DOLPHINS MAINTAIN CHARGE TOWARDS $US360,000 FINA PRIZE PURSE

CANBERRA, November 3: Marieke Guehrer has increased her lead in the women's pointscore while Christian Sprenger, Robert Hurley and Matt Jaukovic remain locked in a three way battle for a slice of the $US360,000 overall prizemoney after round four of the FINA/ARENA Swimming World Cup wound up in Singapore last night. - Ian Hanson reports...

Guehrer topped the FINA pointscore for the fourth consecutive round when she kept nine-time world short course champion Therese Alshammar at bay to win the 50 metres butterfly.

The Melbourne-based university student and Athens Olympian, clocked 25.56 secs, just 0.24 secs off fellow Australian Felicity Galvez' world record, which she has threatened all season.

It was fast enough to give her top FINA points (999) for round four and her fourth points win since the Series began in Belo Horizonte and continued through Durban and Sydney.

She now has 100 Series points, well clear of Alshammar on 49 points as the FINA/ARENA Swimming World Cup moves on to Moscow next weekend before Stockholm and the final round in Berlin.

If Guehrer can hang on to win the Series she will take out the $US100, 000 first prizemoney.

The $US180, 000 men's Series remains an all-Australian battle with Series leader Sprenger hanging on after his personal best time of 2:05.48 (992 FINA points) to win the 200 metres breaststroke - saw him finish sixth overall.

Hot on his heals are Robert Hurley (1011 FINA points for his win in the 100 metres backstroke in a World Cup record time of 50.28secs on Saturday) and Matt Jaukovic (996 FINA points for his win in the 50m butterfly in 22.82, also on Saturday).

Sprenger now has 60 Series points to Hurley's 56 with Jaukovic on third with 52 points.

Last night the Telstra Dolphins added four victories to their seven wins on day one with Guehrer leading the charge with Beijing Olympians Ashley Delaney (200m backstroke) and Sophie Edington (50m backstroke) and Queensland rookie Amy Smith (200m butterfly) also chiming in with wins.

Delaney, the Australian record holder, led all the way to chalk up his first World Cup victory in the men's 200m backstroke, up-setting World Cup record holder and 50m backstroke winner, the USA's Randall Bal.

It was an impressive victory to Delaney, who along with Hurley, will provide an exciting two-pronged attack for the remaining three rounds.

Hurley (23.53), who had finished second to Bal (23.35) in the 50m backstroke earlier in the night, finished third as the backstroking battle royal between Australia and the USA continued.

Edington wrapped up the women's 50/100m backstroke double with her win in the 100 metres final over Russia's Anastasia Zueva and Brazilian Fabiola Molina.

Smith, one of the stars of Australia's Commonwealth Youth Games in Pune recently and reigning Australian short course champion, upset prolific World Cup winner, South Africa's  Katheryn Meaklim to win the 200m butterfly in 2:07.39.

Other medallists for Australia on Day Two were:

-         Jaukovic (51.46) and Christopher Wright (51.78) who were second and third respectively in the 100m butterfly;

-         Christian Sprenger (58.54) second in the 100m breaststroke;

-         Tom Miller (22.00) and Mitchell Patterson (22.06) who were second and third respectively to Sweden's Stefan Nystrand (21.39) in the 50m freestyle;

-         Nick Ffrost (1:45.53) second to Oussama Mellouli in 200m freestyle;

-         Sarah Katsoulis (30.97) second to Tara Kirk (30.78) in the women's 50m breaststroke and third (2:24.37) in the 200m breaststroke;

-         Kelly Stubbins (54.11pb) second in the 100m freestyle;

-         Edington (1:02.36) third in the women's 100IM and;

-         Bronte Barratt (4:07.68) second in the 400m freestyle.

The Dolphins finished with 11 gold, 13 silver and 12 bronze medals and will now travel to Moscow (November 8 and 9), Stockholm (November 11,12) and Berlin (November 15,16).

 

HURLEY JUST MISSES LOCHTE'S WORLD RECORD IN SINGAPORE WORLD CUP

CANBERRA, November 2: Wollongong's rising AIS-based swim star Robert Hurley went within a fraction of Ryan Lochte's 100m backstroke world record when he smashed Matt Welsh's Australian record on day one of the FINA/ARENA Swimming World Cup in Singapore last night. IAN HANSON reports.....
 
Hurley, 20, who set a new short course world mark in the 50 metres backstroke last Sunday in Sydney, stormed home to miss Lochte's 2006 world record by just 0.29secs in a new World Cup record time of 50.28.
 
It was 0.30 faster than Germany's Thomas Rupprath's 2002 time set in Melbourne and was the third fastest time in history behind Lochte (49.99) and Commonwealth record holder Liam Tancock (50.14).
 
Hurley trailed the world record by half-a-second at the 50m mark when he turned in 24.37 but his backend 50m split of 25.91 showed he has the fitness to again nudge the mark when the Series continues in Moscow, Stockholm and Berlin over the next three weeks.
 
In an all-Australian finish, his AIS training partner Ashley Delaney from Nunawading, finished second (51.18) with the young Australians leaving experienced US duo Peter Marshall (934) and Randall Bal (51.64) to fight out the bronze.
 
Hurley's win was one of seven gold medals for the Telstra Dolphins (who also finished with five silver and six bronze medals) and landed him 1011 FINA points (second highest on the day behind South African Cameron van der Burgh whose 26.37 in the 50m breaststroke landed him 1022 points).
 
Joining Hurley on top of the winners podium were:
 
-         Men's Series leader Christian Sprenger (2:05.48) - a personal best and sixth fastest time in history in the 200m breaststroke, giving him 992 FINA Points. Sprenger (26.86) was also second to van der Burgh in the 50m breaststroke.

-        World record holder Matt Jaukovic (22.82) who won the 50m butterfly - earning him 996 points, with Mitchell Patterson claiming the bronze in 23.55.
 
-         Sophie Edington (27.56) in the 50 metres backstroke only just ahead of Brazil's Fabiola Molina (27.57) with Russia's Anastasia Zueva (27.62) third.
 
-         Sarah Katsoulis (1:05.70) who led all the way to beat the USA's Tara Kirk (1:06.33) and Sweden's Joline Hostman (1:06.42) in the women's 100m breaststroke.
 
-         Kelly Stubbins (1:56.38) who beat a strong field in the 200m freestyle leaving New Zealand's Melissa Ingram (1:56.64) second, American Kara Lynn Joyce (1:58.32) third with Australia's Bronte Barratt (1:59.60) fourth.
-         Christopher Wright (1:54.38) in the 200m butterfly which saw fellow Australian Sam Ashby (1:58.01) third.         
 
Winning silver were:
 
-         Hurley (3:45.83) who chased Olympic 1500m freestyle champion Oussama Mellouli all the way in the men's 400m freestyle with fellow Australian Nick Ffrost (3:49.22) hanging on for third and;
 
-         Rising sprint star Mitchell Patterson from Sydney's Warringah Aquatic, who clocked a personal best time of 47.60 - the sixth fastest time by an Australian and faster than Ian Thorpe -  to finish behind world record holder and Olympic finalist Stefan Nystrand (46.78) in the men's 100m freestyle, which saw team mates Tom Miller (48.09), Nicholas Ffrost (48.28) and Ashley Delaney (48.59) finish third, fourth and fifth respectively.
 
-         Women's Series leader Marieke Guehrer (24.94) and Sweden's Claire Hedenskog (24.94) who finished equal second in the 50m freestyle behind Sweden's nine-time World Short Course champion Therese Alshammar (24.33).
 
 
Adding bronze were: Guehrer (58.06) in the 100m butterfly, behind Singapore's Li Tao (56.85) and Sarah Sjostrom (57.39) with fellow Australian Amy Smith (59.14) fourth and Edington (2:08.83) who was third to New Zealand's Melissa Ingram (2:05.63) and South Africa's Melissa Corfe (2:06.34).