Katinka Hosszu Leads 200 Backstroke Prelims with Personal Best Time

Photo Courtesy: Rob Schumacher-USA TODAY Sports

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Katinka Hosszu finished in 2:06.09 to top the heats of the women’s 200 backstroke this morning. The Iron Lady continued to crush this week with a new personal best time. She could be in position to leave these Olympics with four gold medals after previously topping the podium and in the 100 back this week.

Canada’s Hilary Caldwell finished in 2:07.40 for the second seed in tonight’s semifinals. Maya DiRado of the USA qualified third with a 2:08.60.

Germany’s Lisa Graf won the second heat in 2:08.67 with a strong second 100 meters. Belinda Hocking of Australia also tied for the fourth seed with that same time. China’s Yaxin Liu followed in 2:08.84. Dominique Bouchard of Canada was just behind in 2:08.87. Ukraine’s Daryna Zevina was only .01 behind Bouchard in 2:08.88.

In her fifth Olympic Games Kirsty Coventry of Zimbabwe earned a semifinal swim in 2:08.91. Coventry was the gold medalist in the event in 2004 and 2008, but she will need a far better night swim to make it back to an Olympic finali.

Qualifying next were two athletes expected to contend for medals—perhaps even gold—but both have looked way off form this week. Australia’s Emily Seebohm, the reigning World Champion in both backstrokes, went a 2:09.00 while defending gold medalist Missy Franklin ended up 11th in 2:09.36.

Iceland’s Eyglo Gustafsdottir is 12th in 2:09.96, while Russian teammates Daria Ustinova (2:09.96) and Anastasiia Fesikova (2:10.39), and Croatia’s Matea Samardzic (2:10.51) and Jenny Mensing (2:10.68) of Germany complete tonight’s semifinals.

Full prelims results can be found here.

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