ZCZC
BSP-08
SWIM-WORLD-2019
First blood to Sun in world swim grudge match
GWANGJU, South Korea, July 21, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – China’s controversial
champion Sun Yang topped qualifying in the 400 metres freestyle at the world
swimming championships Sunday to set up a final that will be bubbling with
hostility.
American stars Caeleb Dressel and Katie Ledecky also looked in peak
condition on the first day of the pool competition in Gwangju, while
Britain’s Adam Peaty limbered up for an assault on his own 100m breaststroke
world record.
Triple Olympic champion Sun shrugged off fresh claims from a leaked FINA
doping panel report that he smashed blood samples with a hammer when visited
by testers last year, easing home in his heat in a time of 3min 44.10sec.
Australian rival Mack Horton, who labelled Sun a “drug cheat” over a
previous three-month suspension before pipping the Chinese giant to gold in
the 2016 Rio Olympic final, could only manage fifth fastest, well over a
second slower.
“The first race is always difficult,” Sun told reporters.
“My goal this morning was just to make sure I did what I needed to make the
final and give myself some confidence. I’ve trained so hard this year and
want to show my best in every race.”
World record holder Ledecky qualified fastest for the women’s 400m
freestyle final in 4:01.84 with Australian teen Ariarne Titmus, the
Commonwealth champion, second fastest in 4:02.42.
“I just wanted to get the first one out of the way,” said Ledecky, a five-
time Olympic gold medallist with 14 world titles to her name.
“I’m right where I wanted to be so feeling good moving forward.”
– Peaty power –
Dressel, who swept to seven gold medals at the 2017 world championships in
Budapest, topped the men’s heats in the 50m butterfly with Ukraine’s world
record holder Andrii Govorov in a time of 22.84sec.
Peaty turned a fraction under world record pace in the 100m breaststroke
heats but opted to conserve energy over the last 25m to clock 57.59sec —
over a second faster than Belarusian Ilya Shymanovich.
“I just felt good, very similar to Olympics weirdly,” said Peaty, who could
target his world best of 57.10 in the evening’s semi-final.
“I can’t go out there hunting it,” added Britain’s Olympic king, referring
to break the magic 57-second mark.
“If it comes to me naturally down that first 50 and I put the pressure on
that back end it’s going to come.”
Sweden’s world and Olympic champion Sarah Sjostrom looked in total control
as she chases a record fifth world title in the women’s 100m butterfly,
qualifying fastest in 56.45sec with Australian Emma McKeon almost half a
second back.
“To be on the top level for that long is very cool,” said Sjostrom, asked
about the strong possibility of becoming the first female swimmer to capture
the same world title five times.
“I will just continue to try to improve.”
Elsewhere, Hungary’s “iron lady” Katinka Hosszu topped qualifying in the
women’s 200m individual medley, the world and Olympic champ clocking 2:07.02
— more than two seconds faster than China’s Ye Shiwen.
BSS/AFP/MSY/1023 hrs