World Championships: Top Spot in 100 Free Prelims Goes to Jason Lezak

By John Lohn

MELBOURNE, Australia, March 27. THE anchor of the American 400 free relay that won gold earlier this week, Jason Lezak registered the top time of the preliminary session in the 100 freestyle, posting a time of 49.02. The American-record holder in the event, Lezak led a tightly-bunched field into the semifinals. It was a surprise, though it was prelims, that no athlete dipped under 49 seconds.

The reigning champion, Italy's Filippo Magnini was on cruise control en route to the second-fastest qualifying time, an effort of 49.05. Look for Magnini to get significantly quicker in the semifinals and perhaps challenge the 48-second barrier in the championship final tomorrow night. Earlier in the week, he anchored in 47.18 in the 400 free relay.

Two-time defending Olympic champion Pieter van den Hoogenband (Netherlands), coming off a silver medal in the 200 free, was third in qualifying in 49.06. Van den Hoogenband holds the world record at 47.84 and was followed by France's Alain Bernard (49.08). The fifth slot was shared by Canadian Brent Hayden and Britain's Simon Burnett in 49.13. It was a good bounce-back swim for Burnett, who failed to reach the semifinals of the 200 free.

Rounding out the top eight were Aussie Eamon Sullivan (49.20) and South Africa's Ryk Neethling (49.24). The other South African, Roland Schoeman, narrowly advanced to the semifinal round. The winner of the 50 butterfly on the second night of action, Schoeman produced a time of 49.46 to grab the 15th of the 16 semifinal berths.

Click Here to view event results PDF file.

Name*

Email*

Welcome to our community. We invite you to join our discussion. Our community guidelines are simple: be respectful and constructive, keep on topic, and support your fellow commenters. Commenting signifies that you agree to our Terms of Use