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ROME, Italy, July 27. A pair of women cleared 16:00 in the 1500 free to lead qualifying in prelims of the event at the FINA World Championships.
Denmark's Lotte Friis checked in with a 15:58.23 during the second heat to top all swimmers, and lower her national standard of 15:58.44 set in April. Chile's Kristel Kobrich Schimpl joined Friis under 16:00 with a second-seeded time of 15:58.75 from heat two. The swim crushed her national mark of 16:11.40 set in May. The effort made her the ninth member of the sub-16:00 club in the event.
Romania's Camelia Potec placed third in 16:02.21, while Italy's Alessia Filippi (16:04.34) and Spain's Erika Villaecija (16:04.78) clocked 16:04s for fourth and fifth.
South Africa's Wendy Trott (16:08.96), the United States' Chloe Sutton (16:12.56) and Australia's Melissa Gorman (16:16.83) completed the championship final to be contested tomorrow evening. Trott's time beat her national record of 16:10.97 set in April.