Relay Day Produces World Record Swim at Pan American Masters Championships

SARASOTA, Florida, June 9. RELAY competition took over the Pan American Masters long course swimming championships, with the 200-meter freestyle and medley relays on the docket. One world record was broken today, while two other swims produced national records.

Relay age groups are determined by adding the ages of the four relay swimmers. Age groups are in brackets of 39 years (120-159, 160-199, etc.). Since FINA does not recognize times swum by athletes 18-24 years old, they have a special relay age bracket: 72-99.

Today's world record came in the men's 200 free relay. The Gold Coast foursome of David Quiggin, Jose Ferraz, Cav Cavanaugh and Lee Childs posted a 1:58.43, beating the world record previously held by another Golc Coast foursome that had included Quiggin and Cavanaugh that stood at 1:59.60 since 2009.

On the strength of world record sprinter Erika Braun, North Carolina Masters set a U.S. national record in the women's 200 free relay for the 120-159 age group, posting a 1:50.53 with Ruth Jones, Celia Wolff and Alicia Uhl joining Braun for relay duty. The swim broke the national record of 1:52.10 held by Illinois Masters, and just missed the world record of 1:50.08 swum by Tsunami in Russia.

Braun would return for duty in the mixed 200 freestyle relay in an attempt to break the individual world record in the 50 freestyle she missed on the first day of the meet. Swimming in leadoff position, Braun swam her fastest flat-start 50 free of the meet with a 26.71, but still fell short of Edith Ottermann's mark of 26.44.

The Georgia Masters foursome of Clarke Mitchell, Leslie Landey, David Miller and Diann Uustal combined for a national record in the mixed 200 free relay with a 2:15.57. The national record of 2:17.43 by San Diego Masters had stood since 2007.

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