Rebecca Meder opened the World Short Course Championships in Budapest with a historic performance, breaking Kirsty Coventry’s 16-year-old African 200m individual medley record. After setting a South African record of 2:06.15 in the morning heats, Meder swam a 2:05.61 in the final—placing sixth and shaving over half a second off Coventry’s mark.
“I knew I had a 2:06 in me. 2:05 was a surprise,” said Meder. “It’s a great start, but now I’m focusing on the 100m breaststroke, 100IM, and 200m breaststroke.”
Kate Douglass of the USA won the event in a new world record time of 2:01.63.
Ruard van Renen also impressed, finishing fourth in his 100m backstroke semifinal with 49.89 seconds, earning a place in the final. He had dipped under 50 seconds for the first time earlier that day, clocking 49.73.
Jessica Thompson narrowly missed the 50m butterfly semifinals by just 0.01 seconds, finishing 17th with a personal best of 25.73. Despite the near miss, the 17-year-old was upbeat and looked forward to the 50m backstroke.
Meanwhile, world records fell fast on opening night—Gretchen Walsh broke the 50m butterfly record twice, clocking 24.02 in the heats and 23.94 in the semifinals.
Other results: Hannah Robertson placed 28th in the 400m freestyle, Milla Drakopoulos was 26th in the 100m backstroke, and Kris Mihaylov placed 15th in the 1500m freestyle. Chad le Clos finished 22nd in the 50m butterfly, and Kian Keylock was 35th in the 200m IM.
Swimming continues in Budapest until Sunday, 15 December.
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