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ROME, Italy, July 26. GERMANY's Paul Biedermann led the way during men's 400 free preliminary swimming at the FINA World Championships. Biedermann clocked a 3:43.01 to crush his national record of 3:46.67 set in June.
In the same heat, China's Zhang Lin demonstrated some early speed with a 1:48.98 at the 200-meter mark, just barely over world record pace after being under at the 150 with a 1:20.98. Zhang finished with a 3:43.58 for second place. Tunisia's Ous Mellouli clocked a 3:43.78 for third, off his African record time of 3:42.71.
Denmark's Mads Glaesner finished fourth with a 3:44.59 to beat his national record of 3:45.38 set at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Peter Vanderkaay of the U.S. qualified fifth in 3:45.40, while Great Britain's David Davies took sixth in 3:45.43.
Canada's Ryan Cochrane (3:45.52) and Hungary's Gergo Kis (3:45.68) completed the top eight. Kis' readout lowered his national mark of 3:46.38 set in June.
In a surprising development, Korea's Tae Hwan Park placed 12th in 3:46.04, missing finals.