Baker Sets WR, Poll Wins Two on Day Two of Imperia World Cup

IMPERIA, Italy, Jan. 15. A world record in the women's 50 meter breast by Great Britain's New Zealand-based Zoe Baker highlighted the second day of competition at the FINA World Cup here this evening.

In the final day of action at the sixth round of the series, Baker clocked 30.51 — toppling her own mark of 30.53 set 11 days ago at the South African Championships in Durban. Baker's two world record swims mark the first by any English woman in any event in more than three decades — short- or long course.

Interestingly, China's Luo Xuejuan was runner-up this evening in 30.72 — .16 off the record she shared with Baker and another Chinese swimmer until Baker's Durban swim. Third went to Australia's Brooke Hanson (31.40).

"I knew the Chinese girl [Luo Xuejuan] would be tough," Baker said after her record-breaking swim.
"She wasn't too fast in the heats but I knew she was
capable of doing anything in the final so I just raced to beat her. I wasn't thinking I was going to break the world record and it didn't feel that fast. All I could think about was beating her because I had never
beaten her before.

"I was just relieved I won and then I looked up again and saw I got the world record…I do feel I can still go a lot faster than this but I don't know where that might happen. If I can swim the perfect swim and do everything right I believe I can go under 30 seconds sometime this year."

In other women's events, Costa Rica's Claudia Poll added a pair of golds in the 100 and 400 frees (55.01/4:08.60) to the silvers she won yesterday in
the 200 and 800 frees.

Poll holds the world 200 free scm record (1:54.17) and was Atlanta gold medalist. She still ranks seventh all-time (performances) and sixth (performers) in the 200 free long-course with her 1:57.48 that won the 1997 Pan-Pacs in Fukuoka. She also holds the WR for the 400m short course at 4:00.03.

The triple-Olympic veteran (Barcelona, Atlanta, Sydney) turns 30 this year. However, she's still a formidible competitor and a threat to win the 200-400
frees at Moscow in April (Short Course World Championships).

Romania's Beatrice Coada-Caslaru, 200 IM champ opening night, added the 400 with a 4:40.30 to Italy's Federica Biscia's 4:41.36.

Other winners included Canada's Nadine Rolland (50 fly, 27.40); Russia's Olga Bakaldina (200 breast, 2:25.79 to Hanson's 2:26.02); China's Zhan Shu (100
fly, 1:00.49); and Israel's Vered Borochovski, a former European Jr. champ, in the 100 IM (1:02.25 — with the ubiquitous Hanson runner-up in 1:02.42.

* * * * *

On the men's side, "hometown heros" Massi Rosolino (200 IM) and Christian Minotti (1500 frees) won golds in their specialties, and Ukraine's Oleg Lisogor added a third win to his pair from last evening.

Rosolino, who won the European Championships 200 IM last month in a pr-NR 1:56.62 and is defending Olympic champ, clocked a more modest 1:57.99. America's Dr. Ron Karnaugh was second (1:59.22), the same spot he took in the 100 IM. Italy's Simone Ciancarini was third (1:59.49).

Rosolino's 1:56.6 from the ECs ranks him first globally for the 2001-02 season while Karnaugh's time is 16th-fastest performance. In Moscow, Rosolino will be after the world and European record of 1:54.65 by Finland's Jani Sievinen from a meet in Japan in April of '94. Hungary's Attila Czene, Atlanta Olympic gold medalist, tied the record during the 2000 U.S. national collegiate championships in Minneapolis when he swam for Arizona State.

Minotti's 1500 was a 14:56.16, not quite as good as his silver medal-winning (and pr) 14:40.17 from this saame meet a year ago and, at the time, was the Italian record. Masi Rosolino broke that record at the European Short Course Champs last December when he won in a NR 14:36.93, which ranks him second globally behind Australia's Grant Hackett's world record 14:10.10.

Hackett did his time a mere week after returning home from Japan to compete in the Australian Short Course Championships. At Fukuoka he, of course, won the mile in a WR 14:34.56, knocking some seven seconds off Kieren Perkins' old record.

In the 50 free, Poland's Bart Kizierowski won in 21.86, just off the 21.70 that won him the bronze at Antwerp. His pr/NR is a 21.43 from the '00 NCAAs,
where he was third behind Cal Berkeley teammate Anthony Ervin and Arizona's Roland Schoeman.

That summer, Ervin, in his first inernational competition, tied with teammate Gary Hall to win the Olympic 50 free and was World Champion at Fukuoka in the 50-100 frees.

In the 200 free, Brazil's Gustavo Borges, 100 champ, added the gold in 1:45.04 — his yearly pr and fifth-fastest performance for '01-'02. He'll be looking to improve upon his South American-record 1:44.40 at Moscow.

Second went to Italy's Matteo Pelliciari (pr 1:45.26), who was also second to Rosolino at the European Championships.

In the 200 back, Russia's Yevgeniy Aleshin, 100 back winner, was No. 1 in 1:54.79 — just off his pr of 1:54.37 from Berlin last year that ranks 13th
(performances). The 50 back was won by Croatia's Anti Maskovic (24.54, just off his pr 24.51 from Berlin); and the 100 fly went to Russia's Igor Marchenko (51.90).

The 27-year-old Marchenko is now 12th-fastest (performances) and has not ranked among the world's Top 50 the last two years.

— Bill Bell

RESULTS

World Cup VI
Imperia, Italy
Day Two: Jan. 15, 2002

25 meter pool

MEN

50 meter freestyle
1. Bart Kizierowski, POL 21.86
2. Olexander Volinets, UKR 21.98
3. Denis Pimankov, RUS 22.20

200 meter freestyle
1. Gustavo Borges, BRA 1:45.04
2. Matteo Pelliciari, ITA 1:45.26
3. Andrei Kapralov, RUS 1:46.45

100 meter breaststroke
1. Oleg Lisogor, UKR 0:59.70
2. Dmitry Komornikov, RUS 1:00.07
3. Domenico Fioravanti, ITA 1:00.33

1,500 meter freestyle
1. Christian Minotti, ITA 14:56.16
2. Andrea Righi, ITA 15:03.26
3. Simone Ercoli, ITA 15:04.81

200 meter backstroke
1. Yevgeny Aleshin, RUS 1:54.79
2. Sung Min, KOR 1:55.77
3. Yoav Gath, ISR 1:55.79

50 meter backstroke
1. Ante Maskovic, CRO 24.54
2. Toni Helbig, GER 24.71
3. Miro Zeravica, CRO 25.03

100 meter butterfly
1. Igor Marchenko, RUS 51.90
2. Denis Silantiev, UKR 52.38
3. Anatoly Polyakov, RUS 52.81

200 meter individual medley
1. Massimiliano Rosolino, ITA 1:57.99
2. Ron Karnaugh, USA 1:59.22
3. Simone Ciancarini, ITA 1:59.49

WOMEN

100 meter freestyle

1. Claudia Poll, CRC 55.01
2. Cristina Chiuso, ITA 55.75
3. Lara Consolandi, ITA 55.90

400 meter individual medley
1. Beatrice Caslaru, ROM 4:40.30
2. Federica Biscia, ITA 4:41.36
3. Paola Cavallino, ITA 4:45.12

50 meter butterfly
1. Nadine Rolland, CAN 27.40
2. Mette Jacobsen, DEN 27.78
3. Eun So-sun, KOR 28.07

200 meter breaststroke
1. Olga Bakaldina, RUS 2:25.79
2. Brooke Hanson, AUS 2:26.02
3. Beatrice Caslaru, ROM 2:26.80

100 meter backstroke
1. Zhan Shu, CHN 1:00.49
2. Stanislava Komarova, RUS 1:00.70
3. Alessandra Cappa, ITA 1:01.00

400 meter freestyle
1. Claudia Poll, CRC 4:08.60
2. Simona Ricciardi, ITA 4:10.39
3. Alexandra Malanina, RUS 4:10.51

50 meter breaststroke
1. Zoe Baker, GBR 30.51 WR
2. Luo Xuejuan, CHN 30.72
3. Brooke Hanson, AUS 31.40

100 meter individual medley
1. Vered Borochovski, ISR 1:02.25
2. Brooke Hanson, AUS 1:02.42
3. Giorgia Gramillano, ITA 1:02.60

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