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CHINA’S Qin Haiyang shattered the world record in the men’s 200m breaststroke event at the World Aquatics Championships yesterday, charging to the gold medal in a time of two minutes, 05.48 seconds to complete a sweep over three distances.
Qin made a blistering start in the final and did not step off the gas pedal to break the previous mark of 2:05.95 set by reigning Olympic champion Zac Stubblety-Cook during the 2022 Australian championships in Adelaide.
The Zhuzhou-born 24-year-old was 0.92s faster than silver medallist Stubblety-Cook on the night, with Matt Fallon of the United States taking bronze finishing more than two seconds behind the champion.
Victory was Qin’s third at the worlds this year, following his triumphs in the 50m breaststroke and 100m breaststroke, and makes him one to watch ahead of next year’s Paris Olympics.
Earlier, Australia’s Mollie O’Callaghan stormed to victory in the women’s 100m freestyle, capturing gold in 52.16 seconds to defend her title and secure a sprint double.
O’Callaghan became the first woman to win the 100m and 200m freestyle titles at the same worlds.
Yesterday’s triumph was O’Callaghan’s fourth gold of the meet, following wins as part of Australia’s 4x100m freestyle relay and 4x200m freestyle relay teams – also in record times.
In the women’s 200m breaststroke, South Africa’s Tatjana Schoenmaker set the benchmark with the quickest semi-final time and the 26-year-old cruised to her first gold at this year’s meet after a silver over 100m earlier in the week.
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