GIRLS GIVE AUSSIES GOLDEN START AT PAN PACS

Posted in Swimming

emily seebohm bronze 100 back photo patrick kraemer.jpgSWIMMING, August 19: Olympians Marieke Guehrer, Emily Seebohm and Jessicah Schipper have given Australian a golden start to the 2010 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships in Irvine California today.

The golden girls accounted for Australia's three gold medals as swimming returned to swimming after the sinking of the suits following last year's World Championship fiasco in Rome.

The Aussies won a total of eight medals, with two silver and three bronze added to the three gold medals.

In a stunning California day:

  • Rome World Champion Guehrer clocked 25.99 to equal the Pan Pac record and Seebohm 26.08 to open proceedings with a quinella in the 50m butterfly final after teenager Yolane Kukla had earlier won the B final in a new Pan Pac record of 25.99, giving the Aussie girls the fastest three times of the day.

  • Fellow World champion Jessicah Schipper produced one of the best swims of her career to Australia's third gold medal of the day with a gutsy all-the-way win by 0.03 in the 200m butterfly in 2:06.90.

  • Seebohm backed up later in the day to score her first international gold medal to claim the scalp of Olympic champion Natalie Coughlin in the100 backstroke in a meet record  of 59.45.

  • Nick D'Arcy produced a stunning silver medal swim behind 14-time Olympic champion Michael Phelps in a much anticipated 200m butterfly - finishing 0.62secs behind the world's greatest swimmer in 1:54.73. It was D'Arcy's first major international medal in his first Australian team since 2007.

  • Olympic finalist Ashley Delaney won his first major international medal, bronze in the 100m backstroke behind US Olympic champ Aaron Peirsol in 53.67. Peirsol was lucky to be in the final after Ryan Lochte withdrew, giving the Olympic champion a lifeline, with only two swimmers from any one nation qualifying for the A final.

  • Gold Coast rookie Katie Goldman won bronze in 800m freestyle in 8:26.38, with Melissa Gorman fourth in 8:30.45, swum in the morning heats.

  • Emerging young Newcastle-born freestyler Thomas Fraser-Homes is now the eighth fastest Australian, edging ahead of Olympic champion Duncan Armstrong after finishing fourth in the 200m freestyle in 1.47.23. Armstrong won Olympic gold in Seoul in 1988 in 1:47.25.

  • Australian pair Blair Evans and Kylie Palmer both clocked personal best times to finish third and fourth in the women's 200m freestyle final clocking 1:57.71 and 1:57.89 respectively, while;

  • Comeback king Geoff Huegill finished fourth in 50m butterfly final to Cesar Cielo (Brazil).

Ian Hanson