World Championships: Chance to Double Up for Hoff in 400 I.M.

By John Lohn

MELBOURNE, Australia, March 31. THE defending champion and already with the 200 I.M. gold in her pocket, Katie Hoff led qualifying in the longer medley event. The North Baltimore Aquatic Club standout produced a time of 4:38.21, an easy morning swim that suggests the possibility of challenging Yana Klochkova's world record of 4:33.59 from the Sydney Olympics.

Hoff was in the fastest heat of the morning, followed to the wall by Zimbabwe's Kirsty Coventry. The former Auburn star touched the wall in 4:39.03, but was disqualified. Coventry won the silver in the 200 I.M. earlier in the week and also grabbed silver in the 200 backstroke. Australian Jennifer Reilly, timed in 4:40.12, ended up second.

The third position for the championship race also came from the fourth heat, as Yana Martynova covered the distance in 4:42.65. American Ariana Kukors took the fourth spot in 4:42.80 and Denmark's Julie Hjorth-Hansen was fifth in 4:43.19. The final spots for the final went to Australian Stephanie Rice (4:43.85), Argentina's Georgina Bardach (4:43.88) and China's Yu Rui (4:44.34).

Click Here to view event results PDF file.

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