By John Lohn
BEIJING, China, August 11. MAKE it two in a row for Kosuke Kitajima, and this one in world-record time. The defending Olympic champion in the 100 breaststroke turned in a barrier-breaking performance en route to retaining his gold medal, touching the wall in 58.91 for the first sub-59 outing the sport has seen in the breast.
Clocking in the mid-59 range during the preliminaries and semifinals, Kitajima saved his best for the most important time. Turning in third place in 28.03, Kitajima blazed through the last 50 meters in 30.88 to break the world mark of 59.13, held by Brendan Hansen since 2006. Kitajima now owns both breaststroke records, something he hasn't done since 2004.
"The Olympic Games are something enjoyable for me," Kitajima said. "I feel really happy to have this moment again. In the first half, I was relaxed and swam with big strokes. I knew that the last five to 10 meters would be the decisive part, so in the first part I wanted to keep my energy. My race went as I had planned."
The pacesetter during the first two rounds, Norway's Alexander Dale Oen picked up the silver medal in 59.20, just off the 59.16 he clocked in the semifinals. Oen was able to hold off a hard-charging Hugues Duboscq of France, who grabbed the bronze medal with a mark of 59.37. Duboscq was seventh at the 50-meter mark, but passed Hansen heading into the wall. Hansen, the silver medalist four years ago, was fourth in 59.57.
Australia's Brenton Rickard was fifth in 59.74 and Russia's Roman Sludnov took sixth with a time of 59.87. Ukrainian Igor Borysik (1:00.20) and American Mark Gangloff (1:00.24) rounded out the field.
Results: 2008 Olympic Games - Swimming
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Reaction Time Comments
August 10, 2008 Hansen choked once again as usual. Kitajima threw it down even though he still has that controversial pullout. Submitted by: WUswimmer
August 10, 2008 I LOVES ME SOME KOSUKE!!
Submitted by: Hodori88
August 10, 2008 As much as I do not like Kitijima as a human being, he has the best technique for the existing rules. He is so streamlined even in the 100 meters that his last split of 30.88 is amazing.
He has the potential of 58.5, if he went out in 27.6, which he could do.
What's next in the 200 breast? Could we see a 2:06? Submitted by: Brasse
August 10, 2008 It absolutely kills me to watch Brendan win the 'swimming' portion of the race but get KILLED on his pullouts....they are TERRIBLE. 8th after the start????? Please Brendan don't retire and go work on your pullouts so you can go 58.5. So hard to watch them. He is NOT swimming badly on the surface of the water at all. Submitted by: rcoach
August 10, 2008 yeah i did notice that rcoach. His pull outs are pretty horrible. If he had kitajima's pullouts we could be talkin gold for hansen or at least a medal. Submitted by: WUswimmer
August 10, 2008 I would say Gold almost for sure WU. I thought his first 50 (after the atrocious start pullout) looked great and he did touch the wall second (and ahead of Kitajima)by only a couple hundreths and right on WR pace, but then once again....a horrific pullout and by the time you get to 85-90 meters, that's just too much effort that the rest of the field has left that you don't to make up. They have shown his pullouts underwater (at Trials) and they looked awful. Say what you will about Kitajima....but he simply has the best underwaters in the business and it showed tonight. Submitted by: rcoach
August 10, 2008 Still an hour away. Ed Moses had the best start and turns in history, Brendan needs to change. Did he again not use the now legal Kitajima dolphin during each pulldown? Submitted by: Brasse
August 10, 2008 I think he was trying to dolphin kick, but he looks like a damn tank underwater and his angle to the surface is all messed up and he sticks his head up early to look for the surface and it goes on and on.
You can see him slowing down on TV underwater as he struggles to the surface, and on the 50 wall as the whole field streaks right back to him and some go past him.
He just runs out of gas at the end from having to swim back into the race on each 50.
Submitted by: rcoach
August 10, 2008 Two comments:
The Australians are the only country to use the grab start, Rickard looked like he had the lead off the start.
Kitajima spends more time with his head underwater in streamline in the 100 meters than any other male in history. As I have said before, for every extra tenth with your head underwater your time is reduced nearly a tenth.
breastroker
Submitted by: Brasse
August 10, 2008 I'm an America living in Tokyo and swimming Masters at Tokyo Swimming Center, where Kosuke still makes the occasional appearance, although his main training is at the elite athletic pool facility. I just dropped in here and read "As much as I do not like Kitijima as a human being."
Why the nasty personal remarks? Kosuke is a wonderful human being and a great role model to the kids at TSC and elsewhere. Hanson is also a great athlete and and he showed great sportsmanship after the race. Can't we just leave it at that?
I think the U.S. athletic community could learn a lot from the humilty of the Japanese athletic community. Submitted by: Mark
August 11, 2008 I saw CBC's underwater of Hoff as well. Made me scream at my TV! Nice to see the soap opera girls take a back seat to some fresh faces, especially Adlington & Jackson who looked absolutely elated to have finished 1st & 3rd. I felt the same way seeing Trickett's post-race interview -- she couldn't stop smiling. That's what it's all about for me -- the joy. Submitted by: dah_sab
August 11, 2008 THANK YOU MARK!!!! I agree 100.... And your last sentence was right on the mark!
It's so funny that so many people make comments about not liking Kosuke, or how his cheering in Athens was so bad (you'd think he got out of the pool and kicked a puppy into an electric fan!)..... It's so hyped up by the US media. US Swimmers consistantly cheer much more rowdy than Kitajima did/does.
Kitajima has been amazing since the 2002 Asian Games in Pusan, Korea... He's as much a class act as Hansen.... I'd assume most Americans are unaware of what he does in Japan, or what he truly means when he speaks in interviews....
As I've said before, I like Hansen a lot, but I gotta route for the "Pocket Rocket"... Submitted by: Hodori88
August 11, 2008 Depends on who swims fly for the US & how fast he splits. If he goes 49.x on the relay that will be the difference. Although another 46.0 from Lezak would be nice. He's sure set a high stardard to live up to for the rest of the meet! Submitted by: dah_sab
August 11, 2008 Really? Humility? You may be right Mark, but at least how he's been quoted in the swimming media, he comes off as the opposite, very arrogant. But most of all, we still find it hard to accept that he clearly cheated Hansen out of the gold in Athens. And he knew what he was doing, as it wasn't the first time. That said, he did win fair and square tonight, and congrats to him for that. But I'm glad that Brendan is going to stick around for awhile and get his record back. I think Kitajima could probably learn a thing or two about humility from Hansen. Submitted by: liquidassets
August 11, 2008 Different from 2004 Hansen looks like a swimmer that has been pasted by. I respect he does not want to go out with that race, but a :58 mid split on the relay would go along way into retirement. Submitted by: PhatMatt
August 11, 2008 Kitajima CHEATED during the 2004 Olympics. Broke the rules, and breaststroke is created by rules that must be followed. Mark, how does that make him a great person?
Japan has had many swimming Gold medal swimmers, none of them shouted the way Kitajima did. If a japanese basball player shouted like that after a home run, next time up he would get a fastball to the mouth! Again, that was not class in any way.
As I have said before, if it had been Hansen, or any American who broke the rules Kitajima did, they would have been disqualified.
Yet there is no doubt he could have won in 2004 without the cheating. I said it before, he has the best technique ever. And he is a big time swimmer. When it counts he wins. Submitted by: Brasse
August 11, 2008 Brasse, although 04 is a sore point for many people with Kitajima winning, the bottom line is that he was not doing anything different from almost every other elite Breaststroker in the world at that point.
The rule was changed because it was next to impossible to enforce equitably by stroke and turn officials in every lane in the pool.
There is video out there of the 2003 World Championships finals of the 50 Breastroke from Barcelona. The camera shows above the water diving in and then the pullout of the field (great camera work by the way)up to the surface. It blantantly showed EVERY single one of the guys in the final were dolphin kicking during the pullout.
If you go by strict rules, the whole field should have been disqualified. But not a single one did.
Did Kitajima break the rule in 04? Probably. Was Hansen one of the only ones who maybe wasn't dolphin kicking by that point? Probably.
Not condoning breaking the rules, but let's not jump on one guy for doing something that most others at his level were doing too by that point. Submitted by: rcoach
August 11, 2008 Brasse: Ed Moses comment is right on. I mean, look at his records in the SCM format for the 100 and 200 breast. They're miles ahead of the field... I wonder if Kitajima could reach those, Hansen has never been really close. Submitted by: Sphere
August 11, 2008 The people who have perfected that dolphin kick are the ones who were doing it in competition long before it was legal. There are people doing it before the pullout and others doing it during. It is the downfall of the stroke and the worst part is, the interpretation of the rules should not be up for debate. New world records have been set because of the bastardization of the stroke.
As far as people coming on here to bash Brendan Hansen, I see that as a trend for certain posters. Hansen legally progressed the 100 and 200 breaststroke world records 5 times over the last 4 years. He was crowned World Champion every time he took water in international competition in the 100 and 200 breast. Have a little respect.
Submitted by: laurenish
August 11, 2008 rcoach; I see your point, but I worry that it's the kind of logic that could be used by swimmers to justify doping in their heads, feeling (correctly or not) that "everyone else is already doing it, and it's not consistently enforced anyway"... Submitted by: liquidassets
August 11, 2008 Cheating is cheating whether using drugs or an illegal kick to gain an advantage of athletes competing fairly. Kitajima is no better than any doper yet people come on here making excuses for him and calling him a wonderful human being and great role model? You've got to be joking. Submitted by: Michelle
August 11, 2008 rcoach,
Can you send me that video?
In 2004 you also had non USA swimmers dolphining INTO the turn wall! NO DQ!!
What americans were in that 50? Because no americans did the dolphin prior to 2004, otherwise they would have been DQd. Ed Moses is the only one I think that was fast enough in the 50, and I have never seen him do a dolphin.
I also disagree with your statement "The rule was changed because it was next to impossible to enforce equitably by stroke and turn officials in every lane in the pool." Just DQing some would have made all stop. I have talked to many senior officials, all said they would have DQd for the dolphin. It isn't that hard to seen rules violations, unless you are there just for the prestige, food etc.
Have you ever been to the officials area of an internations meet? Spiral ham, a true feast. Not like here were the officials are lucky to get sandwiches or pizza.
Again any american WOULD have been DQd!
There has been consistant anti-american rule changes for many years. Why two swimmers from each company? Why allow hands over the water and head under water in breaststroke, because the Hungarians came up with a way to beat the USA. Why allow the Kitajima dolphin, again a way to beat the USA.
Submitted by: Brasse
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