SINGAPORE, October 28. THE United States' Natalie Coughlin cashed a big check on Sunday in Singapore as she came through with the first swim eligible for the world-record bounty at the 2007 FINA World Cup series.
In similar fashion to when she reset the women's 100 backstroke world record over the long course at the FINA World Championships in March, Coughlin did the same over the short course with a sparkling time of 56.51 in Singapore.
In March, Coughlin touched the wall in 59.44 to break her previous world record in the LCM version of 59.58 set way back in 2002 in Fort Lauderdale. This time around, Coughlin's performance of 56.51 shaved .2 seconds from her old standard of 56.71 set in New York in 2002.
Five year intervals must really be a boon for Coughlin, as she has seen a resurgence of late, including American record swims in the 100 (53.40) and 200 free (1:56.43), as well as in the 400 and 800 freestyle relays at the Melbourne World Championships.
Click here to view events results PDF file of Coughlin's latest world record.