HOLY MOSES!!! Ed Moses Smashes His Own World Mark in the 200m Breaststroke

By Phillip Whitten

PARIS, Jan. 18. JUST one week ago, Ed Moses predicted to swiminfo that he'd do something spectacular at the World Cup meets in Europe. A few days later, at a dual meet at the University of Virginia, he added substance to his prophesy by swimming the second fastest 100 and 200 yard breaststrokes in history ….
unshaved! But even Moses would not have predicted a swim like the one he turned in this evening on the first day of World Cup VII in Paris.

Moses obliterated his own world mark for the short course 200 meters breaststroke by over two seconds, when he touched in an astonishing 2:04.37. The old mark, 2:06.40, was set at the NCAA Championships in MInneapolis in March, 2000.

The 21 year-old speedster, who represents Curl-Burke Swim Club, gave notice earlier in the evening that he was ready to make good on his promise when he broke his own American record in winning the 50m breaststroke in 26.74 seconds. His old mark, 26.92, was set at the Novo Nordisk Sprint Cup last October. Tonight, Moses just missed the world mark of 26.70, held by Germany's Mark Warnecke, but he had to scramble just to win. Russia's Roman Sloudnov, the only man to break one minute for the 100 meters long course, finished only a tenth of a second behind, setting a Russian national record in the process.

There were other record-setting swims tonight. Slovakia's Martina Moravcova, the most dominant female swimmer on the World Cup circuit for the past two years, lowered her own European 100 meter fly mark of 57.16 set at this meet last year, when she clocked 57.09 seconds.
She also won the 50m free handily in 24.95 seconds.

Korea's Sung Min won the 100 meter backstroke in a national and Asian record 53.15 seconds, just edging Russia's Evgueni Alechine (53.22) and Israel's Eitan Urbach (57.24).

Canada's Rick say had everything his way, winning the 400m free in 3:42.19 and, in the processs, slicing a heft chunk of time off his own national mark of 3:43.91 set last February.

In other men's events, the USA's Jason Lezak took the 100 free in 47.44 seconds, four-tenths faster than Russia's Denis Pimakov. Dutchman Pieter Van den Hoogenband, Olympic 100 and 200 meter freestyle champion, was relegated to sixth place.

The 50 meter butterfly pitted the current WR-holder, Australia's Geoff Huegill, against the former record-holder, Mark Foster, of Britain. HUegill won in a breeze, 23.03 to 23.63.

The 200 meter fly went to Russia's Anatoli Poliakov in 1:55.20. In the 100 meter IM, two University of California grads battled for the gold, with Poland's Bart Kizierowski beating the USA's Dr. Ron Karnaugh to the wall, 54.57 to 55.43.

In other women's highlights, China's Yang Yu beat WR-holder Claudia Poll in the 200 free, clocking 1:55.81.
Yang's teammate, Luo Xuejuan, the long course world champion in the 100m braeststroke, won her specialty in 1:06.39, with the USA's Amanda Beard a strong second (1:07.12).

Canada's Jennifer Carroll set a national and Commonwealth record in winning the 50 back in 27.41. The American record-holder, Haley Cope, was second.

Olympic champion Yana Klochkova had no trouble winning the 200 IM in a fast 2:09.10. The Ukrainian finished
almost three seconds ahead of Denmark's Julie Hjorth-Hansen, her nearest pursuer.

Russia picked up its third win of the night when
Stanislava Komarova tok the 200m backstroke in 2:09.69, with Canada's Elizabeth Wycliffe a close second.

More than 300 swimmers from 44 nations aare competing in Paris, the seventh stop in the nine-venue World Cup series. The meet continues tomorrow.

The circuit moves to Stockholm on January 22 and 23 and the concludes in Berlin on January 26 and 27.

RESULTS

MEN

100 meter freestyle
1. Jason Lezak, USA 47.44
2. Denis Pimankov, RUS 47.84
3. Scott Tucker, USA 48.10

50 meter breaststroke
1. Ed Moses, USA 26.74 NR
2. Roman Sloudnov, RUS 26.84 NR
3. Hugues Duboscq, FRA 27.50

100 metres backstroke
1. Sung Min, KOR 53.15 AR
2. Evgueni Alechine, RUS 53.22
3. Eitan Urbach, ISR 53.24

200 meter butterfly
1. Anatoli Poliakov, RUS 1:55.20
2. Joanes Hedel, FRA 1:57.07
3. Tero Valimaa, FIN 1:59.00

400 meter freestyle
1. Rick Say, CAN 3:42.19 NR
2. Denis Rodkin, RUS 3:45.95
3. Spyridon Gianniotis, GRE 3:46.19

200 meter breaststroke
1. Ed Moses, USA 2:04.37 WR
2. Jim Piper, AUS 2:07.90
3. Morgan Knabe, CAN 2:09.41

100 meter individual medley
1. Bartosz Kizierowski, POL 54.57
2. Ron Karnaugh, USA 55.43
3. Xavier Marchand, FRA 55.59

50 meter butterfly
1. Geoff Huegill, AUS 23.03
2. Mark Foster, GBR 23.63
3. Igor Martchenko, RUS 23.66

WOMEN

200 meter freestyle
1. Yang Yu, CHN 1:55.81
2. Claudia Poll, CRC 1:56.59
3. Karen Pickering, GBR 1:57.85

100 meter breaststroke
1. Luo Xuejuan, CHN 1:06.39
2. Amanda Beard, USA 1:07.12
3. Brooke Hanson, AUS 1:07.63

100 meter butterfly
1. Martina Moravcova, SVK 57.09 ER
2. Mette Jacobsen, DEN 59.43
3. Vered Borochovski, ISR 59.54

50 meter backstroke
1. Jennifer Carroll, CAN 27.41 NR
2. Haley Cope, USA 27.99
3. Laure Manaudou, FRA 28.35

200 meter individual medley
1. Yana Klochkova, UKR 2:09.10
2. Julie Hjorth-Hansen, DEN 2:11.93
3. Beatrice Caslaru, ROM 2:12.13

50 meter freestyle
1. Martina Moravcova, SVK 24.95
2. Ekaterina Kibalo, RUS 25.32
3. Karen Pickering, GBR 25.44

200 metres backstroke
1. Stanislava Komarova, RUS 2:09.69
2. Elizabeth Wycliffe, CAN 2:09.95
3. Esther Baron, FRA 2:10.99

WR: World record
CR: Commonwealth record
ER: European record
AR: Asian record
NR: National record

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