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ROME, Italy, July 30. CANADA's Annamay Pierse kept on rolling from her strong national trials with a world record in the women's 200 breast semis at the FINA World Championships.
Pierse setup a showdown in the finale by taking Rebecca Soni's world record with a swift 2:20.12. The performance edged Soni's global mark of 2:20.22 set at the 2008 Beijing Olympics in her epic swim against Leisel Jones.
Here are the comparative splits:
Pierse: 32.03, 1:07.28 (35.25), 1:43.42 (36.14), 2:20.12 (36.70)
Soni: 32.17, 1:07.46 (35.29), 1:43.70 (36.24), 2:20.22 (36.52)
Soni may require another big time final burst to power by Pierse in the finale after clocking a 2:20.93.
Austria's Mirna Jukic (2:22.13), Sweden's Joline Hostman (2:22.24), Serbia's Nadja Higl (2:22.28), Canada's Martha McCabe (2:22.75), Japan's Nanaka Tamura (2:22.83) and Japan's Rie Kaneto (2:22.92) completed the finale field.