Budapest: World records continued to be rewritten at the FINA Swimming World Championships as the United States quartet in the mixed 4×100 metres medley relay lowered the mark in blistering fashion here Wednesday.
Four world records were set Tuesday and fast racing was plainly evident the morning as the US team of Ryan Murphy, Kevin Cordes, Kelsi Worrell and Mallory Comerford posted three minutes 40.28 seconds in the heats.
The US time smashed the mark set by Britain at the 2015 championships in Kazan, Russia by 1.43 seconds as they qualified nearly four seconds ahead of the field. “It’s one of the most exciting races to watch,” said Murphy, who led off in the backstroke.
Comerford led the quartet home in the mixed gender event and Murphy said the Olympic addition was ‘exciting for the sport’.
Australia’s Oceania record time saw them qualify in second, with World Champions Britain posting the fourth best time. Meanwhile the championships came alive Tuesday night as Lilly King of the United States won the women’s 100 metres breaststroke title in one of three world-record swims.
Adam Peaty of Britain continued his breaststroke trail-blazing with his second world mark of the day to reach the 50m final and Canada’s Kylie Masse produced a world-best time to win the women’s 100m backstroke gold medal.
There was more history too for Katie Ledecky following a routine gold in the women’s 1500m freestyle. The American claimed the 12th world title of her short career.
The evening session, however, will be long remembered by Olympic champion King, who posted one minute 4.13 seconds to overhaul the world-record mark set by Lithuania’s Ruta Meilutyte in 2013.
King held off the threat of Russian rival Yuliya Efimova, in a race billed as a grudge rematch of their acrimonious Olympic final, and the US secured a memorable one-two as Katie Meili touched for silver in one minute 5.03 seconds.
“That race was always going to be a showdown, an exciting dog fight,” King told reporters. “We get a lot of rivalries like this in football, basketball; in swimming we see a lot of really nice people, being really nice.
“That’s great and all but it’s not my personality. I’m spunky, I’m confident and I’m not going to not be myself before a race,” she added.
Masse meanwhile produced an outstanding world-record swim of 58.10 seconds as Australia’s quiet World Championships continued with Emily Seebohm failing to defend her title.
