Former Gator Ryan Lochte Secures First-Place Seed in 200 IM at Worlds
Wednesday, July 29, 2009 | Men's Swimming & Diving
Former Gator Ryan Lochte led the United States on day four of competition at the 2009 FINA World Championships in Rome, securing a first-place seed in semifinals of the 200-meter individual medley Wednesday. Lochte tied Hungary's Laszlo Cseh with a time of 1:55.18 to advance to the championship final, slated for Thursday.
In women's swimming action, Gator backstroker Gemma Spofforth (Great Britain), who captured the World Title and World Record in the 100-meter backstroke Tuesday, returned to place 13th overall in the women's 50-meter back, clocking a 27.92 in semifinals of the race.
Brothers Shaune and Brett Fraser (Cayman) shared a close race in the 100-meter freestyle, finishing 18th (48.47) and 19th (48.56), respectively, the first and second-fastest times in UF history in the event. Additionally, senior Roberto Gomez (Venezuela) and redshirt freshman Rodion Davelaar (Curacao) placed 56th (50.01) and 126th (53.00) in the sprint race.
2009 Gator senior Bradley Ally (Barbados) had a stellar outing in the 200-meter IM alongside Lochte, racing to 20th overall (2:00.44), while rising senior Omar Pinzon (Colombia) swam a 2:00.55 to finish 22nd.
The 13th FINA World Championships continue Thursday. Morning sessions are scheduled to take place from 9-12:30 p.m. local time in Rome (3-5:30 a.m. ET), while finals span from approximately 6-8:30 p.m. (12-2:30 p.m. ET). Gator fans can follow swimming sessions live from the Stadio del Nuoto through the Omega Live Timing website here. For more information on the 2009 FINA World Swimming Championships, click here.
Fans in the United States can follow all of the action from the World Championships on NBC and Universal Sports. NBC will broadcast the final two days of the meet on August 1 and 2 from 12 – 2 p.m. EDT. Universal Sports will broadcast the remainder of the competition (July 27-July 31) at both 12 p.m. and 7 p.m. EDT. A webcast of the World Championships will also be available online at www.universalsports.com.
EVENING SESSION RESULTS
Women's 50-meter backstroke (semifinals)
Gemma Spofforth (Great Britain), 13th, 27.92
Men's 200-meter individual medley (semifinals)
Ryan Lochte (U.S.), 1st, 1:55.18 (advances to finals)
MORNING SESSION RESULTS
Women's 50-meter backstroke
Gemma Spofforth (Great Britain), 10th, 28.19 (advances to semifinals)
Anna-Liisa Pold (Estonia), 66th, 30.49
Men's 100-meter freestyle
Shaune Fraser (Cayman), 18th, 48.47
Brett Fraser (Cayman), 19th, 48.56
Roberto Gomez (Venezuela), 56th, 50.01
Rodion Davelaar (Curacao), 126th, 53.00
Women's 200-meter butterfly
Maida Turnadzic (Bosnia), 41st, 2:18.09
Men's 200-meter individual medley
Ryan Lochte (U.S.), 5th, 1:57.94 (advances to semifinals)
Bradley Ally (Barbados), 20th, 2:00.44
Omar Pinzon (Colombia), 22nd, 2:00.56
Bobby Walsh (Philippines), 59th, 2:08.37
-UF-
