by Steve Thomas
Canberra, Australia – Australian Michael Klim had been back in the country only three days after a successful meet at the US Open in Texas where he broke the 12-year-old meet record in the 100m butterfly in a fast 52.90. In an individual time trial over this distance at the end of the first session of the annual Australian Institute of Sport meet, he turned under his world split and touched the wall in 52.03 to slice 0.12 seconds off the world record he set in Brisbane in 1997. His coach, Gennadi Touretski, said Klim had been ready to break the record in San Antonio but was affected by jet lag. This was the third world record Klim has broken this year in his home pool. He has also set world short course records for the 50m butterfly and as part of the AIS 800m freestyle relay team in September, again less than one week after completing an exhausting program of events at the Pan Pacific Championships. This “repeat” performance reflected the emphasis Touretski has placed on building Klim’s stamina to get him through his tough Olympic schedule next year.