Kate Douglass smashes own 200m breaststroke world record, Haughey third in fun 50m freestyle
Swimming World Cup moves to Singapore for final leg, with American Douglass completing clean sweep of 200m breaststroke and 100m medley
Kate Douglass smashed her own women’s 200 metres breaststroke world record in Singapore on Thursday, completing a clean sweep of the event at the Swimming World Cup and earning herself US$30,000 in the process.
Douglass claimed gold in two minutes and 12.72 seconds, more than a second-and-a-half faster than the 2:14.16 she swam exactly a week ago in Incheon to break Rebecca Soni’s previous mark of 2:14.57 set in 2009.
Belarusian Alina Zmushka was well back in second, finishing in 2:18.79, while Australia’s Tara Kinder was third in 2:19.08.
The 3,000-strong crowd at the OCBC Aquatics Centre in Singapore made the loudest noise of the night as American Douglass turned at the 175m mark, and it became clear she was about to break the world record for a second time.
“After the unexpected world record last weekend, I kind of came into this being like, ‘I feel like I have a lot more potential in this event’,” Douglass said. “I just kind of came in with the mission tonight.”
And just minutes after breaking the record, Douglass was back in the water, this time coming first in the 100m medley with a time of 56.57. Yu Yiting of China was second in 57.44, with American Beata Nelson third in 57.53.
