By Craig Lord with Takahisa Ide
FUKUOKA, July 27. THE faulty electronic timing pads at the center of a storm that ended in happy news for Great Britain's women yesterday, caused mayhem at the end of the men's 100m freestyle final tonight.
It was clear that Anthony Ervin, of the US, having clocked a blistering 22.60sec split at the 50m mark, was still in the lead with a stroke to go despite the fastest catch-up in history by Olympic champion Pieter van den Hoogenband, of the Netherlands.
As the sprinters lunged for the wall, it was clear that the American, who finished ahead of the Dutchman to become Olympic champion over 50m in a shared victory with teammate Gary Hall Jr in Sydney, had caused a major upset.
But it was Van den Hoogenband who leapt in the air in celebration as the scoreboard recorded him as the winner in 48.42 seconds.
What he had not noticed in the race as he eyed his Australian nemesis, Ian Thorpe, one lane down in lane 5, was the American threat over in lane 2. What he did not notice at the end of the race was the empty space next to Ervin's name as the pad failed to record properly.
The link from pad to screen corrected as the Dutchman headed over to speak of his victory to TV cameras, it was then Ervin's turn to leap for joy. The US team went into a frenzy of flag-waving and chanting of U-S-A as Ervin's time flashed up: 48.33 seconds, a championship record that marked the defeat of Van den Hoogenband. It was also an American record, eclipsing Matt Biondi's 48.42.
In third place was Lars Frolander (48.79), of Sweden, who locked Australia's Ian Thorpe (48.81) out of the medals and made it impossible for him to win seven medals in Fukuoka, let alone seven gold medals. Later in the session he would aim to make it five gold medals in one championship – this time over 4x200m freestyle – to equal American Jim Montgormery's record tally from 1973.
Neither Ervin nor Van den Hoogenband chose to speak to the media after their race. However Ervin later told swiminfo "I had a great race. It was hard to wait for the results a while but everything went well. I don't know much about the technology but, hey, they corrected it and it worked out fine for me."
"There's clearly something wrong with the time pads. Our girls were disqualified in the relay and Australian was affected this morning. Seiko say their pads are 100 per cent but obviously they're not."
Van den Hoogenband declined to comment, asking for time to himself.
Men's 200 meter backstroke
There was more good news for the US, when Aaron Peirsol stormed to victory in the 200m backstroke in 1:57.13, another championship record. Second went to Stanford sophomore-to-be, Austrian Markus Rogan, in 1:58.07, a vast improvement on his best of last year, a 2:01.38 that left him 43rd in the world. Third was
Orn Arnarson of Iceland, on 1:58.37, while Olympic silver medal winner Matt Welsh, of Australia, was locked out of the medals on 1:58.80.
Peirsol, both charmer and joker, said: "I feel so good that I'm going to celebrate this gold by visiting about 20 bars tonight…just kidding: I need to have a rest – I've got a hard day tomorrow. Meanwhile, I'd like to dedicate my medal to all my fans around the world, including this charming Japanese lady standing next to me."
women's 200 meter individual medley
Another triumph for the US came from Maggie Bowen in 2:11.93 in an upset victory in the 200 IM over Olympic champion Yana Klochkova, of Ukraine, second tonight on 2:12.30, with Oxana Vereva, of Russia, third on 2:13.62.
Women's 50 meter breaststroke
Luo Xuejuan, of China, won this inaugural event in 30.84 seconds, just 0.01 seconds shy of the world record held by the now retired Penny Heyns of South Africa since 1999, while Kristy Kowal, of the United States, snatched the silver medal on 31.27, with Britain's Zoe Baker third on 31.40.
Women's 200 meter freestyle
Giaan Rooney, of Australia, took the crown in 1:58.57 in a blanket finish in which eighth place went to her teammates Elka Graham, on 1:59.70. Graham is likely to be a little annoyed – her lead-off relay time for
Australia in the 4 x 200m relay (1:58.34) that got disqualified would have won the individual event but she tried too hard at the start and paid the price.
Second was Yu Yang, of China, in 1:58.78, with Camelia Potec, of Romania, third in 1:58.85, and Claudia Poll, the 1996 Olympic champion from Costa Rica, locked out of the medals on 1:58.92.
Men's 4×200 meter freestyle relay
Ian Thorpe won his fifth gold medal anchoring Australia to a world record and a runaway victory in the men's 4 x 200 meter freestyle relay.
Grant Hackett took immediate charge for Australia and Michael Klim and Bill Kirby increased the advantage for Thorpe to take over way ahead of the other seven finalists, but 0.73 seconds outside world record schedule on the final leg.
Thorpe delivered the goods once again, anchoring in 1:44.16 and bringing Australia home in 7:04.66 seconds, well inside the 7:07.05 world mark the victorious Australian Olympic quartet clocked in Sydney last September.
In another dimension, Italy was second in 7:10.86 with the USA won the bronze in 7:13.69.
Men's 50 meter butterfly semifinal
Geoff Huegill, of Australia, lowered his own world record from 23.60 seconds to 23.44 just 2 minutes after watching Britain's Mark Foster break the
European record in 23.66 in the first semi.
Foster, 31, said: "I feel really powerful right now. I know that I'm capable of a sub 23-second swim. Maybe not right now but one day. That time reflects the fact that I've trained for butterfly this year, not just
freestyle." The final is tomorrow.
9th FINA WORLD SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS
Fukuoka, Japan
July 27, 2001
FINALS
MEN'S 100m FREESTYLE
1 ERVIN Anthony USA 81 48.33 CR
2 VAN DEN HOOGENBAND Pieter NED 78 48.43
3 FROLANDER Lars SWE 74 48.79
4 THORPE Ian AUS 82 48.81
5 ZUBOR Attila HUN 75 49.13
6 SPANNEBERG Torsten GER 75 49.35
7 CALLUS Ashley AUS 79 49.39
8 LEZAK Jason USA 75 49.51
MEN'S 200m BACKSTROKE
1 PEIRSOL Aaron USA 83 1:57.13 CR
2 ROGAN Markus AUT 82 1:58.07
3 ARNARSON Orn ISL 81 1:58.37
4 WELSH Matt AUS 76 1:58.80
5 KOZULJ Gordan CRO 76 1:59.23
6 BODROGI Viktor HUN 83 1:59.74
7 MERISI Emanuele ITA 72 1:59.83
8 GATH Yoab ISR 80 2:00.09
WOMEN'S 50m BREASTSTROKE
1 LUO Xuejuan CHN 84 30.84 CR
2 KOWAL Kristy USA 78 31.37 AR
3 BAKER Zoe GBR 76 31.40
4 QUANN Megan USA 84 31.55
5 HANSON Brooke AUS 78 31.87
6 CRESCENTINI Roberta ITA 75 31.96
7 POEWE Sarah RSA 83 32.03
8 KOVACS Agnes HUN 81 32.05
WOMEN'S 200m FREESTYLE
1 ROONEY Giaan AUS 82 1:58.57
2 YANG Yu CHN 85 1:58.78
3 POTEC Camelia alina ROM 82 1:58.85
4 POLL Claudia CRC 72 1:58.92
5 MORAVCOVA Martina SVK 76 1:59.29
6 JACKSON Nicola GBR 84 1:59.44
7 GRAHAM Elka AUS 81 1:59.63
8 JACOBSEN Mette DEN 73 1:59.64
WOMEN'S 200m INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY
1 BOWEN Martha USA 80 2:11.93
2 KLOCHKOVA Yana UKR 82 2:12.30
3 QI Hui CHN 85 2:12.46
4 VEREVKA Oxana RUS 77 2:13.62
5 CASLARU Beatrice ROM 75 2:13.78
6 TEUSCHER Cristina USA 78 2:14.82
7 HAGIWARA Tomoko JPN 80 2:14.93
8 MEHLHORN Annika GER 83 2:15.15
MEN'S 4 X 200m FREESTYLE RELAY
FINAL
1 AUSTRALIA 7:04.66 WR
HACKETT Grant 80 25.09 25.09 51.72 51.72 1:18.82 1:18.82 1:46.11 1:46.11 0.76
3/1 KLIM Michael 77 2:10.89 24.78 2:38.04 51.93 3:05.30 1:19.19 3:32.60 1:46.49 +0.33
7:04.66 KIRBY William 75 3:57.69 25.09 4:24.84 52.24 4:52.67 1:20.07 5:20.52 1:47.92 +0.49
WR THORPE Ian 82 5:44.20 23.68 6:11.15 50.63 6:38.13 1:17.61 7:04.66 1:44.14 +0.27
2 ITALY 7:10.86
BREMBILLA Emiliano 78 25.84 25.84 53.15 53.15 1:20.55 1:20.55 1:48.19 1:48.19 0.79
2/1 PELLICIARI Matteo 79 2:13.40 25.21 2:40.80 52.61 3:08.26 1:20.07 3:36.21 1:48.02 +0.41
7:10.86 BECCARI Andrea 78 4:01.42 25.21 4:28.64 52.43 4:56.48 1:20.27 5:24.18 1:47.97 +0.34
ROSOLINO Massimiliano 78 5:49.17 24.99 6:16.03 51.85 6:42.96 1:18.78 7:10.86 1:46.68 +0.38
3 USA 7:13.69
GOLDBLATT Scott 79 25.46 25.46 52.50 52.50 1:20.30 1:20.30 1:49.00 1:49.00 0.70
4/1 DUSING Nate 78 2:13.56 24.56 2:41.21 52.21 3:09.32 1:20.32 3:37.78 1:48.78 +0.20
7:13.69 CARVIN Chad 74 4:02.74 24.96 4:30.42 52.64 4:58.33 1:20.55 5:26.19 1:48.41 +0.27
KELLER Klete 82 5:51.38 25.19 6:18.84 52.65 6:47.00 1:20.81 7:13.69 1:47.50 +0.29
4 GREAT BRITAIN 7:15.60
SINCLAIR Edward 80 25.97 25.97 53.65 53.65 1:21.68 1:21.68 1:49.95 1:49.95 0.82
5/1 PALMER Paul 74 2:14.95 25.00 2:42.66 52.71 3:10.07 1:20.12 3:37.09 1:47.14 +0.17
7:15.60 SPACKMAN Marc 79 4:02.40 25.31 4:30.44 53.35 4:58.78 1:21.69 5:26.64 1:49.55 +0.26
SALTER Jamie 76 5:51.57 24.93 6:19.24 52.60 6:47.49 1:20.85 7:15.60 1:48.96 +0.17
5 GERMANY 7:17.29
OESTERLING Johannes 83 26.23 26.23 54.24 54.24 1:22.17 1:22.17 1:50.29 1:50.29 0.80
7/1 HERBST Stefan 78 2:15.10 24.81 2:42.72 52.43 3:11.16 1:20.87 3:39.16 1:48.87 +0.32
7:17.29 POHL Stefan 78 4:04.29 25.13 4:32.14 52.98 5:00.08 1:20.92 5:28.23 1:49.07 +0.30
CONRAD Lars 76 5:52.70 24.47 6:19.86 51.63 6:48.37 1:20.14 7:17.29 1:49.06 +0.15
6 CANADA 7:17.80
JOHNSTON Mark 79 25.85 25.85 53.50 53.50 1:21.59 1:21.59 1:50.12 1:50.12 0.81
6/1 SAY Richard 79 2:14.94 24.82 2:42.61 52.49 3:10.90 1:20.78 3:39.12 1:49.00 +0.04
7:17.80 JOHNS Brian 82 4:04.70 25.58 4:32.76 53.64 5:01.36 1:22.24 5:28.54 1:49.42 +0.25
MINTENKO Michael 75 5:53.08 24.54 6:20.49 51.95 6:48.84 1:20.30 7:17.80 1:49.26 +0.34
7 JAPAN 7:20.60
HARA Hideaki 74 25.74 25.74 53.51 53.51 1:22.15 1:22.15 1:50.90 1:50.90 0.75
1/1 HOSOKAWA Daisuke 82 2:16.12 25.22 2:43.84 52.94 3:12.28 1:21.38 3:40.22 1:49.32 +0.17
7:20.60 OKUMURA Yoshihiro 83 4:05.81 25.59 4:33.74 53.52 5:02.16 1:21.94 5:30.09 1:49.87 +0.40
FUJITA Shunichi 82 5:55.53 25.44 6:23.72 53.63 6:52.23 1:22.14 7:20.60 1:50.51 +0.40
8 RUSSIA 7:22.44
GANZEY Stepan 81 26.02 26.02 54.09 54.09 1:22.16 1:22.16 1:50.24 1:50.24 0.81
8/1 TCHERNYCHEV Dmitri 75 2:14.97 24.73 2:42.58 52.34 3:11.08 1:20.84 3:39.28 1:49.04 +0.30
7:22.44 POLIAKOV Anatoli 80 4:04.78 25.50 4:32.51 53.23 5:01.35 1:22.07 5:30.11 1:50.83 +0.39
KORCHOUNOV Maxim 77 5:54.52 24.41 6:22.55 52.44 6:52.31 1:22.20 7:22.44 1:52.33 +0.32
SEMIFINALS
WOMEN'S 100m BACKSTROKE
1 COUGHLIN Natalie USA 82 1:00.91
2 MOCANU Diana iuliana ROM 84 1:01.26
3 ZHIVANEVSKAYA Nina ESP 77 1:01.44
4 BUSCHSCHULTE Antje GER 78 1:01.55
5 PRICE Sarah GBR 79 1:01.60
6 NAKAMURA Mai JPN 79 1:01.94
7 HLAVACKOVA Ilona CZE 77 1:02.19
8 ITO Hanae JPN 85 1:02.23
9 CALUB Dyana AUS 75 1:02.25
10 KOMAROVA Stanislava RUS 86 1:02.53
11 COPE Haley USA 79 1:02.61
12 OERNSTEDT Louise DEN 85 1:02.67
13 ZHAN Shu CHN 85 1:02.70
14 KOIVISTO Anu FIN 80 1:03.04
15 SEXTON Katy GBR 82 1:03.16
16 ROONEY Giaan AUS 82 1:03.85
WOMEN'S 100m BUTTERFLY
1 THOMAS Petria AUS 75 58.59
2 JEDRZEJCZAK Otylia POL 83 58.73
3 ONISHI Junko JPN 74 59.21
4 DESCENZA Mary USA 84 59.38
5 BOROCHOVSKI Vered ISR 84 59.63
6 SJOBERG Johanna SWE 78 59.82
7 SOUTIAGUINA Natalia RUS 80 59.89
8 RIPPLE Shelly USA 80 59.96
9 SKOU Sophia DEN 75 1:00.15
10 LACROIX Audrey CAN 83 1:00.20
11 BESPALOVA Irina RUS 81 1:00.37
12 GARCIA Mireia ESP 81 1:00.46
13 HAM Julia AUS 80 1:00.62
14 RUAN Yi CHN 81 1:00.67
15 ZAHRL Petra AUT 81 1:00.80
16 DUFOUR Fabienne BEL 81 1:01.02
MEN'S 50m BUTTERFLY
1 HUEGILL Geoff AUS 79 23.44 WR
2 FOSTER Mark GBR 70 23.66 ER
3 SCHOEMAN Roland RSA 00 23.68
4 FROLANDER Lars SWE 74 23.73
5 HOLST Ewout NED 78 23.91
6 VALIMAA Tero FIN 78 23.93
7 CROCKER Ian USA 82 23.97
8 RUPPRATH Thomas GER 75 24.01
9 HARD Jere FIN 78 24.04
10 KULIKOV Vladislav RUS 71 24.18
11 KLIM Michael AUS 77 24.23
12 ABAL Pablo martin ARG 77 24.26
13 SERDINOV Andriy UKR 82 24.31
14 NACHAEV Ravil UZB 74 24.40
14 KEIZER Joris NED 79 24.40
16 GASPAR Zsolt HUN 77 24.45