DOHA –\u00a0While Russia downs a disputed world record in the men’s 200 medley relay at the FINA World Short Course Championships, Team USA downed a 10-year-old American mark.<\/p>\n
The Russian foursome of Stanislav Donets (23.73), Sergei Geybel (25.96), Aleksandr Popkov (22.47) and Evgeny Sedov (20.62) started the morning off right with a world record in the men\u2019s 200-meter medley relay. \u00a0The Russian squad blitzed the second heat with a 1:32.78, a time that FINA has listed as a world record at this point, breaking the 1:33.65 listed as the world record from 2013 by Italy.<\/p>\n
Italy set the 1:33.65 during prelims of the 2013 European Short Course Championships in Herning, Denmark in Dec. 2013.\u00a0\u00a0During the finals of that same meet, the Russian team of\u00a0Vitaly Melnikov (23.72), Oleg Kostin (26.18), Nikita Konovalov (21.92) and Vlad Morozov (20.56) posted a 1:32.38 for the win during finals.<\/a> However, that relay world record was stripped after Melnikov tested positive for EPO.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n France\u2019s Ben Stasiulis (23.49), Giacomo Perez-Dortona (25.92), Mehdy Metella (22.45) and Clement Mignon (21.24) took second in prelims with a 1:33.10, while USA\u2019s Matt Grevers (23.37), Brad Craig (26.46), Tom Shields (22.29) and Josh Schneider (21.13) did in fact take down the American record in the event.<\/p>\n Previously, Aaron Peirsol, Brendan Hansen, Ian Crocker and Garrett Weber-Gale raced to a 1:34.58 back in 2004 in East Meadow for the previous American mark.<\/p>\n Brazil (1:33.48), Great Britain (1:33.87), South Africa (1:34.31), Italy (1:34.43) and Lithuania (1:34.81) also made their way into the championship field.<\/p>\n LIVE RESULTS<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n