SYDNEY, Australia, November 3. THE final night of swimming took place during the third stop of the FINA World Cup series in Sydney, Australia. While Randall Bal punctuated his backstroke sweep with a top performance in the 50 back, Leisel Jones set a World Cup standard in the 50 breast. <\/p>\n
Based on initial information available at USA Swimming, the official holders of American records, Bal tied Neil Walker's American record of 23.42. However, further investigation provided a quicker time by Peter Marshall of 23.39 in New York in February of 2006. There is some question whether that time ever went through the administrative process to be recognized.<\/p>\n
While there is no official word back from USA Swimming on this issue at this time, current indications are that USA Swimming will wind up recognizing Marshall's time as the American record. <\/p>\n
SwimmingWorldMagazine.com<\/b> will keep its readers posted as soon as an official statement is made by USA Swimming.<\/p>\n
Women's 100 freestyle<\/b>
\nAfter nearly taking down her world record of 51.70 with a top time of 51.83 at the Australian Short Course Championships in August, Libby Lenton made another run at it. She came up short again, but still dominated the field with a time of 52.20.<\/p>\n
Finland's Hanna-Maria Seppala posted a top 10 time in the world this year with a second-place effort of 53.78, while Melanie Schlanger placed third in 53.90 \u2013 just nipped her season-best effort of 53.96 set in August.<\/p>\n
Lenton led from the start with a 25.23 halfway mark, while Seppala held second at the 50 with a 26.02.<\/p>\n
Click here to view event results PDF file<\/a>.<\/p>\n Men's 200 freestyle<\/b> After initially falling behind several swimmers at the 50, including Monk who led with a 23.84 but finished in fourth (1:44.82), Park started tracking down Monk by the halfway mark (49.27 to 50.80). Monk still led with a 1:16.44 at the 150, but Park used an incredible final 50 split of 25.94 against Monk's 28.38 to remove all doubt of the winner.<\/p>\n Click here to view event results PDF file<\/a>.<\/p>\n Women's 50 breaststroke<\/b> Edmistone, meanwhile, placed second in the race with a time of 30.22, while Tarnee White, also of Australia, finished third in 30.58.<\/p>\n Aussies also took fourth and fifth with Kristy Morrison (31.35) and Olivia Halicek (31.56) rounding out the top five.<\/p>\n Click here to view event results PDF file<\/a>.<\/p>\n Men's 100 breaststroke<\/b> Sprenger also posted a quicker time than Rickard's 58.75 at the Aussie Short Course Champs, which previously stood as the best in the world this year. Cook moved into the top five behind Alexander Dale Oen's 59.53 from October.<\/p>\n Click here to view event results PDF file<\/a>.<\/p>\n Women's 400 IM<\/b> Rice had splits of 1:03.56, 2:12.69 and 3:31.17 en route to the win, while Miley split times of 1:04.75, 2:13.12 and 3:29.79 on the way to her second-place performance.<\/p>\n Click here to view event results PDF file<\/a>.<\/p>\n Men's 100 butterfly<\/b> Skvortsov's teammate Evgeny Korotyshkin gave the Russians the 1-2 finish with a time of 51.10 that puts him third in the world this year, while Lauterstein claimed third in 51.29.<\/p>\n Lauterstein took the race out hard with a 23.84 at the 50, but couldn't sustain that pace as he clocked a 27.45 down the stretch. Skvorstov recorded splits of 23.95 and 27.12, while Korotyshkin went 24.18 and 26.92.<\/p>\n Click here to view event results PDF file<\/a>.<\/p>\n Women's 100 backstroke<\/b> Simmonds let from the get-go and never looked back. She clocked splits of 28.32 and 29.82, while Edington went 28.42 and 29.87. Hocking turned in splits of 28.54 and 30.19.<\/p>\n Click here to view event results PDF file<\/a>.<\/p>\n Men's 50 backstroke<\/b> Meanwhile, Matt Welsh placed second in 24.15 and Robert Hurley took third in 24.16 for the Australians.<\/p>\n Click here to view event results PDF file<\/a>.<\/p>\n Women's 200 butterfly<\/b> Galvez clocked splits of 28.61, 1:00.33 and 1:32.89 on the way to the gold medal.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Japan's Yurie Yano finished second in 2:08.94, while Australia's Jo-Lene Dendle placed third in 2:10.55.<\/p>\n Click here to view event results PDF file<\/a>.<\/p>\n Men's 1500 freestyle<\/b> Park posted the following splits throughout his gold-medal race: 57.28, 1:57.04, 2:56.59, 3:56.19, 4:55.89, 5:55.39, 6:54.88, 7:54.52, 8:53.64, 9:53.94, 10:53.37, 11:53.02, 12:52.72, 13:52.14.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Australians Andrew Thompson (15:01.76) and Christopher Ashwood (15:08.85) rounded out the podium with second and third, respectively.<\/p>\n Click here to view event results PDF file<\/a>.<\/p>\n Men's 200 IM<\/b> Meanwhile, New Zealand's Dean Kent earned some more bragging rights from Australia with a second-place finish of 1:57.43, over Brodie's third-place readout of 1:57.45.<\/p>\n Click here to view event results PDF file<\/a>.<\/p>\n Women's 400 freestyle<\/b> Teammate Kylie Palmer finished second in 4:02.33, an improvement on her season-best time of 4:02.62 set in August as well. France's Alena Popchanka closed out the top three with a time of 4:05.93.<\/p>\n Click here to view event results PDF file<\/a>.<\/p>\n Men's 50 freestyle<\/b> Kyle Richardson and France's Alain Bernard provided one of two ties in the heat with matching second-place 21.98s, while Australia's Grant Brits and Andrew Lauterstein tied for fifth with matching 22.34s. Ashley Callus of Australia split the difference with a fourth-place 22.03. <\/p>\n Click here to view event results PDF file<\/a>.<\/p>\n Women's 200 breaststroke<\/b> Compatriot Sally Foster finished a distant second in 2:24.63, while Great Britain's Kirsty Balfour took third in 2:25.03.<\/p>\n Click here to view event results PDF file<\/a>.<\/p>\n Women's 100 IM<\/b> Reese, meanwhile, settled for silver in 1:01.21, while teammate Emily Seebohm took third in 1:01.31.<\/p>\n Aussies also claimed fourth and fifth as Stephanie Rice (1:02.00) and Kristy Morrison (1:02.25) each competed.<\/p>\n Click here to view event results PDF file<\/a>.<\/p>\n Men's 200 backstroke<\/b> Russia's Arkady Vyatchanin settled for second with a time of 1:54.20, while Great Britain's Gregor Tait took third in 1:55.22. Delaney, meanwhile, was disqualified.<\/p>\n
\nIt may not have been Hackett, but Korea's Tae Hwan Park beat an Aussie named Grant, this time in the form of Brits. Park clocked a time of 1:43.38, a time that stands third in the world this year behind Kirk Palmer (1:43.12) and Kenrick Monk (1:43.27), to win the 200 free. Brits placed second in 1:44.57, while Australian Patrick Murphy took third in 1:44.78.<\/p>\n
\nLethal Leisel Jones continues to show top-end speed as she keeps gunning after Jade Edmistone's world record of 29.90. This time, Jones finished a bit short with a World Cup record time of 30.03 to eclipse the 30.13 Edmistone set in November of 2005. Jones also moved into first in the world this year, as Edmistone previously held the lead with a 30.04 at the Aussie Short Course Champs in August.<\/p>\n
\nEarlier this year, Brenton Rickard stood head-and-shoulders above the rest of the Australian breaststroke corps. Now, less than a year away from Beijing, it looks like he has company as Christian Sprenger beat him again \u2013 this time with a winning effort of 58.71 in the 100 breast. Rickard wound up second in 58.95 while giving Sprenger all he could handle. Sprenger held onto a lead at the 50-meter mark, 27.64 to 28.10. Chris Cook of Great Britain completed the podium with a time of 1:00.04.<\/p>\n
\nAustralia's Stephanie Rice nearly equaled her top time in the world this year of 4:32.48 set in August, but fell short with a winning readout of 4:32.63. Great Britain's Hannah Miley provided the closest competition with a time of 4:33.00, while Denmark's Julie Hjorth-Hounsen placed third in 4:36.32. Miley's time is now the second-quickest in the world this year ahead of Jennifer Reilly's 4:34.28. Reilly, notably, placed fourth in 4:39.25.<\/p>\n
\nThe Russians swept the top two spots in the men's 100 fly as Nikolay Skvortsov nearly cleared 51 seconds with a time of 51.07, far surpassing his previous season-best time of 51.47 set in Singapore last weekend. Australia's Andrew Lauterstein, however, still owns the top spot with a 50.85 from the Aussie Short Course Champs in August.<\/p>\n
\nAfter watching Natalie Coughlin blister the event with a world record time of 56.51 in Singapore, the World Cup could not keep up in the event in Sydney. Great Britain's Elizabeth Simmonds captured the crown with a time of 58.14 that put her second in the world this year behind only Coughlin. Meanwhile, Australia's Sophie Edington (58.29) and Belinda Hocking (58.73) finished second and third, respectively.<\/p>\n
\nWith an eye towards the big money overall standings prize, Randall Bal put together a sterling sprint back event. After setting the long course meter American record in the 50 with a time of 24.84 at the Paris Open in August, Bal tied Neil Walker's effort of 23.42 as the second-fastest American times in the event. Bal annihilated his previous top time this season of 23.79 set at the Durban stop of the World Cup.<\/p>\n
\nIn a watered-down final, Australia's Felicity Galvez nearly swam alone as she closed the 200-meter distance with a time of 2:05.40, off her previous season-best effort of 2:04.74 set in August.<\/p>\n
\nWithout much competition in the event, Tae Hwan Park still did his thing as he surfaced triumphant from the distance event with a time of 14:49.94. That put him third in the world this year behind Grant Hackett's 14:23.13 set at the Aussie Short Course Championships in August and Mads Glaesner's 14:45.16 set at the Denmark Short Course Championships in October.<\/p>\n
\nGreat Britain's Liam Tancock hit the wall first in the men's shorter-distance medley with a time of 1:56.93, which puts him second in the world this year behind only Leith Brodie's 1:54.66 set at the Aussie Short Course Champs in August. Tancock posted splits of 24.86, 54.64 and 1:28.25.<\/p>\n
\nAustralia's Bronte Barratt cruised as she emerged victorious in the women's middle-distance event. She recorded a winning time of 3:59.94 as she eclipsed the 4-minute mark for the first time this season. She previously held the top time in the world this year with a 4:00.60 set at the Aussie Short Course Champs in August. Barratt turned in splits of 58.06, 1:58.93 and 2:59.59 on the way to the win.<\/p>\n
\nIn the always fun splash-and-dash event, Australia's Eamon Sullivan won another title at the Sydney stop with a swift effort of 21.52. That performance finished just shy of his 21.46 set at the Australian Grand Prix in July, which also is the fastest in the world this year.<\/p>\n
\nLeisel Jones' dominance of the breaststroke events is sometimes almost laughable. The Sydney stop was no different, as she claimed the 200 breast my nearly four seconds. Already owning the top time in the world this year with a 2:18.93, not too far off her world record of 2:17.75 set in 2003, Jones set a leisurely pace en route to a 2:20.84 for gold. She registered splits of 31.98, 1:07.63 and 1:43.80 while grabbing the longer-distance breaststroke event.<\/p>\n
\nFinland's Hanna-Maria Seppala held off a host of Aussies to win the women's 100 IM in 1:00.73. Her effort put her second in the world this year behind Natalie Coughlin's 59.12 in Singapore and Shayne Reese's 1:00.62 at the Aussie Short Course Champs.<\/p>\n
\nRandall Bal made it a clean sweep of the backstroke events, this time with a 1:51.78 in the longer event. While well off the world record of fellow American Ryan Lochte (1:49.05), Bal leapfrogged Matt Welsh (1:52.27) and Ashley Delaney (1:52.72) into first in the event this year.<\/p>\n