Kitajima scores another breaststroke double by claiming the 200m event in Games-record time
Kosuke Kitajima celebrating after his win in the 200m breaststroke final yesterday morning. The victory cemented his position as the leading breaststroker of the decade. -- PHOTO: XINHUA
BEIJING: Athletes are often wary of making bold predictions about their performances. Not Kosuke Kitajima.
The 25-year-old Japanese swimmer promised gold medals and records - and delivered on both counts when he won the 200m breaststroke final yesterday. He became the first man to sweep both breaststroke golds at two consecutive Games.
'I was not thinking about winning two gold medals at consecutive Olympics.'
KOSUKE KITAJIMA
Kitajima - who won the 100m gold in a world-record time of 58.91sec on Monday - held off a late challenge from Australian Brenton Rickard to win in a new Olympic record of 2min 07.64sec.
However, the time was just outside the world record of 2:07.51 which he set in Tokyo in June. Rickard was second in 2:08.88, while Frenchman Hugues Duboscq took the bronze in 2:08.94.
'I was not thinking about winning two gold medals at consecutive Olympics,' said Kitajima. 'What I wanted to do was show my best performance here.'
His double did not look probable after last year's world championships in Melbourne, where his long-time American rival Brendan Hansen was still in menacing form and defeated him in the 100m.
However, Hansen's unexpected decline this season opened the door for Kitajima to solidify his place as the finest breaststroker of the decade.
