PESCARA, Italy, June 27. ITALY's Federica Pellegrini edged Joanne Jackson's world record in the women's 400 free at the Mediterranean Games, which started today in Italy.
Pellegrini clocked a time of 4:00.41 in the event to wipe out Jackson's 4:00.66 set in March. The triumph returned the global mark to Pellegrini, that she previously held with a 4:01.53 prior to Jackson's time.
Here are the comparative splits:
Jackson: 28.25, 58.49 (30.24), 1:29.33 (30.84), 2:00.35 (31.02), 2:30.54 (30.19), 3:00.93 (30.39), 3:31.17 (30.24), 4:00.66 (29.49)
Pellegrini: 28.47, 58.50 (30.03), 1:28.78 (30.28), 1:59.24 (30.46), 2:29.44 (30.20), 3:00.16 (30.72), 3:30.82 (30.66), 4:00.41 (29.59)
The world record performance gives Pellegrini her second current global standard as she owns the 200 free with a 1:54.47.
France's Coralie Balmy took second in 4:05.37, while Spain's Erika Villaecija Garcia placed third in 4:08.85.
Meanwhile, Italy's Elena Gemo topped the women's 50 back in 28.60, while Spain's Aschwin Wildeboer Faber broke his national record with a 24.73 in the men's 50 back. That performance cleared his 24.84 from April 2009. France's Camille Lacourt (25.03) and Jeremy Stravius (25.04) completed the top three.
Italy's Roberta Panara claimed the women's 100 breast in 1:08.47, while Greece's Angeliki Exarchou finished second in 1:08.99. Italy's Giulia Fabbri placed third in 1:09.14. Spain's Melquiades Alvarez broke his national record in the men's 100 breast with a 1:00.45. That swim cleared his 1:00.59 set in April 2009. Serbia's Caba Siladji finished second in 1:00.68 to beat his national record of 1:01.07, while Italy's Luca Pizzini placed third in 1:01.26.
France's Camille Muffat won the women's 200 IM in 2:10.36, while Spain's Miriea Belmonte Garcia touched second in 2:13.07. Slovenia's Anja Klinar took third in 2:14.24. Tunisia's Ous Mellouli turned in a 1:58.38 for the men's 200 IM title, while Greece's Romanos-Iasonas Alyfantis finished second in 1:59.89. Italy's Alessio Boggiatto snared third in 2:01.13.
Mellouli doubled up in a big way in the men's 400 free with an African record time of 3:42.71. That performance wiped out his 3:43.45 set at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Italy's Samuel Pizzetti took second in 3:48.37, while Mellouli's compatriot Ahmed Mathlouthi finished third in 3:49.65.