Russian Breaks Moses’ WR in the 100m Breast

By Phillip Whitten

MOSCOW, June 28. RUSSIA'S Roman Sludnov threw down the guantlet today to America's Ed Moses, breaking the American's 100 meter breaststroke world record by three-hundredths of a second. His achievement sets up a dramatic showdown between the world's two top breaststrokers at next month's World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, as each man hopes to become the first to crack the one-minute barrier. In two previous match-ups, Moses has beaten his Russian rival both times.

The two men have lowered the world mark three times in the last 15 months. Ironically, Moses was second and Sludnov third at the 2000 Olympic Games, as the gold medal went to Italy's unheralded Domenico Fioravanti.

Today, Sludnov, a 21-year-old student, from the Siberian city of Omsk, clocked 1:00.26 in the semifinals of the 100m breaststroke at the Russian National Championships and World Championship Trials in Moscow. Sludnov split 28.51 seconds at the halfway mark – four hundredths of a second behind Moses's split when he set the world record in Austin in March -but the Russian came storming back to nip Moses's 1:00.29 at the wall.

Interestingly, when Sludnov set the world record of 1:00.36 last year in a semifinal heat of this same meet at the same pool, he was much faster for the first 50, splitting 28.23.

Sludnov will have a chance to better his new world mark in the finals tomorrow.

World Record Progression: Men's 100m Breaststroke, 1972-2001

1:05.68 John Hencken (USA) Aug. 28, 1972
1:05.13 Nobutaka Taguchi (JPN) Aug. 29, 1972
1:04.94 Nobutaka Taguchi (JPN) Aug. 30, 1972
1:04.35 John Hencken (USA) Apr. 09, 1973
1:04.02 John Hencken (USA) Apr. 09, 1973
1:03.88 John Hencken (USA) Aug. 31, 1974
1:03.62 John Hencken (USA) July 19, 1976
1:03.11 John Hencken (USA) July 20, 1976
1:02.86 Gerald Moerken (WGR) Aug. 17, 1977
1:02.62 Steve Lundquist (USA) July 19, 1982
1:02.53 Steve Lundquist (USA) Aug. 21, 1982
1:02.34 Steve Lundquist (USA) Aug. 06, 1983
1:02.28 Steve Lundquist (USA) Aug. 17, 1983
1:02.13 John Moffet (USA) June 25, 1984
1:01.65 Steve Lundquist (USA) July 29, 1984
1:01.49 Adrian Moorhouse (GBR) Aug. 15, 1989
1:01.49 Adrian Moorhouse (GBR) Jan. 25, 1990
1:01.49 Adrian Moorhouse (GBR) July 26, 1990
1:01.49 Norbert Rozsa (HUN) Jan. 07, 1991
1:01.45 Norbert Rozsa (HUN) Jan. 07, 1991
1:01.45 Vasily Ivanov (URS) June 11, 1991
1:01.29 Norbert Rozsa (HUN) Aug. 20, 1991
1:00.95 Karoly Guttler (HUN) Aug. 03, 1993
1:00.60 Frederik Deburghgraeve (BEL) July 20, 1996
1:00.36 Roman Sludnov (RUS) June 15, 2000
1:00.29 Ed Moses (USA) Mar. 28, 2001
1:00.26 Roman Sludnov (RUS) June 28, 2001

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