FINA World Cup, Beijing: Chad Le Clos Triples Again; Breaks $40K in Winnings

BEIJING, China, November 9. THE second day of competition is complete at the FINA World Cup stop in Beijing, China, and a handful of national records fell throughout the course of the evening.

Meanwhile, South Africa's Chad Le Clos added three more golds, upping his circuit tally to 22, while also pushing his overall winnings to an amazing $40,500. His closest male competition in terms of winnings is a tie between Marco Koch and Michael Phelps for second with $10,500 each.

Additionally, Sweden's Therese Alshammar tallied one more gold medal to wind up with $22,500 in winnings heading into the final meet in Tokyo.

Men's 1500 free
China's Hao Yun won the distance event with a 14:40.15, while Dai Jun took second in 14:42.97. The pair of swims put Hao and Dai into fourth and fifth, respectively, in the world rankings. Zhong Guixu earned third-place honors in 15:12.08.

Xu Wenchao (15:24.94), Ren Chen (15:25.59), Liu Di (15:46.69), Yang Kungpeng (15:47.22) and Wei Kun (15:50.27) rounded out the top eight for China.

Financials: Hao increased his overall winnings to $2,500, while Dai now has $1,500. Zhong earned his first paycheck with $500.

Women's 100 free
Australian wunderkind Emma McKeon captured her second sprint freestyle gold of the meet with a winning 53.09. That swim came up short of her third-ranked season best of 52.41 from Singapore. Yesterday, she captured the 50 free ahead of veteran Therese Alshammar. Teammate Cate Campbell placed second in 53.13, while China's Tang Yi earned third in 53.28.

Australia's Merindah Dingjan (53.47), Libby Trickett (53.96) and Kylie Palmer (54.78) finished fourth through sixth, while China's Wang Ruiqi (54.78) and Qiu Yuhan (54.79) took seventh and eighth.

Financials: McKeon continued a strong performance on the Asian leg of the World Cup with $5,500 in total winnings after her second gold medal of the meet. Campbell pushed her overall earnings to $3,000, while Tang grabbed her first paycheck with $500.

Men's 200 free
South Africa's Chad Le Clos won his 20th gold medal of the 2011 FINA World Cup circuit with a 1:43.62 in the event. That swim clipped his third-ranked season best of 1:43.64 from Berlin, but wasn't fast enough to eclipse Michael Phelps' second-ranked 1:43.31. Paul Biedermann owns the top ranking with a 1:42.42 from Berlin. China's Jiang Haiqi finished second in 1:43.89 to move to fifth in the world rankings, while Kyle Richardson of Australia took third in 1:45.21.

China's Zhang Zhongchao (1:45.62), Zhong Qiushi (1:45.91) and Jiang Yuhui (1:46.82) placed fourth through sixth, while Australia's Robert Hurley (1:47.04) and China's Dai Jun (1:50.04) also competed in the finale.

Financials: Le Clos closed in on $40,000 in earnings with $37,500 overall after a $1,500 for his victory. Richardson improved to $6,000 overall, while Jiang now has $1,500 in winnings.

Women's 50 breast
Australia's Leiston Pickett raced to her second victory of the meet with a 30.23 in the sprint breast, bettering her fifth-ranked 30.26 from July. Korea's Kim Hye Jin finished second in 30.63, while Australia's Olivia Halicek took third in 30.98.

China's Ji Liping (31.03), Korea's Jeong Darae (31.27), China's Shi Jinglin (31.42), China's He Yun (31.53) and Sweden's Joline Hostman (31.68) also vied for the title.

Financials: Pickett bumped her overall winnings to $5,500, while Hye Jin increased her tally to $7,500 overall. Halicek's winnings improved to $3,000 with her $500 paycheck.

Men's 100 breast
Australia's Christian Sprenger captured the title in 57.99, just short of his third-ranked season best of 57.91 from Singapore. China's Li Xiayin finished second in 58.13, while Australia's Brenton Rickard took third in 58.21.

Japan's Naoya Tomita (59.08), China's Chen Cheng (59.38), China's Xie Zhi (59.53), Taipei's Chiang Hsin-Hung (1:00.44) and Korea's Choi Kyuwoong (1:00.65) finished fourth through eighth.

Women's 400 IM
China's Zhou Min claimed the distance medley title in 4:30.66 to move to second in the world rankings behind only Zsuzsanna Jakabos' 4:29.65 from Stockholm. Japan's Miyu Otsuka took second in 4:31.43, shy of her now fourth-ranked 4:31.35 from Singapore. Meanwhile, Australia's Ellen Fullerton touched third in 4:33.19, well off her fifth-ranked 4:31.90 also from Singapore.

China's Li Jiaxing (4:39.80), Japan's Tomoyo Fukuda (4:40.21), China's Zhang Sishi (4:47.17), China's Pang Wenxian (4:48.51) and Taipei's Teng Yu-Wen (4:54.07) also swam in the finale.

Financials: Zhou improved to $2,000 in winnings, while Otsuka has won $2,500 overall thus far. Fullerton also has $2,500 in winnings on the circuit after a $500 third-place check.

Men's 100 fly
South Africa's Chad Le Clos matched Randall Bal's 21 World Cup gold medals from a few years ago with his 21st victory, and his fifth in Beijing so far. Bal, however, had a higher winning percentage with a 21-for-21 effort during his impressive World Cup run. Tonight, Le Clos clocked a 50.93 to win the event, coming up short of his third-ranked 50.63 from Singapore. Australia's Christopher Wright wound up second in 51.07, while China's Chen Weiwu took third in 51.41.

Australia's Sam Ashby (51.61), Australia's Andrew Lauterstein (51.78), China's Shi Feng (51.88), Papua New Guinea's Ryan Pini (52.18) and Japan's Kosuke Hagino (52.47) finished fourth through eighth.

Financials: Le Clos closed to within $1,000 of a remarkable $40,000 in circuit winnings ($39,000) with his second $1,500 check of the night, while Wright moved to $5,000 overall. Chen's $500 increased his winnings to $1,500.

Women's 100 back
China's Gao Chang moved to fourth in the world rankings with a winning time of 57.22, while Australia's Rachel Goh took second in 57.40, short of her third-ranked 56.99 from Berlin. China's Zhou Yanxin finished third in 57.78.
Japan's Shiho Sakai (57.96), Australia's Grace Loh (57.97), New Zealand's Melissa Ingram (59.18), China's Rao Shengxue (59.75) and China's Yao Yige (1:00.22) comprised the rest of the finale.

Financials: Goh's moneymaking ability on the circuit continued as her runner-up check for $1,000 increased her winning to $13,000. Gao ($2,000) and Zhou ($1,500) also have won previously in the meet.

Men's 50 back
China's Sun Xiaolei (23.34) and Cheng Feiyi (23.89) finished 1-2 in the sprint back, with Sun jumping well out in front of the world rankings. Jeremy Stravius had owned the previous top time with a 23.76 from Singapore. Sun nearly closed the distance with his 10th-ranked Chinese record of 23.13. Colombia's Omar Pinzon finished third tonight in 23.98, as Cheng finished short of his third-ranked 23.79, while Pinzon improved to sixth in the world.

Japan's Masafumi Yamaguchi (24.41), Germany's Jan-Philip Glania (24.81), Australia's Robert Hurley (25.41) and China's Shi Feng (26.02) rounded out the finale, while China's Jin Yan scratched.

Financials: Cheng pushed his winnings to $6,500, while Sun has now won $4,000. Pinzon's earnings increased to $2,500.

Women's 200 fly
Korea's Choi Hye Ra surfaced victorious for the second time this meet with a 2:03.65 to win the distance fly event. That swim pushed her past Gong Jie (2:03.91) for the top ranking in the world this year. She now stands ninth all time in the event's history with her Korean record. Sweden's Martina Granstrom took second in 2:05.02 to better her fourth-ranked 2:05.59 from Stockholm, while Australia's Jessicah Schipper touched third in 2:05.89, just missing her fifth-ranked 2:05.87 from Singapore.

China's Liu Zige (2:06.77), Liu Lan (2:06.92) and Ha Sinan (2:08.11) took fourth through sixth, while Japan's Miyu Otsuka (2:09.23) and China's Zhou Yilin (2:11.07) placed seventh and eighth.

Financials:With her second gold of the meet, Hye Ra improved her overall earnings tally to an impressive $11,500. Consistent attendance, along with strong performances, have helped Hye Ra remain among the overall leaders. Granstrom cashed her second runner-up check for $2,000 total, while Schipper ($500) broke into the money for the first time.

Men's 200 IM
South Africa's Chad Le Clos' extraordinary run at the FINA World Cup continued, as he captured his 22nd gold medal of the circuit. Le Clos clocked a 1:55.04 for the win, nearly a second back of his third-ranked season best of 1:54.06 from Singapore. The win pushed him past Randall Bal's total of 21 golds on the FINA World Cup circuit. Austria's Markus Rogan took second in 1:56.33, while China's Liu Weijia finished third in 1:56.61.

Japan's Yuma Kosaka (1:57.27), Australia's Travis Nederpelt (1:57.77), China's Sun Yunchao (1:59.95), China's Sun Jiahao (2:02.03) and China's Chen Cheng (2:03.03) made up the rest of the finale.

Financials: With his third win of the evening, the sixth time he's tripled in a session on the World Cup circuit and his fourth straight final in which he has done so, Le Clos cleared $40,000 in overall winnings with his leading total now standing at $40,500. Rogan improved to $3,500, while Liu earned his first check with $500 for third.

Women's 400 free
Australia's Blair Evans smoked the top-ranked time in the world in the middle distance event with a 3:58.31. That time smashed the 3:59.71 clocked by Allison Schmitt in Berlin, and broke Evans' personal best of 4:00.71. Evans vaulted from 21st in the all time rankings to eighth as she also clipped Kylie Palmer's Australian record of 3:58.39. Palmer finished second tonight in 4:03.04, while China's Chen Shiyun posted a third-place 4:04.73.

China's Zhou Lili (4:04.92), China's Wang Fei (4:05.15), New Zealand's Melissa Ingram (4:05.52), China's Ha Sinan (4:08.85) and China's Shi Yuwen (4:09.35) placed fourth through eighth.

Financials: Evans won her second first-place check of the meet to improve her winnings to $6,000, while Palmer now has $3,500 thus far. Chen picked up her first check of the circuit with $500 for third.

Men's 50 free
Australia's Kyle Richardson popped a 21.75 to win the splash-and-dash. That swim fell short of his 10th-ranked 21.66 from Singapore. China's Shi Yang (22.00) and Shi Tengfei (22.03) rounded out the podium.

New Zealand's Cameron Simpson (22.45), China's Jiang Haiqi (22.55), Papua New Guinea's Ryan Pini (22.58), China's Hu Chao (22.58) and China's Liu Junwu (22.90) comprised the rest of the championship field.

Financials: Richardson ran his overall winnings tally to $7,500, while the pair of Shis won their first $1,000 and $500 of the circuit, respectively.

Women's 200 breast
Japan went 1-2 in the distance breaststroke with Kanako Watanabe taking gold in 2:19.05, and Keiko Fukodome earning silver in 2:20.36. Watanabe bested her top-ranked time of 2:20.03 (that also stood as her personal best), while Fukodome moved to second in the world rankings ahead of Sally Foster's 2:20.58 from Berlin. Watanabe leaped from 18th in the all time rankings to 12th overall with her effort.

Korea's Kim Hye Jin finished third in 2:20.59 to take fourth in the world rankings this year, while compatriot Jeong Darae clocked a fourth-place 2:20.74 for fifth in the rankings.

Korea's Back Su Yeon (2:21.49), Sweden's Joline Hostman (2:22.36), China's Ji Liping (2:23.57) and Russia's Maria Temnikova (2:24.39) completed the championship heat.

Financials: Hye Jin ran her overall winnings tally to $8,000, while Watanabe's winning check pushed her total to $6,500. Fukudome earned her first check of the circuit with $1,000 for her runner-up finish.

Women's 100 IM
In an exciting finish, China's Jiao Liuyang and Zhao Jing shared gold with matching 59.50s in the sprint medley. The pair moved to fifth in the world rankings with the swims. Australia's Olivia Halicek took third in 1:01.01.

China's Liu Jing (1:01.06), Korea's Chio Hye Ra (1:01.49), Japan's Tomoya Fukuda (1:01.56), Australia's Ellen Fullerton (1:03.28) and Russia's Julia Larina (1:04.80) also vied for the sprint title.

Financials: Jiao improved to $4,750 with her win, while Zhao now has $2,750 in winnings with her share of the win as well. Halicek's second third-place check of the night pushed her tally to $3,500 overall.

Men's 200 back
Colombia's Omar Pinzon threatened the top ranked time in the world in the distance dorsal with a swift 1:50.46. That swim finished just shy of Michael Phelps' top time of 1:50.34 from the Berlin stop of the World Cup. Japan's Kazuki Watanabe finished a distant second in 1:52.20 for fourth in the world rankings, while China's Sun Xiaolei earned third in 1:52.36 for fifth in the rankings.

China's Diao Jigong (1:53.54), Austria's Markus Rogan (1:54.31), China's Lin Yongqing (1:54.49), Germany's Jan-Philip Glania (1:56.17) and Japan's Kosuke Hagino (1:56.78) wrapped up the rest of the final finishes.

Financials: Sun moved to $4,500 in overall winnings, while Pinzon's $2,000 for the evening pushed his circuit tally to $4,000. Watanabe now has $2,000 to his credit for the circuit.

Women's 50 fly
Sweden's Therese Alshammar, who owns the top ranked time with a 25.01 from Singapore, cruised to victory in the sprint fly tonight with a 25.40. China's Lu Ying (25.52) and Jiao Liuyang (25.78) placed second and third.

Australia's Emma McKeon (26.54), Jessicah Schipper (26.80) and Olivia Halicek (26.81) finished fourth through sixth, while China's Zou Xinyi (27.08) and Zhu Wenrui (27.23) closed out the final race of the Beijing stop.

Financials: With just one more meet left in the circuit, Alshammar ran her total winnings to $22,500. Lu, meanwhile, now has $6,500 to her credit, while Jiao pushed her tally to $5,250.

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