Hackett, Klim Win at Melbourne World Cup

MELBOURNE, Dec 6. IT was virtually an all-Australian show on the second day of competition at the FINA World Cup 5 meet in Melbourne, Australia, the fifth stop in the 10-meet tour that winds up in Europe.
Only four non-Australians won events today: Canada's Morgan Knabe, the USA's Amy Balcerzak and China's
Luo Xuejuan and Li Jin.

Australia's Olympic 1500 meter champion Grant Hackett, easily won the men's 200m freestyle. His time, 1:44.78, was more than 3.5 seconds off Ian Thorpe's world mark, but still fast enough to give him an easy win. Thorpe did not compete here.

Fellow Aussie Michael Klim won the 50m fly in 23.32, edging countryman Adam Pine by .07. Klim had been hoping to break his own world record of 23.11. "That was a pretty poor effort," he said. "My back hasn't helped me, but my touches and turns were bad. they need to improve."

Matt Welsh, who broke Lenny Krayzelburg's short course world record in the 200m backstroke in October in the same melbourne pool, was unable to lower that mark still further, but he did post an easy win. Last night he won the 50 back.

Canada's Morgan Knabe won the men's 100m breaststroke in 1:00.37, out-duelling veteran Australian Olympian Phil Rogers.

In the women's events, Australia's Sarah-Jane D'Arcy won the 400 free in 4:08.90. Rebecca Creedy took the 50 free in 25.53. D'Arcy had won the 800 yesterday while Creedy had taken the 100.

The Chinese duro of Luo Xuejuan and Li Jin each won an event. Luo took the 200 breast while Li touched first in the 100 fly.

Amy Balcerzak was the lone American to stand atop the podium. The Northwestern grad edged Australia's comeback queen, Lori Munz, to win the 100m individual medley.

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