World Championships: Golden Swim by Roland Schoeman in 50 Butterfly

By John Lohn

MELBOURNE, Australia, March 26. THE defending champion, Roland Schoeman left no doubt as to who's the top dog in the world when it comes to the one-lap butterfly. Surfacing with the lead and holding his opposition at bay all the way to the wall, Schoeman registered a winning time of 23.18. The effort was slower than his 2005 World Champs time of 22.96, the global standard.

That Schoeman showed quality speed in the 50 fly is a good sign for his 50 freestyle later in the week. Schoeman is also the defending champ in that event and is expected to be challenged for gold by Cullen Jones, the up-and-coming star from the United States. Schoeman has history's second-fastest 50 free time, a 21.69 from Montreal.

The silver medal went to the United States' Ian Crocker in 23.47. Crocker is the favorite to win the 100 fly, where he's the reigning champ and world-record holder. The bronze medal was captured by Denmark's Jakob Andkjaer in 23.56, just fast enough to hold off the 23.57 of Albert Subirats of Venezuela. Sergiy Breus of the Ukraine was fifth in 23.61.

"In the 50 you can't screw up at all and I had a couple of mess-ups there," Crocker said. "My last couple of strokes were terrible – I had a big glide to the wall. I made some bad decisions, but it's so easy to do, especially when you're trying not to breathe because it wastes time."

Click Here to view event results PDF file.

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