FLASH! Kate Douglass Downs Her 200m Breaststroke WR En-Route To Title Defense
Kate Douglass lowered her 200m breaststroke world record to 2:12.50 as she became the first woman to defend the title at the short-course worlds in Budapest.
The 23-year-old set the previous record of 2:12.72 at the final leg of the World Cup in Singapore at the end of October. On Friday, the Olympic champion cut 0.22 from that time in what was also a championship record.
It means that an American tops the podium for the fourth straight short-course worlds following Annie Lazor in 2018, Emily Escobedo in 2021 and Douglass in Melbourne and Budapest.
Neutral athlete Evgeniia Chikunova was second in 2:15.14 with Alex Walsh making it a USA 1-3 in 2:16.83.
While Douglass makes history as the first woman to have won the title on more than one occasion, she finds herself among a host of American breaststroke greats.
Rebecca Soni – who won consecutive Olympic titles in 2008 and 2012 – claimed the short-course gold in 2010 while Lilly King was second behind Douglass two years ago.
