{"id":441503,"date":"2020-07-31T08:25:58","date_gmt":"2020-07-31T15:25:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=441503"},"modified":"2020-07-31T08:31:13","modified_gmt":"2020-07-31T15:31:13","slug":"tokyo-vision-who-will-join-lilly-king-and-yuliya-efimova-in-chase-for-200-breast-title","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/tokyo-vision-who-will-join-lilly-king-and-yuliya-efimova-in-chase-for-200-breast-title\/","title":{"rendered":"Tokyo Vision: Who Will Join Lilly King and Yuliya Efimova in Chase for 200 Breast Title?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tokyo Vision: Lilly King, Yulia Efimova Get Plenty of Company in 200 Breaststroke Final<\/strong><\/p>\n

Had the COVID-19 pandemic not shaken the world, the 2020 Olympic Games<\/a> in Tokyo would be unfolding right now, titles and podium finishes earned by the finest athletes from around the world. Instead, we are in a competition lull and hopeful that the Games will be held next summer, with COVID-19 neutralized.<\/em><\/p>\n

As we reach the nine days over which the swimming competition of a delayed Olympiad would have taken place, Swimming World is taking a glimpse at what might have unfolded this summer, had the Olympics not been postponed. Following the official schedule, we offer our virtual fields of eight finalists for each event and take a brief look at how the racing might have panned out until a few strokes away from decision and a result that will not be known until July\/August 2021.<\/em><\/p>\n

League of Olympic Legends: Rebecca Soni Tops Podium With Prozumenshchikova & Beard<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Event:<\/strong> Women\u2019s 200 Breaststroke<\/p>\n

World Record:<\/strong> Rikke Moller Pedersen (2013) \u2013 2:19.11<\/p>\n

Historical Note #1:<\/strong> Rebecca Soni\u2019s<\/strong> win at the 2012 Olympic Games made her the first repeat Olympic champion in an event that dates back to 1924, one of the oldest events on the women\u2019s side of the docket.<\/p>\n

Historical Note #2:<\/strong> Before Soni and countrywoman Amanda Beard<\/strong>, who won gold in 2004, this event was almost the sole province of non-American swimmers. Women from 11 countries have won the event, led by three from Japan (including 2016 champ Rie Kaneto<\/strong>) and three from the USSR. The event was also largely exempt from the East German domination of the 1970s and 80s, with only Silke<\/strong> Horner<\/strong> in 1988 capturing gold. Before Beard, Sharon Wichman<\/strong> (1968) was the only other American to win the event.<\/p>\n

Virtual Vision<\/h3>\n

The Finalists (Listed Alphabetically)<\/strong><\/p>\n