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MANCHESTER, England, April 9. THE Netherlands' contingent of Inge Dekker, Femke Heemskerk, Marleen Veldhuis and Ranomi Kromowidjojo completed shattered the women's 800 free relay world record at the FINA World Short Course Championships.
The foursome touched out Great Britain's team of Joanne Jackson, Melanie Marshall, Caitlin McClatchey and Rebecca Adlington, 7:38.90 to 7:38.96, to walk away with the global standard.
Here are how the splits breakout for the top two teams against China's previous world record of 7:46.30 set in 2002:
Netherlands:
Inge Dekker (1:55.36), Femke Heemskerk (1:53.44), Marleen Veldhuis (1:54.17), Ranomi Kromowidjojo (1:55.93).
Great Britain:
Joanne Jackson (1:54.78), Melanie Marshall (1:55.83), Caitlin McClatchey (1:54.64), Rebecca Adlington (1:53.71)
China:
Xu Yanwei (1:55.73), Zhu Yingwen (1:57.04), Tang Jingzhi (1:58.37), Yang Yu (1:55.16)
Additionally, Australia's team of Bronte Barratt, Angie Bainbridge, Kelly Stubbins and Kylie Palmer (7:39.01), and the U.S. team comprised of Mary DeScenza, Margaret Hoelzer, Erin Reilly and Rachel Komisarz (7:45.58) all dipped under the previous world record.
Incidentally, all four teams also set national records. The Netherlands dropped their best down from an 8:05.82 from 2003, while Great Britain broke a time of 7:47.14 from 2001. Australia's previous best had been a 7:46.96 from 2006, while the American record was a 7:47.55 from 2002.
The win is also the first world title in the event for the Dutch women, and the first from a European country since Great Britain won in 2000 with a time of 7:49.11 – a world record at the time.