Japan's Seto breaks short-course swim record at World Ch'ships

Daiya Seto recovered from a comparatively slow start to triumph in 1min 48.24sec in the 200m butterfly event at the FINA World Swimming Championships.

Published : Dec 11, 2018 20:39 IST , Shanghai

Daiya Seto pipped his more famous rival by only 0.08sec in the 200m butterfly to make history on the first day of action at the 2018 FINA World Swimming Championships in Hangzhou.
Daiya Seto pipped his more famous rival by only 0.08sec in the 200m butterfly to make history on the first day of action at the 2018 FINA World Swimming Championships in Hangzhou.
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Daiya Seto pipped his more famous rival by only 0.08sec in the 200m butterfly to make history on the first day of action at the 2018 FINA World Swimming Championships in Hangzhou.

Japan's Daiya Seto smashed Chad le Clos's short-course record in the men's 200m butterfly, stunning the South African as he grabbed gold at the 2018 FINA World Swimming Championships on Tuesday.

The 24-year-old Seto pipped his more famous rival by only 0.08sec to make history on the first day of action in the Chinese city of Hangzhou. Seto, who won bronze in the 400m medley at the Rio 2016 Olympics, recovered from a comparatively slow start to hold off Le Clos down the stretch and triumph in 1min 48.24sec.

It was a disappointing silver for the 26-year-old Le Clos, the reigning long-course and short-course world champion, who had set the previous short-course record of 1:48.56 in Singapore in 2013.

“I didn't expect the world record,” Seto was quoted by the Xinhua news agency .

“Now I will focus on the 400m IM (individual medley) and I hope I can break the 400m IM world record also.”

Titmus clinches a thriller

Australian teenager Ariarne Titmus made a dramatic comeback to win the women's 200m freestyle gold and underlined her status as a rising star of swimming.

The 18-year-old, who won 400m and 800m freestyle gold at the Commonwealth Games in her home country earlier this year, ran down American Mallory Comerford to seal victory in a thrilling race.

Titmus was back in third after the 150m-mark, but she burst to the finish in a time of 1:51.38 to relegate Comerford into silver, with Femke Heemskerk of the Netherlands taking bronze having led for half of the nail-biting race.

Elsewhere

Hungary's Katinka Hosszu, a triple gold medallist at the 2016 Rio Olympics, was strong favourite in the women's 400m individual medley -- and she did not disappoint. Dubbed the “Iron Lady”, Hosszu dominated the short course world championships two years ago in Canada, carrying home seven golds.

She wasted no time getting her first victory in Hangzhou, sealing a dominant win in 4:21.40 s, four seconds ahead of Melanie Margalis of the United States.

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