Swimming

Impressive world records at the World Cup in Singapore

Leon Marchand

(Bild: AFP)

There were some remarkable world records at the Swimming World Cup on the short course in Singapore!

Leon Marchand, four-time Olympic champion in Paris, improved the previous top mark in the 200m medley by 0.75 seconds to 1:48.88 minutes, making him the first Frenchman to swim this distance in under 1:49 minutes. Even more impressive was the 2:12.72 minutes of the US-American Kate Douglass over 200 m breaststroke. Until a week ago, the world record had stood at 2:14.57 minutes.

Regan Smith followed suit with another world record
Douglass' compatriot Rebecca Soni set the record in 2009, which was one of the last world records from the era of full-body suits. Douglass had last beaten Soni's benchmark time at the World Cup in Incheon, South Korea, in 2:14.12 minutes, and now she was a further 1.4 seconds faster. Regan Smith followed suit with another world record. In the 100m backstroke in Incheon, the US-American clocked 54.41 seconds, and she followed this up with 54.27 minutes in Singapore. Swiss swimmer Noe Ponti had already set a world record in the 50 m dolphin at the World Cup opener in Shanghai.

"It reminded me of the Olympic Games!"
Ryan Lochte's world record in the 200m medley had stood at 1:49.63 minutes since December 2012. Marchand's 1:50.30 minutes two weeks ago at the Shanghai World Cup had already been a European record. The 22-year-old collected 10,000 dollars (approx. 9,200 euros) for the world record. "The goal was to do something that no one had ever done before (to be under 1:49 minutes, note). The spectators were fantastic. It reminded me of the Olympic Games," said the Frenchman after beating the third-oldest men's short course world record.