Global Standards Continue to Fall at FINA World Masters

STANFORD, Calif., Aug. 7. WORLD records continued to be in the crosshairs for swimmers at the FINA World Masters Championships in Stanford, Calif. The most notable records to fall throughout the day were an eight-year-old record of the United States’ Robert Strand in the men’s 50-54 50-meter breaststroke. Sweden’s Ronny Oltner set the record with a 31.97. Meanwhile Frank Piemme’s world-record legacy took a bit of a beating as three of his standard fell throughout the day.

Piemme became quite a story in the Masters ranks when he first started swimming Masters at the age of 55 to lose weight. During one remarkable year in 1995, the 2004 International Masters Swimming Hall of Fame inductee notched 25 national and 13 world records.

World records broken are as follows:
United States’ Shelly Johnston set the women’s 25-29 100-meter fly record with a 1:03.18 to break the 1:03.48 previously held by Japan’s Hitomi Matsuda since 2005.

United States’ Jeff Commings set the men’s 30-34 50-meter breaststroke record with a 29.01 to break the 29.17 previously held by Austria’s Patrick Schmollinger since 2003.

United States’ Susan Von Der Lippe set the women’s 40-44 100-meter fly record with a 1:03.38 to break the 1:04.84 previously held by United States’ Karlyn Pipes-Neilsen since 2004.

Von Der Lippe was at it again in the women’s 40-44 50-meter breaststroke as she touched in 33.45 to break the 33.79 set by countrywoman Caroline Krattli in 2002.

United States’ Dennis Baker demolished the men’s 45-49 200-meter IM record of 2:18.61 previously held by Ukraine’s Sergii Fesenko since 2004 with a 2:18.61. Notably, Fesenko is the father of former Indiana University swimmer Sergiy Fesenko who completed his eligibility this past season.

United States’ Richard Schroeder set the men’s 45-49 50-meter breaststroke record with a 30.27 to break the 30.41 previously held by Sweden’s Glen Christiansen since 2002.

United States’ Brigitte Heuer eclipsed the previous women’s 45-49 50-meter freestyle record of 27.78 set by countrywoman Beth Lutz Knight in 2005 with a 27.76.

Sweden’s Ronny Oltner set the men’s 50-54 50-meter breaststroke record with a 31.97 to break the 32.16 previously held by United States’ Robert Strand since 1998.

A pair of swimmers (Melinda Mann and Dagmar Frese) surpassed the women’s 50-54 50-meter breaststroke standard of 37.93 set by Germany’s Petra Schroer in 2004. Mann, however, put her hand on the wall first with a 37.51.

United States’ Greg Shaw set the men’s 55-59 100-meter fly record with a 1:01.05. That time broke the 1:03.90 set by United States’ Richard Abrahams in 2000. Meanwhile, Sweden’s Leonard Bielicz also touched ahead of Abrahams’ time in 1:03.24 for second.

Norway’s Alexander Mills surpassed the men’s 55-59 200-meter IM standard of 2:29.02 previously set by United States’ Jim McConica in 2005 with a 2:27.92.

Mills continued his world-record pace with another standard in the men’s 55-59 50-meter breaststroke by touching in 33.03. That effort tied the 33.03 set by Japan’s Hiroshi Kotegawa in 1993.

United States’ Charlotte Davis took down her second world record of the meet with a 2:53.15 in the women’s 55-59 200-meter IM to surpass Germany’s Brigitte Merten, who previously held the record with a 2:53.72 since 2003.

United States’ Laura Val claimed her third world record of the meet by becoming the first sub-30-second women in the 55-59 age group in the 50-meter freestyle with a 29.59. That effort eclipsed the former standard of 30.03 held by the Netherlands’ Jacoba Boer-Buijs since 2005.

Val kept on rolling in the women’s 55-59 100-meter fly with her fourth standard of the meet by touching in 1:12.13, well ahead of anyone else in her age group. The time broke the 1:13.71 set by Britain’s Judy Wilson in 2000.

After watching Davis erase her 55-59 age group record in the women’s 200-meter IM, Merten did some damage of her own with a 2:58.08 to become the first sub-three-minute woman in the 60-64 age group. That effort broke the previous standard of 3:00.52 set by Canada’s Bonnie Pronk in 2002. The standard is the second for Merten this meet.

United States’ John Calvert set his third record of the meet with a 2:36.07 in the men’s 60-64 200-meter IM. His effort eclipsed the 2:40.00 set by Britain’s Duncan McCreadie in 2005.

United States’ Richard Abrahams broke his own men’s 60-64 50-meter freestyle record of 25.54 set last year with a 25.23.

United States’ Robert Strand set the men’s 60-64 50-meter breaststroke with a 34.20 to break the 34.42 previously held by United States’ Peter Andersen since 2003.

Germany’s Christel Schulz pocketed her second record of the meet with a 3:08.85 in the women’s 65-69 200-meter IM to clear her own record of 3:10.66 set last year.

France’s Aldo Eminente erased a six-year-old record of 31.19 set by United States’ Frank Piemme in the men’s 75-79 50-meter freestyle in 2000 with a 31.14.

Piemme’s records in the men’s 75-79 age group continued to fall as United States’ Graham Johnston touched in 3:18.31 in the 200-meter IM to break the 3:18.35 set by Piemme in 2000.

Another Piemme standard fell as United States’ Thomas Maine clocked a 1:45.50 in the men’s 80-84 100-meter fly to break the previous Piemme standard of 1:46.11 set in 2005.

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