Australian Long Course Championships: Flash! Therese Alshammar Breaks World Record in 50 Fly; Loses Record Due to Two Suits

SYDNEY, Australia, March 16. LAST year might have featured 108 world records, but that mark might wind up being challenged as two world records fell today already.

With the women's 400 free falling in Britain, Sweden's Therese Alshammar stepped up during prelims at the Australian Long Course Championships to lower her record in the women's 50 fly.

Alshammar clipped her previous record with a top qualifying time of 25.44. That effort wiped out the 25.46 she set back in 2007 in Barcelona.

Event 5 Women 50 LC Metre Butterfly
===============================================================
World: * 25.44 17/03/2009Therese Alshammar, Sweden
Commonwealth: 26.01 13/02/2009Marieke Guehrer, Australia
Australian: ! 26.01 13/02/2009Marieke Guehrer, Melb. Vicentre
All Comers: # 25.44 17/03/2009Therese Alshammar, Sweden
Title Holder: . 26.48 28/03/2008Marieke Guehrer, Melb. Vicentre
World A QT: A 26.18
Meet Qualifying: 30.20
Name Age Team Seed Prelims
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=== Preliminaries ===

1 ALSHAMMAR (V), 31 SWEDEN 25.71 25.44*
r:+0.73

However, the Dubai Charter claimed its first victim as Alshammar was disqualified due to wearing two suits as noted in a press release by Swimming Australia:

SYDNEY, March 17: Sweden's Therese Alshammar has been disqualified after breaking her own world record, wearing two swim suits, in the 50m butterfly heats on day one of the Telstra Australian Swimming Championship at the Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre today.

Alshammar touched the wall in 25.44 to go under her own world mark set of 25.46, set in 2007 in Barcelona – but the record will not stand.

After five hours of meetings, Swimming Australia announced that Alshammar had in fact worn the two suits, which was confirmed by women's referee Janelle Barnett, who returned to the Aquatic Centre to view video footage of the race, confirming that a second suit had been worn.

The 31-year-old four-time Olympian is now based in Sydney and swimming at the NSWIS International Training Centre.

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