BRENTON'S GOLDEN GLOW
ROME, July 28: Brenton Rickard became Australia's newest world champion while Stephanie Rice, Jess Schipper and Matt Targett won silver medals in a sensational night for the Dolphins at the FINA world championships on Monday.
Rickard secured Australia's first gold medal of the meet taking the 100m breaststroke crown in a new world record time. TOOD BALYM AAP reports...
Australia were unlucky not to finish with three gold medals as Schipper (100m butterfly) and Targett (50m butterfly) both led until the final strokes of their respective finals.
Rice then completed the four medal haul when she collected silver in the 200m individual medley.
Five world records fell on the second night, Rickard starting the procession by stopping the clock in 58.58 seconds to take 0.33s off Kosuke Kitajima's world record.
He charged home in the final 25m to grab his first world title after claiming Olympic silver in the 200m at last year's Beijing Games.
It was also Rickard's first world record, but it mattered little, all he cared about was the gold medal.
"Obviously I'm really happy. I came here to race and to touch the wall I felt like I had done a good race but to actually hear and see that I got the wall first was another thing again," said Rickard.
"To finally have that shiny gold one around my neck after so many silver and bronzes is pretty satisfying.
"The times don't really matter. People win races not times. To get to the wall first was the real satisfying thing."
Schipper also appeared on track to claim gold, and reclaim the world title she won in 2005, but was overhauled in the final strokes by Swedish world record holder Sara Sjostrom.
Sjostrom lowered her own world record with a time of 56.06s, 0.38s faster than her semi-final swim, while Schipper also dipped under the previous mark touching in 56.23s.
"There is nothing I can complain about. It was a great time and I did a massive PB which I am really happy with," said Schipper.
"She (Sjolstrom) has a great back-end and you never know until you touch the wall and she ran over the top."
Targett had gold in his grasp but Olympic 100m silver medallist Milorad Cavic, the man beaten by 0.01s by Michael Phelps last year, came over the top to win.
Cavic won in 22.67s, Targett just 0.06s further back.
"I thought I had it for a little while but a bit of a mess with my last breathe. The 50 butterfly is a cruel mother," said Targett.
"I don't think anybody is ever going to finish a race and say it was perfect ... I can't complain that I got a silver medal and I'm really happy."
Rice meanwhile swum faster than she has ever before, but it still wasn't enough to overhaul USA's Ariana Kukors who lowered her own world record from the semi-finals with a time of 2:06.15.
Rice finished in 2:07.03.
"I'm very happy with my swim," said Rice.
"I really just raced the other girls in the field and everyone put up a really great fight and to come away with a PB and a silver medal I am very happy with."
In the semi-final action Australia's Emily Seebohm flew into the 100m backstroke final in third place in a time of 59.15s.
Kenrick Monk returned to the world championship final of the 200m freestyle in seventh place in a time of 1:45.77, while Patrick Murphy (1:46.70) was 14th.
Sarah Katsoulis (1:06.23) cruised into the 100m breaststroke final while Tarnee White (1:07.26) missed out.