{"id":507308,"date":"2022-06-22T02:08:59","date_gmt":"2022-06-22T09:08:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=507308"},"modified":"2022-06-22T08:02:22","modified_gmt":"2022-06-22T15:02:22","slug":"olympic-champion-zac-stubblety-cook-starts-world-title-bid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/olympic-champion-zac-stubblety-cook-starts-world-title-bid\/","title":{"rendered":"World Championships: Olympic Champion Zac Stubblety-Cook Starts World Title Bid With A Winning Touch Over Caspar Corbeau"},"content":{"rendered":"

World Championships: Olympic champion Zac Stubblety-Cook Starts World Title Bid With A Winning Touch; Caspar Corbeau Sets Pace<\/strong><\/p>\n

Olympic and world record holder Zac Stubblety-Cook<\/strong> has begun his bid to become Australia\u2019s first world champion in the men\u2019s 200m breaststroke in winning touch in Budapest today.<\/p>\n

The 23-year-old from Queensland lunged at the finish, timing his touch to perfection to win in 2:09.09 from Dutchman Caspar Corbeau<\/strong> (2:09.15).<\/p>\n

Corbeau had led for 199 metres \u2013 clocking under world record place at the 50m and holding on to an impressive lead until Stubblety-Cook, with his signature powerhouse second 50m claiming victory in the fourth and final heat.<\/p>\n

The third, fourth and fifth qualifiers all came from the first seeded heat won by US debutant Charlie Swanson<\/strong> (2:09.36) from Sweden\u2019s Erik Persson<\/strong> (2:09.58) and Iceland\u2019s Anton McKee<\/strong> (2:09.69).<\/p>\n

Fourth home in that heat, 2020 Olympic bronze medallist Matti Mattsson<\/strong> from Finland, was the seventh fastest overall.<\/p>\n

Australia has won three medals at previous world championships the in the 200m breaststroke \u2013 the last one being silver to Matthew Wilson <\/strong>(16th<\/sup> fastest qualifier for tonight\u2019s semi-finals) in 2019 after he equaled the world record in the semi-finals.<\/p>\n

The two previous medals were to 2008 Olympic silver medallist, Brenton Rickard<\/strong> in Melbourne in 2007 and the other to Christian Sprenger<\/strong> who shared the bronze in Rome in 2009.<\/p>\n