clocked a new world best of 1:54.00, topping by a tenth of a second on the mark he set in Rome two years ago when the suits were still allowed. They were banned at the start of 2010. Phelps was second in 1:54.16.

China's Sun Yang broke the second world record of the meet on Sunday, taking down Aussie Grant Hackett's 10-year-old mark in the 1,500m freestyle.

Sun was more than two seconds off Hackett's pace with four laps to go in swimming's version of the mile, but he accelerated on the final two laps to finish in 14:34.14, improving on Hackett's mark of 14:34.56 set at the 2001 worlds.
 
Meanwhile, the American team claimed 29 swimming medals – 16 gold, five silver and eight bronze – to improve on their performance from two years ago in Rome.

G. G.