Van Biljon Snares 200 Breast Gold

VICTORIA, British Columbia, Aug. 20. SOUTH African Suzaan Van Biljon won a hard-fought victory in the 200-meter breaststroke with a 2:26.36 at the 2006 Mutual of Omaha Pan Pacific Championships on Sunday.

After clocking splits of 32.63, 37.14, 37.68 and 38.91, Van Biljon brought home the gold in 2:26.36. Meanwhile, Japan’s Asami Kitagawa finished with a silver medal in 2:27.07 to hold off hard-charging Korea’s Seul Ki Jung, who claimed bronze in 2:27.09.

“I haven’t been feeling great the whole of this meet," Van Biljon said. "So, I’m just happy with the win tonight.”

Incredibly, Kitagawa came from behind in the final 50 meters after trailing Jung by as much as a half-a-second throughout the rest of the race.

As for World Championship team implications for the Americans, Megan Jendrick’s fourth-place 2:27.98 eclipsed the 2:28.46 recorded by Tara Kirk en route to winning the USA National title in the event earlier this month. That effort moved Jendrick into the top spot of times from Nationals and Pan Pacs.

Click Here to view event results PDF file

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