VICTORIA, British Columbia, Aug. 17. IN what can only be described as a major upset, Japan’s Hanae Ito came from well behind at the halfway mark to touch out world-record holder Natalie Coughlin of the United States for gold in the 100-meter backstroke. Ito stopped the clock in 1:00.63 to win the title at the 2006 Mutual of Omaha Pan Pacific Championships on Thursday.
While Coughlin went out incredibly fast in 29.20 in pursuit of a world record, Ito remained consistent and scored a comeback conquest of Coughlin as the American slowed during the back half after getting caught up in the lane lines to clock a 1:00.66.
“That's definitely not a best swim,” Coughlin said. “My training has been excellent, and I'm not out of shape, so I honestly don't know what to say about that race. It definitely wasn’t my best”
Meanwhile, Japan added to its medal coffer with a bronze as Reiko Nakamura took third in 1:00.86.
Notably, in an event with World Championship team implications for the United States, Indiana University’s Leila Vaziri, who also swims for the Coral Springs Swim Club, withstood a charge at her top-time of 1:01.69 set during the ConocoPhillips USA Swimming National Championships earlier this month after initially falling behind both Coughlin’s 1:00.06 and Lauren English’s 1:01.68 from prelims. Vaziri scored a consolation heat win with a 1:01.53 to move back ahead of English, who finished last in the championship heat with a 1:02.27. That put Vaziri, the 100-meter backstroke victor at Nationals, back in the hunt for a World Championship bid.
At the end of the event, the U.S. took a lead in the medal count with three (2G, 1S), while Canada (1G, 1B), Australia (1S, 1B) and Japan (1G, 1B) tied for second.
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