FINA World Cup, Singapore: Chad Le Clos Triples, Ian Thorpe Fizzles

SINGAPORE, November 4. ANY other night of the FINA World Cup circuit, South Africa's Chad Le Clos' title trifecta would have been the top storyline. This evening, however, legendary Ian Thorpe made his return to competition after a five-year hiatus from the sport.

Thorpe, who qualified sixth in the 100 IM in prelims, could not muster a similar outing at night and faded to seventh. Le Clos, meanwhile, posted his third title trifecta of the circuit, while Sweden's Therese Alshammar doubled up.

Women's 800 free
South Africa's Jessica Pengelly won the first race of the Singapore stop with an 8:22.05 in the distance event. China's Ha Sinan (8:30.82) and Bai Anqi (8:43.22) took second and third in the event.

New Zealand's Jessica Marston (8:48.19), USA's Allison Brown (8:48.55), Taipei's Teng Yu-Wen (8:48.68), USA's Marissa Brown (8:54.44) and Russia's Mariya Baklakova (8:58.93) also swam in the finale.

Financials: All three podium placers picked up their first checks of the circuit: Pengelly ($1,500), Ha ($1,000) and Bai ($500).

Men's 100 free
Australia picked up three of the top four finishes in the event. Cameron McEvoy claimed the title in 47.33 to move to seventh in the world rankings, while Kyle Richardson took second in 47.46. Richardson has been faster with a fourth-ranked 47.16 from July. Matthew Abood finished off the podium with a fourth-place 47.81 for Australia, while Kenya's Jason Dunford took third in 47.77.

France's Jeremy Stravius (47.95), China's Lu Zhiwu (47.95), China's Hu Yue (48.81) and Australia's Andrew Lauterstein (49.31) rounded out the championship heat.

Financials: With his $500 third-place prize, Dunford pushed his circuit tally to $3,750. Meanwhile, McEvoy ($1,500) and Richardson ($1,000) were first-time cashwinners on the circuit.

Women's 200 free
Australia swept the podium as Blair Evans (1:55.48), Kylie Palmer (1:56.10) and Merinda Dingjan (1:56.45) finished 1-2-3. Evans cracked the top 10 with eighth in the world, while Palmer has already posted a sixth-ranked 1:55.07 in July. Dingjan finished just outside the top 10 with her effort.

France's Ophelie-Cyrielle Etienne (1:56.53), Australia's Emma McKeon (1:57.19), New Zealand's Melissa Ingram (1:57.31), Australia's Ellen Fullerton (1:57.82) and USA's Jasmine Tosky (1:58.05) also competed for the title.

Financials: This event witnessed another trio of first-time winners. Evans ($1,500), Palmer ($1,000) and Dingjan ($500) all earned their first paychecks from the circuit with their finishes.

Men's 50 breast
Australia's Christian Sprenger touched out compatriot Brenton Rickard, 26.67 to 26.83, by .16 seconds for the victory. That improved Sprenger's previously sixth-ranked season best of 27.07 to move him to second in the world rankings. Fabio Scozzoli owns the top time with a 26.11 from August. Rickard moved to third, ahead of Li Xiayin's now fourth-place 26.86. Japan's Naoya Tomita rounded out the podium with a third-place 27.49

China's Huang Yunkun (27.60), Korea's Choi Kyuwoong (28.03), USA's Egan Gans (28.27), Taipei's Chiang Hsin-Hung (28.45) and Taipei's Chen Cho-Yi (28.89) finished fourth through eighth.

Financials: Tomita's third-place $500 increased his winnings from the circuit to $6,500, while Sprenger ($1,500) and Rickard ($1,000) earned their first prizes.

Women's 100 breast
Korea's Kim Hye Jin picked up the victory with a winning time of 1:05.78 to move to sixth in the world rankings, ahead of Leiston Pickett's 1:05.83 from July. Pickett finished second in 1:06.18, just off her season best, while Korea's Back Su Yeon wound up third in 1:06.93.

Sweden's Joline Hostman (1:07.25), Korea's Jeong Darae (1:07.55), Japan's Keiko Fukudome (1:07.83), France's Fanny Babou (1:08.01) and Germany's Laura Simon (1:08.38) completed the finale.

Financials: Hye Jin's top time pocketed her $1,500, to improve her overall cash winnings to $5,000 for the circuit. Pickett ($1,000) and Su Yeon ($500) earned their first paychecks.

Men's 400 IM
South Africa's Chad Le Clos clinched his 11th gold medal of the 2011 FINA World Cup as he streamrolls to the overall circuit winner prize. Le Clos posted a 4:04.16 in the distance medley, well off his third-ranked 4:03.10 from the Stockholm stop. It was enough, however, to clear Japan's Kosuke Hagino (4:04.51) for the victory. Hagino moved to fifth in the world rankings. Austria's Markus Rogan claimed third in 4:09.49.

Japan's Yuma Kosaka (4:19.22), USA's Ronald Chen (4:27.49), Matthew Molinari (4:35.38), Nick Silverthorn (4:35.94) and William Lee (4:37.39) also competed in the final heat.

Financials: Overall series moneyleader, Le Clos, tacked on another $1,500 to his top tally bringing it to $23,000. Hagino ($1,000) and Rogan ($500) picked up their first winnings.

Women's 100 fly
Sweden's Therese Alshammar, one of the top short course swimmers in history, earned her ninth gold medal of this year's circuit with a 56.03 for the win. That swim came up short of her top-ranked time of 55.62 from the Berlin stop. China's Jiao Liyuang (56.89) moved to third in the rankings with her second-place time, while Singapore's Li Tao gave the fans something to cheer for with a third-place 57.02 to move to sixth in the rankings.

Australia's Jessicah Schipper (57.65), Sweden's Martina Granstrom (58.77), USA's Jasmine Tosky (58.81), Japan's Tomoyo Fukuda (59.14) and Australia's Libby Trickett (59.30) also vied for the title with Trickett having her first international finals swim since returning from retirement.

Financials: The reigning 2010 FINA World Cup champion, Alshammar picked up another $1,500 check to increase her overall winnings this year to $14,500. Jiao ($1,000) and Tao ($500) pocketed their initial checks.

Men's 100 back
France went 1-2 in the dorsal event with Jeremy Stravius touching out teammate Ben Stasiulis, 51.80 to 51.94. Stravius moved to fourth in the world rankings, while Stasiulis took seventh. Papua New Guinea's Ryan Pini snagged third-place honors in 52.13 to crack the top 10.

Japan's Masafumi Yamaguchi (52.65), Germany's Jan-Philip Glania (52.93), Japan's Kazuki Watanabe (53.07), Brazil's Nelson Silva Jr. (54.25) and Singapore's Rainer Ng (54.99) finished fourth through eighth.

Financials: All three podium finishers were first-time moneywinners on the circuit. Stravius ($1,500),Stasiulis ($1,000) and Pini ($500) all walked away with checks for the first time.

Women's 50 back
Australia's Rachel Goh snagged her fifth gold medal of the circuit with a 26.73 to win the sprint back event. She just missed her top-ranked time of 26.63 from the Stockholm stop. Japan's Shiho Sakai, who watched Missy Franklin take down her world record in the 200 backstroke earlier in the World Cup series, finished second in 26.94 to tie Anastasia Zueva for second in the rankings. Australia's Grace Loh finished third in 27.46.

France's Alexianne Castel (28.40), Russia's Valeria Kolotushkina (28.82), Russia's Julia Larina (29.24), Taipei's Lan Yu-Jung (29.48) and Singapore's Stacy Tan (30.90) also swam in the finale.

Financials: Goh has quietly amassed quite a bit of money on the circuit, moving to within $500 of becoming just the fifth person to eclipse $10,000 this year. Goh's $1,500 pushed her to $9,500 in winnings. Sakai ($1,000) and Loh ($500) won their first cash prizes.

Men's 200 fly
South Africa's Chad Le Clos earned his second gold of the night, and 12th of the 2011 FINA World Cup circuit with a 1:51.05 to crush the field in the distance butterfly event. That swim fell about a second short of his top-ranked time of 1:50.15 from Berlin, but was plenty good enough to win this evening. Australia's Chris Wright (1:53.60) and China's Chen Yin (1:54.60) finished second and third with Wright moving to sixth in the world and Chen taking 10th.

Colomia's Omar Pinzon (1:55.32), Korea's Chang Gyucheol (1:55.93), Taipei's Hsu Chi-chieh (1:56.35), Australia's Travis Nederpelt (1:56.79) and Singapore's Jerryl Yong (2:08.12) finished fourth through eighth.

Financials: Le Clos nearly cleared $25,000 as he increased his winning to $24,500 with a $1,500 first-place check. Wright ($1,000) and Chen ($500) were first-time moneywinners.

Women's 200 IM
Korea's Choi Hye Ra snared the medley crown in 2:08.40 to move to third in the world rankings. Erica Morningstar (2:06.97) and Ellen Fullerton (2:08.24) have the top two times thus far. Fullerton settled for second with a 2:09.81, while Japan's Tomoyo Fukuda (2:09.89) placed third overall.

USA's Celina Li (2:09.98), USA's Jasmine Tosky (2:11.34), Japan's Mina Otsuka (2:11.86), Japan's Kanako Watanabe (2:13.62) and France's Lara Grangeon (2:14.70) rounded out the championship heat.

Financials: Hye Ra increased her circuit winnings to $6,500 with a $1,500 paycheck for first place. Fullerton ($1,000) and Fukuda ($500) picked up their first checks.

Men's 400 free
Australia's David McKeon took advantage of a slow field with a winning time of 3:42.82, moving to third in the world rankings. Only Paul Biedermann (3:40.40) and Robert Hurley (3:42.15) have been faster this year. Taipei's Tseng Yu-Chen (3:47.41) and Hong Kong's David Wong (3:47.70) finished second and third tonight.

Australia's Cameron McEvoy (3:48.16), Brazil's Phillip Morrison (3:51.28), Singapore's Zhen Ren Teo (3:52.75), Singapore's Brandon Boon (4:06.94) and USA's Nick Silverthorn (4:09.69) finished fourth through eighth in the finale.

Financials: Wong grabbed $500 for third place to move to $2,500 for the series, while McKeon ($1,500) and Tseng ($1,000) snared their first checks.

Women's 50 free
Sweden's Therese Alshammar joined South Africa's Chad Le Clos as two-time winners this evening with her second victory. This time, in the splash-and-dash, Alshammar cruised to a 23.98. She's been faster with the top-ranked time of 23.67 from the Berlin stop. Australia went 2-3-4-5-6 to demonstrate that country's depth. Cate Campbell finished second in 24.32, off her second-ranked 24.04 from prelims, while Emma McKeon finished third in 24.40 to crack the top 10.

Olivia Halicek (24.54), Merinda Dingjan (25.07) and Libby Trickett (25.16) placed fourth through sixth for Australia, while Singapore's Amanda Lim (25.44) and France's Melanie Henique (25.65) took seventh and eighth.

Financials: With her second first-place prize of the night, Alshammar increased her total circuit tally to $16,000. Campbell ($1,000) and McKeon ($500) were first-time moneywinners.

Men's 200 breast
Japan's Naoya Tomita won the distance breaststroke event in 2:04.93, bettering his second-ranked season best of 2:05.11 from Berlin. Tomita still trails Marco Koch's top-ranked 2:04.61 from Berlin, however. Koch placed second this evening in 2:04.99 for his second sub 2:05 of the season, while Australia's Christian Sprenger rounded out the podium with a third-place 2:05.99 to move to fourth in the world rankings.

Australia's Brenton Rickard (2:06.33), Korea's Choi Kyuwoong (2:11.53), China's Huang Yunkun (2:11.56), Singapore's Kenneth Lim (2:16.92) and USA's Egan Gans (2:18.87) also swam in the finale.

Financials: Koch's steady attendance and performance on the circuit, including the $1,000 for second place tonight, pushed him to $9,000 in overall winnings. Tomita's second check of the night has him up to $8,000 overall, while Sprenger's second check of the night as well, pushed his tally for the night and the series to $2,000.

Men's 100 IM
The highly-anticipated finals debut of superstar Ian Thorpe fizzled a bit as he faded to seventh in the sprint medley with a 56.33. His time bettered his preliminary effort of 56.74.

South Africa's Chad Le Clos earned his third title trifecta of the 2011 FINA World Cup series, giving himself a 13th gold medal overall, with a 53.06 in the sprint medley. That time pushed him to fifth in the world rankings in the event. Australia's Kyle Richardson (53.40) and Colombia's Omar Pinzon (53.78) placed second and third.

Japan's Masafumi Yamaguchi (54.13), Japan's Yuma Kosaka (54.30), Austria's Markus Rogan (54.31), and Singapore's Nicholas Ho (58.28) also swam in the finale.

Financials: Le Clos pulled off his third $1,500 performance of the night, netting $4,500 for the evening and $26,000 in overall winnings. Richardson finished runner-up for the second time tonight, netting $2,000, while Pinzon won his first check ($500) of the circuit.

Women's 200 back
France's Alexianne Castel won the distance dorsal event in 2:04.85 to move to fifth in the world rankings, while Japan's Shiho Sakai took second in 2:05.19. New Zealand's Melissa Ingram touched third in 2:05.62.

China's Bai Anqi (2:07.27), Australia's Mikkayla Maselli-Sheridan (2:08.49), USA's Ally Howe (2:09.35), South Africa's Jessica Pengelly (2:11.07) and Russia's Julia Larina (2:16.03) also competed for the title.

Financials: Sakai's second runner-up finish of the night gave her $2,000 in overall winnings, while Castel ($1,500) and Ingram ($500) captured their first checks.

Men's 50 fly
Kenya's Jason Dunford won the sprint fly in 22.92, moving to third in the world rankings behind Geoff Huegill 22.67) and Steffen Deibler (22.89). Australia's Christopher Wright took second in 23.40, while France's Jeremy Stravius finished third in 23.55.

Australia's Sam Ashby (23.58), Papua New Guinea's Ryan Pini (23.67), Japan's Kosuke Hagino (23.82), Korea's Chang Gyucheol (23.99) and Australia's Andrew Lauterstein (24.25) finished fourth through eighth.

Financials: Overall, Dunford claimed $2,000 on the night to push his circuit winnings to $5,250. Wright and Stravius both cashed in $2,000 this evening for their first prizes of the series.

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