Coughlin Bounces Back with Gold in 100 Free

VICTORIA, British Columbia, Aug. 18. AFTER suffering an upset defeat in the 100-meter backstroke on Thursday against Japan’s Hanae Ito, Natalie Coughlin bounced back with a slim victory in the 100-meter freestyle at the 2006 Mutual of Omaha Pan Pacific Championships on Friday.

Coughlin opened the first 50 meters on a mission as she went out in 25.89 for the only sub-26-second split of the night. She then brought it home in 27.98 to hit the wall first for gold in 53.87. That time came up just .04 seconds short of breaking her own meet record of 53.83 set during prelims.

“It feels pretty good,” Coughlin said. "I tend to go out faster than Amanda. I just tried to keep my eyes closed (in the last 10 meters) and not focus on her. But it's good for our team to have her going so fast too."

Meanwhile, countrywoman Amanda Weir pocketed silver in 53.92 after clocking a 26.05 at the halfway point, while Australian Melanie Schlanger rolled to bronze well behind the top two in 55.00.

In consolation heat action, Kara Lynn Joyce of the United States dominated her field with a 54.93, which would have scored bronze if not for the two-per country rule.

At the end of the race, the United States owned the medal lead with 10 (7G, 3S), while Japan held eight (1G, 2S, 5B) for second.

Click Here to view event results PDF file

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

Welcome to our community. We invite you to join our discussion. Our community guidelines are simple: be respectful and constructive, keep on topic, and support your fellow commenters. Commenting signifies that you agree to our Terms of Use

0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x