By John Lohn
MELBOURNE, Australia, March 31. IT wasn't quite outside smoke, but close enough. Racing out of Lane Seven in the championship final of the 50 freestyle, American Ben Wildman-Tobriner stunned the crowd by capturing the gold medal in 21.88. Wildman-Tobriner put together the ideal race to better a field that included the defending champion, Roland Schoeman of South Africa.
Coming off a superb collegiate season for Stanford, where he became the first American to crack the 19-second barrier in the 50-yard freestyle, Wildman-Tobriner led a gold-silver sweep for the United States, as Cullen Jones was second in 21.94. Jones entered the competition as the reigning Pan Pacific champion from last summer, where he clocked 21.84.
"It feels great," Wildman-Tobriner said. "I knew Cullen and I could do it if we swam well, and we did. I've been struggling with my start, but I've been confident in my swimming and I knew if it was close at the end I'd have a chance to win."
Sweden's Stefan Nystrand was the bronze medalist in 21.97 and Poland's Bart Kizierowski finished in fourth place (22.00). Australia's Eamon Sullivan was fifth in 22.05 and Brazil's Cesar Cielo, the NCAA champ in the 50 free from Auburn, was sixth (22.12). Seventh and eighth went to Schoeman, off his usual form, and Canada's Brent Hayden. They were timed in 22.16 and 22.28, respectively.
Click Here to view event results PDF file.
Check back for an updated story on this event as our team of Senior Writer John Lohn and CEO Brent Rutemiller, on the scene at Rod Laver Arena, provide in-depth coverage, along with radio and TV segments.
