Klete Keller Wins First Gold Medal at Short Course World Championships

MOSCOW, April 3. AMERICA'S Klete Keller, still exhausted from last weekend's NCAA Championships in Athens, Georgia, and his flight to the Russian capital, found the strength to win the first gold medal of the Short Course World Swimming Championships here, taking the 200 meter freestyle at the Olympiisky Pool in Moscow in 1:44.36.

Keller — third in the 400 meters in Sydney, third again at last year's long course Worlds in Japan, and third again last weekend at the NCAAs — called on his patented come-from-behind tactic to overtake Canada's Mark Johnston and Brazil's Gustavo Borges, who held the top two spots at the 100 meter mark.

Keller won in the absence of Australians Ian Thorpe, the world record-holder, and Grant Hackett, felled by a nasty virus and unable to compete. Also not attending is 2000 Olympic champion, Pieter avn den Hoogenband of the Netherlands.

Keller won by the comfortable margin of 1.3 seconds, the same amount of time that separated the remainder of the tightly-bunched field.

Brazil's Gustavo Borges was second in 1:45.67, with Canada's Mark Johnston, the eighth qualifier, third in 1:45.88. Chad Carvin, the second American, was fourth in 1:46.14 while Italy's Massi Rosolino, the Olympic bronze medalist in this event was sixth in 1:46.94.

The women's 200m butterfly was surprisingly close, though Australia's Petria Thomas led from start to finish and won as expected in a fast 2:05.76. China's Yag Yu, who won the 200m freestyle at the last Short Course World Championships in Athens, was second in 2:06.10, while American Mary Descenza, the top qualifier, finished third in 2:06.17. The second US swimmer, Dana Kirk, who had qualified fifth in 2:09.46, finished eighth in 2:12.51.

RESULTS: Finals

Men's 200 meter freestyle
1. Klete Keller (USA) 1:44.36
2. Gustavo Borges (BRA) 1:45.67
3. Mark Johnston (CAN) 1:45.88
4. Chad Carvin (USA) 1:46.14
5. Saulius Binevvicius (LTU) 1:46.45
6. Romain Barnier (FRA) 1:46.93
7. Massimiliano Rosolino (ITA) 1:46.94
8. Stefan Herbst (GER) 1:46.98

Women's 200 meter butterfly
1. Petria Thomas (AUS) 2:05.76
2. Yang Yu (CHN) 2:06.10
3. Mary Descenza (USA) 2:06.17
4. Yuko Nakanishi (JPN) 2:07.31
5. Otylia Jedrzejczak (POL) 2:10.11
6. Sophia Skou (DEN) 2:10.23
7. Yekaterina Vinogradova (RUS) 2:11.01
8. Dana Kirk (USA) 2:12.51

PRELIMS

Men's 100 meter butterfly (top 16 qualify for semis)
1. Igor Marchenko (RUS) 52.25
2. Geoff Huegill (AUS) 52.34
3. Adam Pine (AUS) 52.53
4. Michael Mintenko (CAN) 52.54
5. Andrii Serdinov (UKR) 52.65
6. James Hickman (GBR) 52.68
7. Lars Frolander (SWE) 52.77
7. Takashi Yamamoto (JPN) 52.77
9. Dzianis Silkov (BLR) 52.84
10. Theo Verster (RSA) 52.91
11. Ioan Gherghel (ROM) 53.00
12. Joshua Ilika (MEX) 53.01
13. Anatoly Poliakov (RUS) 53.07
14. Denis Sylantyev (UKR) 53.09
15. Pavel Lagoun (BLR) 53.12
16. Ravil Nachaev (UZB) 53.20

Women's 400 meter individual medley (top eight qualify for final)
1. Alenka Kejzar (SLO) 4:36.20
2. Yana Klochkova (UKR) 4:37.44
3. Yana Tolkacheva (RUS) 4:39.00
4. Jennifer Reilly (AUS) 4:39.67
5. Georgina Bardach (ARG) 4:40.11
6. Anne-Sophie Le Paranthoen (FRA)4:42.17
7. Sabine Klenz (GER) 4:42.76
8. Sara Nordenstam (SWE) 4:43.18

Men's 4×100 meter freestyle relay (top eight qualify for final)
1. Australia 3:15.32
2. Russia 3:15.70
3. Sweden 3:15.79
4. Germany 3:16.56
5. Croatia 3:17.53
6. Brazil 3:18.35
7. United States 3:18.48
8. Switzerland 3:18.95

Women's 4×200 meter freestyle relay (top eight qualify for final)
1. Sweden 7:55.07
2. United States 7:55.19
2. China 7:55.19
4. Australia 7:57.41
5. Russia 8:00.01
6. Denmark 8:02.16
7. Switzerland 8:03.44
8. Greece 8:06.36

Women's 200 meter butterfly (top eight qualify for final)
1. Mary Descenza (USA) 2:07.72
2. Petria Thomas (AUS) 2:07.79
3. Yuko Nakanishi (JPN) 2:08.51
4. Otylia Jedrzejczak (POL) 2:08.73
5. Dana Kirk (USA) 2:09.46
6. Yang Yu (CHN) 2:09.91
7. Sophia Skou (DEN) 2:10.30
8. Yekaterina Vinogradova (RUS) 2:10.35

Men's 100 meter breaststroke (top 16 qualify for semis)
1. David Denniston (USA) 59.34
2. Oleg Lisogor (UKR) 59.57
3. Eduardo Fischer (BRA) 59.64
4. Dmitri Komornikov (RUS) 59.79
5. Jani Sievinen (FIN) 59.84
6. Phil Rogers (AUS) 1:00.07
7. Kosuke Kitajima (JPN) 1:00.08
8. Jarno Pihlava (FIN) 1:00.09
9. Arseny Malyarov (RUS) 1:00.19
10. Jim Piper (AUS) 1:00.24
11. Hugues Deboscq (FRA) 1:00.25
12. Patrik Schmollinger (AUT) 1:00.43
13. Daniel Malek (CZE) 1:00.57
14. Martin Gustafsson (SWE) 1:00.58
15. Jose Couto (POR) 1:00.63
16. Maxim Podoprigora (AUT) 1:00.77

Women's 100 meter backstroke (topt 16 qualify for semifinals)
1. Jennifer Carroll (CAN) 1:00.22
2. Louise Ornstedt (DEN) 1:00.29
3. Diana MacManus (USA) 1:00.41
4. Irina Amshennikova (UKR) 1:00.46
5. Zhan Shu (CHN) 1:00.54
6. Haley Cope (USA) 1:00.60
7. Ilona Hlavackova (CZE) 1:00.63
8. Clementine Stoney (AUS) 1:00.75
9. Anna Gostomelsky (ISR) 1:00.76
10. Hanae Ito (JPN) 1:00.81
11. Charlene Wittstock (RSA) 1:00.83
12. Reiko Nakamura (JPN) 1:00.93
13. Frances Adcock (AUS) 1:01.35
14. Tsai Hiu Wai Sherry (HKG) 1:01.39
15. Dominique Diezi (SUI) 1:01.42
16. Stanislava Komarova (RUS) 1:01.73
16. Aleksandra Miciul (POL) 1:01.73

(Komarova won the swim-off: Komarova 1:00.60; Miciul 1:01.31)

Men's 200 meter freestyle (top eight qualify for the final)
1. Klete Keller (USA) 1:44.99
2. Romain Barnier (FRA) 1:45.40
3. Massimiliano Rosolino (ITA) 1:46.22
4. Chad Carvin (USA) 1:46.49
5. Saulius Binevicius (LTU) 1:46.53
6. Gustavo Borges (BRA) 1:46.58
7. Stefan Herbst (GER) 1:46.64
8. Mark Johnston (CAN) 1:46.71

Women's 50 meter breaststroke (top 16 qualify for semis)
1. Sarah Poewe (RSA) 30.84
2. Emma Igelstrom (SWE) 30.85
3. Zoe Baker (GBR) 31.28
4. Amanda Beard (USA) 31.35
5. Luo Xuejuan (CHN) 31.37
6. Brooke Hanson (AUS) 31.41
7. Elena Bogomazova (RUS) 31.71
8. Svetlana Bondarenko (UKR) 31.73
9. Mirna Jukic (AUT) 31.84
10. Janne Schaefer (GER) 31.86
11. Staciana Stitts (USA) 31.91
12. Agnieszka Braszkiewicz (POL) 32.00
13. Majken Thorup (DEN) 32.20
14. Yevgenia Alekhina (RUS) 32.25
15. Nastassia Liakh (BLR) 32.28
16. Ziaba Jardine (RSA) 32.43

Men's 100 meter backstroke (top 16 qualify for the semis)
1. Aaron Peirsol (USA) 51.98
2. Marko Strahija (CRO) 52.71
3. Matt Welsh (AUS) 52.72
4. Riley Janes (CAN) 52.79
5. Peter Marshall (USA) 53.02
6. Derya Buyukuncu (TUR) 53.05
7. Markus Rogan (AUT) 53.10
8. Peter Mankoc (SLO) 53.34
9. Nuno Laurentino (POR) 53.36
10. Mathias Ohlin (SWE) 53.37
11. Yoav Gath (ISR) 53.47
12. Gordan Kozulj (CRO) 53.58
13. Yevgeny Alechin (RUS) 53.60
14. Orn Arnarson (ISL) 53.67
15. Volodimir Nikolaychuk (UKR) 53.69
16. Andriy Oleynyk (UKR) 53.78

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