Swimming: Japan’s Seto makes history as 3 more records fall at short-course world c’ships
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Daiya Seto of Japan celebrates winning gold in the men's 400m individual medley final.
PHOTO: AFP
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MELBOURNE – Japan’s Daiya Seto became the first swimmer to claim six straight titles in one event at the world short-course championships on Saturday, as Lithuania’s Ruta Meilutyte smashed the women’s 50m breaststroke record.
A further two world marks tumbled on day five in Melbourne – in the men’s and women’s mixed 4x50m relays.
Seto, 28, swam a storming breaststroke leg to claim the lead, then powered home with his unbeatable freestyle to win the 400m individual medley in 3min 55.75sec.
It was the sixth consecutive time he has won gold, a feat never achieved before at either a short- or long-course world championships.
His reign began in 2012 and he kept it intact by touching ahead of American Carson Foster by nearly two seconds, with South Africa’s Matthew Sates earning the bronze.
Meilutyte then blitzed the field to set a new breaststroke mark in the semi-finals, hitting the wall in 28.37sec to lower the 28.56sec time held by Jamaica’s Alia Atkinson since 2018.
The 25-year-old qualified a hot favourite for Sunday’s final ahead of American Lilly King.
Singapore swimmer Maximillian Ang broke another national record in his last event at the meet after clocking 27.09sec in the men’s 50m breaststroke heats to rewrite Lionel Khoo’s previous mark of 27.31sec that had stood for five years.
Earlier in the competition, Ang had also set national records
The 21-year-old was pleased with how he fared at the meet, saying: “I would say that I am satisfied with my performance overall because I did my best times and broke a few national records. This inspires me to continue working hard for future meets and do my country proud.”
Australian pool queen Emma McKeon, who dominated the Tokyo Olympics,
She was always in charge of the splash-and-dash to touch in 23.04, with Poland’s Katarzyna Wasick left in her wake.
“Honestly, I still don’t call myself a 50m specialist, I prefer the 100,” said McKeon, 28. “I knew I had to just kill the start, the start is one of my strengths.”
Emma McKeon has joined an elite club of just four sprinters to win the women’s 50-100m freestyle double.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
In the men’s 50m sprint, Jordan Crooks stunned the field to clinch the Cayman Islands’ first medal of any colour at a world championship. He came home in 20.46 ahead of Britain’s Ben Proud.
Day five began with a bang when Australia smashed the women’s 4x50m medley relay world record.
Mollie O’Callaghan, Chelsea Hodges, McKeon and Madison Wilson shaved the 2018 best held by the United States by touching in 1:42.35, with the Americans second and Sweden third.
Not to be outdone, Italy’s Lorenzo Mora, Nicolo Martinenghi, Matteo Rivolta and Leonardo Deplano matched the feat in the men’s 4x50m medley.
They hit the wall in 1:29.72 ahead of the US and Australia to better their own world mark set in 2021.
They were the eighth and ninth world records shattered so far, with one day left. AFP
