FLASH!! Amanda Beard Ties World Record in 200m Breast

By Phillip Whitten

BARCELONA, July 25. THE overflow crowd at the Palau Sant Jordi pool in Barcelona had barely settled into their seats after Michael Phelps' stunning world record in the 100 fly, when American Amanda Beard –she of the radiant smile — brought them to their feet again.

Beard, 21, who has been swimming brilliantly every time she's dived in the water the past two years, stroked to victory in the women's 200 meter breaststroke in 2:22.99, equalling the world record set by China's Qi Hui at the Chinese Nationals in April 2001.

Qi was third tonight in 2:25.78.

Beard made her debut at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta as a precocious 14 year-old, winning silver medals in the 100 and 200 breaststroke and a gold in the medley relay. After several awkward years, she made the US team for the Sydney Games where she won bronze in the 200 breast, finishing one-hundredth of a second ahead of Qi.

Since then she's adapted her stroke to her mature body and the results have been spectacular. Earlier in this meet, her second-place 1:07.47 in the 100 breast, a PR, presaged an even more brilliant performance in the 200. She more than lived up to expectations.

Beard trailed Australia's Leisel Jones at every turn as the two young women waged an epic battle. At the 50 it was 32.39 to 33.31; halfway through the race, Jones had lengthened her lead, 1:08.95 to 1:09.99. Beard began reeling her rival in on the third lap and had narrowed the margin to 39-hundredths at the final turn, 1:46.41 to 1:46.80.

Then Beard called on her patented final lap sprint, powered home in 36.19 and that, me hearties, was all she wrote.

Jones finished well under the old championship record in a Commonwealth record 2:24.33.

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