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ROME, Italy, July 28. ITALY's Federica Pellegrini lowered the world record in the women's 200 free through the 1:54 barrier at the women's 200 free at the FINA World Championships.
In the first semifinal, Pellegrini clocked a 1:53.67 to break her global mark of 1:54.47 set in March.
Here are the comparative splits:
July: 27.15, 55.82 (28.67), 1:24.77 (28.95), 1:53.67 (28.90)
March: 27.31, 56.05 (28.74), 1:25.63 (29.58), 1:54.47 (28.84)
Dana Vollmer of the U.S. checked in with a second-seeded time of 1:55.29 to set the American record in the second semifinal. Her time cleared the 1:55.78 set by Katie Hoff at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Great Britain's Joanne Jackson (1:55.54) and Allison Schmitt of the U.S. (1:56.11) will bracket the favorites in the center lanes.
China's Yang Yu (1:56.19), Hungary's Agnes Mutina (1:56.47), Hungary's Evelyn Verraszto (1:56.51) and China's Pang Jiaying (1:56.58) earned the final transfer spots into the championship swim.