TEMPE, Arizona, November 22. SUSAN von der Lippe and David Guthrie broke three Masters short course meters world records between them over the weekend at the 2010 Ron Johnson Invitational.
Von der Lippe, who won the silver medal in the 200 breaststroke at the 1984 Olympics as Susan Rapp, was responsible for two of those Masters world records. First, von der Lippe, 45 and representing Colorado Masters, swam a 1:03.47 in the 100 butterfly, erasing Karlyn Pipes-Neilsen's 11-month-old record of 1:03.96 in the 45-49 age group. Next, she shattered Caroline Krattli's 2007 world record of 2:42.10 in the 200 breast with a 2:38.00.
Swimming in the same heat as von der Lippe in the 200 breast, Guthrie swam a 2:31.08 to take down Lincoln Djang's record of 2:32.06 set in February 2009. Guthrie, 50 years old and representing Longhorn Aquatics, just missed Benn Doyle's world record of 1:08.27 in the 100 breast with a 1:08.84.
The Mesa Aquatics team of Lindsey Urbatchka, Summer Bezdek, Whitney Warman and Hannah Caldas demolished the world record in the women's 400 freestyle relay for the 100-119 age group with a 4:11.67. The previous record was 4:22.26, set by New England Masters.