Masters World Record Number 4 for Aussie Jenny Whiteley

By Stephen J. Thomas

SYDNEY, June 30. AUSSIE Jenny Whiteley, 45, made it four world records for 2003 when she slashed almost six seconds off the global mark for the 200m breaststroke (45-49 age group) at a small short course meet in Sydney on the weekend.

Whiteley from the Ryde Club, clocked 2:48.38 to wipe American Colette Crabbe's previous world best of 2:54.05 set in December '02.

And for a while there it seemed Whiteley had also broken the world standard for 100 meters IM! A glitch in the computer system showed the record as 1:10.96 held by Brit Maggie Kelly so when Whiteley touched in 1:10.92 officials announced a second world record had been broken. I wasn't until your correspondent double checked the record on the official FINA site that the error was picked up – Kelly's time was actually 1:10.87 set in September 2001 and Whiteley was indeed 0.05 of a second short of the record.

A true champion, Whiteley said today of her record that wasn't, "that's life, so close, but so far. I'll just have to keep trying… the 100 IM would have been a bit of a bonus because I wasn't focusing on that event on Saturday, I'd been training for the breaststroke."

Whiteley also lowered her national 50m breaststroke record at the meet by 0.40s clocking 36.41.

Earlier in the year Whiteley missed the world mark for the 400m freestyle (LC) by just 0.01 of a second. She has set global standards in the 200m breast long course (2:54.84) and the 100m (1:01.42) and 200m free (2:11.09) both short course, for the 45-49 age group.

Full results of the meet can be found at:

http://www.aussimastswimnsw.org.au/Results/trinity_carnival_result.htm

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