Lochte Wins 200 IM at Worlds, Eclipses Michael Phelps' World Record
Thursday, July 30, 2009 | Men's Swimming & Diving
Former Gator great Ryan Lochte swam a World Championship race in the 200-meter IM Thursday, taking down swimmer Michael Phelps' World Record in the event at the 2009 FINA World Championships in Rome.
Lochte turned in a 1:55.18 in semifinals of the event Wednesday, tying for first, but eclipsed Phelps' World Record, 1:54.23, set at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, with his 1:54.10 gold-medal performance in championship finals of the event Thursday evening.
“Ryan did really well today,” head coach Gregg Troy said. “He swam a near perfect race in the 200 individual medley. To swim the 200 backstroke right after the medley is a pretty tough double. Also, we're very pleased with Omar Pinzon's races. This is the first time he's swam two races at a major international meet. Overall, we're swimming very well.”
Shortly after his medley race, Lochte turned around to place fifth in semifinals of the 200-meter backstroke (1:55.39), advancing to the eight-man final slated for Friday. Pinzon joined Lochte in semifinals of the 200 back, clocking a 1:56.40 to set a new UF record and place 10th overall in the field of over 80 athletes. Pinzon swam even faster in semifinals after placing 9th with a time of 1:57.01 in morning preliminaries.
British swimmer and Gator Marco Loughran swam a 1:59.19 in the men's 200-meter back to finish 22nd in the field.
On the women's side, Coral Lopez (Puerto Rico) and Maida Turnadzic (Bosnia) represented the Orange and Blue in the 100-meter free, finishing 72nd and 83rd, respectively, while incoming freshman Sarra Lajnef (Tunisia) and sophomore Daniela Victoria (Venezuela) competed in heats of the 200-meter breast, placing 35th and 47th in the field of 62 swimmers in the event.
The 13th FINA World Championships continue Friday. 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
Men's 200-meter individual medley (finals)
Ryan Lochte (U.S.), 1st, 1:54.10, World Record, Championship Record, American Record
Men's 200-meter backstroke (semifinals)
Ryan Lochte (U.S.), 5th, 1:55.39 (advances to finals)
Omar Pinzon (Colombia), 10th, 1:56.40
MORNING SESSION RESULTS
Women's 100-meter freestyle
Coral Lopez (Puerto Rico), 72nd, 57.98
Maida Turnadzic (Bosnia), 83rd, 58.91
Men's 200-meter backstroke
Ryan Lochte (U.S.), 3rd, 1:55.97 (advances to semifinals)
Omar Pinzon (Colombia), 9th, 1:57.01 (advances to semifinals)
Marco Loughran (Britain), 22nd, 1:59.19
Women's 200-meter breaststroke
Sarra Lajnef (Tunisia), 35th, 2:31.12
Daniela Victoria (Venezuela), 47th, 2:37.75
-UF-
