[Brucas4life]

Maybe try the icon thread on this board or I'm sure there will be some on lj somewhere.

World Championship - Round-up: Peirsol smashes record Aaron Peirsol ripped up his own world record to win the men's 200 metres backstroke final at the world championships in Rome. The American swam one minute 51.92 to beat the mark of 1:53.08 he set at the US trials earlier this month. Japan's Ryosuke Irie finished second with Ryan Lochte, the American who broke the world record to win Thursday's 200 individual medley, third. The victory was sweet revenge for Peirsol who was unceremoniously dumped out of the 100 backstroke semi-finals as title holder and Olympic champion. A torrent of world records have fallen here thanks to performance-enhancing polyurethane bodysuits that will be banned from January after critics questioned the sport's credibility. Irie was disappointed with his showing. "I'm not completely satisfied with my performance. I realise that Peirsol is a great swimmer but I expect to do better," the Japanese said. Germany's Britta Steffen credited her swimsuit after smashing her own world record to win gold in the women's 100 metres freestyle at the world championships. Olympic champion Steffen swam 52.07 seconds to beat the mark of 52.22 she set earlier in the meet during the 4x100 relay, with Britain's Fran Halsall second and 2007 world champion Libby Trickett of Australia third. "I'm so happy, I can't find words. It was crazy and nice to swim with these seven girls," Steffen said. "I had a new suit and it's very fast and I've been able to do these times." The United States completed a relay double when they retained their men's 4x200 metres freestyle title with a world record time. The Olympic champions, led by Michael Phelps, shaved 0.01 off their record from Beijing to triumph in six minutes 58.55 seconds and grab another gold after winning the 4x100 freestyle on Sunday. Russia took the silver medal and Australia won bronze. Germany's Paul Biedermann, who took Phelps's individual 200 freestyle world title on Tuesday, once again frustrated the American and led at the end of the first leg. While Phelps trailed by over a second, Ricky Berens put the Americans on top in the second leg and David Walters kept them there before Ryan Lochte held off a late surge from the Russians to steer them home. Completing the relay double gives 24-year-old Phelps his third gold of the meet and his 20th overall in world championships after he also retained his 200 metres butterfly title on Wednesday. Hungary's Daniel Gyurta surged from behind to snatch a surprise gold medal in the men's 200 metres breaststroke final. Gyurta was trailing in last place at the halfway point and sixth at the final turn but he pulled off a sizzling last 50 to clinch a tight race by a fingernail's length in two minutes 7.64 seconds. Cancer survivor Eric Shanteau of the United States was only 0.01 of a second back in second place. "When I was 10 metres from the wall I saw Shanteau was still in front of me and at five I started to concentrate on my technique and put all my power into my strokes," Gyurta said. "You can see that it worked." Australia's Christian Sprenger, who set a world record of 2:07.31 in Thursday's semis, and Lithuania's Giedrius Titenis both picked up the bronze medal. Sprenger's compatriot Brenton Rickard had his nose in front in the middle but ended up off the podium in fifth. "You tend to tighten up a little in the breaststroke. You go from swimming like you're 10 feet tall to swimming like you're three feet tall," Shanteau said. "That's kind of what happened to me in the last 10-15." Serbia's Nadja Higl touched home first to claim victory in an exciting climax to the women's 200 metres breaststroke final. Higl swam two minutes, 21.62 seconds to win the gold medal just in front of Canada's Annamay Pierse, who had set a new world record of 2:20.12 in the semis. Austria's Mirna Jukic took the bronze medal. "I'm very excited. I didn't expect this," Higl said. "I did a good race. I'm still surprised." American Olympic champion Rebecca Soni set off strongly and looked on course to claim a golden double with a world record time after she won the 100m breaststroke title on Tuesday. But she faded in the final 50m, was caught by the chasing pack led by Higl just before the line and had to settle for fourth place. Milorad Cavic broke Michael Phelps's world record in the men's 100 metres butterfly semi-finals. The Serbian swam 50.01 seconds to beat Phelps's mark of 50.22 set earlier this month. Phelps also qualified for Saturday's final with a time of 50.48 in the first semi.

Source: Eurosport.

[DefLeppardFan]

Watched it today on NBC and they also come on tomorrow at 12 noon on NBC.

[Brucas4life]

Results from yesterday:

Saturday, August 1 50m butterfly women 1. Marieke Guehrer (Australia) 25.48 secs; 2. Zhou Yafei (China) 25.57; 3. Ingvild Snildal (Norway) 25.58; 4. Therese Alshammar (Sweden) 25.59; 5. Magdalena Veldhuis (Netherlands) 25.63; 6. Sarah Sjostrom (Sweden) 25.66; 7. Diane Bui Duyet (France) 25.92; 8. Daynara Paula (Brazil) 26.12 50m freestyle men 1. Cesar Cielo Filho (Brazil) 21.08 secs; 2. Frederick Bousquet (France) 21.21; 3. Amaury Leveaux (France) 21.25; 4. Duje Draganja (Croatia) 21.38; 5. Cullen Jones (U.S.) 21.47; 6. Nathan Adrian (U.S.) 21.49; 7. George Bovell (Trinidad and Tobago) 21.51; 8. Stefan Nystrand (Sweden) 21.53 200m backstroke women 1. Kirsty Coventry (Zimbabwe) 2min 04.81secs WR; 2. Anastasia Zueva (Russia) 2:04.94; 3. Elizabeth Beisel (U.S.) 2:06.39; 4. Gemma Spofforth (Britain) 2:06.66; 5. Elizabeth Simmonds (Britain) 2:07.98; 6. Elizabeth Pelton (U.S.) 2:08.04; 7. Alexianne Castel (France) 2:08.13; 8. Aya Terakawa (Japan) 2:08.89 100m butterfly men 1. Michael Phelps (U.S.) 49.82 secs (world record); 2. Milorad Cavic (Serbia) 49.95; 3. Rafael Munoz (Spain) 50.41; 4. Albert Subirats (Venezuela) 50.79; 5. Andrew Lauterstein (Australia) 50.85; 6. Jason Dunford (Kenya) 51.07; 7. Tyler McGill (U.S.) 51.42; 8. Gabriel Mangabeira (Brazil) 51.74 800m freestyle women 1. Lotte Friis (Denmark) 8 mins 15.92 secs; 2. Joanne Jackson (Britain) 8:16.66; 3. Alessia Filippi (Italy) 8:17.21; 4. Rebecca Adlington (Britain) 8:17.90; 5. Camelia Potec (Romania) 8:20.44; 6. Erika Villaecija (Spain) 8:25.97; 7. Ophelie-Cyrielle Etienne (France) 8:26.35; 8. Wendy Trott (South Africa) 8:29.61; 9. Kristel Kobrich (Chile) 8:30.10 4x100m medley women 1. China 3 mins 52.19 secs (world record); 2. Australia 3:52.58; 3. Germany 3:55.79; 4. Britain 3:57.03; 5. Netherlands 3:57.31; 6. Canada 3:57.87; 7. Japan 3:57.93; 8. Brazil 3:58.83

Source: Eurosport

Phelps beats Cavic and sets new world record Sun 02 Aug, 11:45 AM ROME (AFP) - Michael Phelps beat Milorad Cavic to the punch again, and this time he earned a clear decision by smashing the 50-second barrier in the 100m butterfly final at the World Championships. The American superstar clocked a world record 49.82sec to beat his Beijing Olympic rival by 13-hundredths of a second on Saturday. Phelps had beaten Cavic by just one one-hundredth of a second in Beijing, and the Serbian turned this World Championships showdown into a grudge match. Phelps's victory celebration was fierce. When he saw his time, he hoisted himself on the lane rope and yelled, smacking the water in triumph. "You can tell after my celebration that it satisfied me a little bit," Phelps said. Cavic had looked to have the upper hand heading into the final. He broke Phelps's world record in the semi-finals with a time of 50.01. The Serbian also ratcheted up the rhetoric when he offered to obtain one of his new-generation polyurethane suits for the American, who has stuck to his older model. "It doesn't matter about the suit, it's about how you train," Phelps said. Cavic also broke 50 seconds, but his 49.95 was good enough only for silver. "Michael Phelps is Michael Phelps, and he does what he does - and he did," Cavic said of the swimmer who electrified the Beijing Games last year with an unprecedented eight gold medals. Spain's Rafael Munoz was third in 50.41. Brazilian Cesar Cielo joined a select group with his triumph in the men's 50m freestyle. His win in 21.08sec made him the third man to complete the 50-100m free sprint double at the World Championships. Cielo, who had beaten French Olympic champion Alain Bernard in the 100m free final, beat French world record-holder Frederick Bousquet in the 50, Bousquet taking silver in 21.21. France's Amaury Leveaux - whose father died on Tuesday - was third in 21.25. Zimbabwe's Kirsty Coventry regained the 200m backstroke world title in a world record of 2:04.81. Coventry lowered her own previous record of 2:05.24, set in winning Olympic gold in Beijing. Russian Anastasia Zueva was second in 2:04.94 - also under Coventry's previous record - and American Elizabeth Beisel third in 2:06.39. China's women won the 4x100m medley relay in a world record of 3:52.19. Zhao Jing, Chen Huijia, Jiao Liuyang and Li Zhesi delivered the victory with Olympic champions Australia second in 3:52.58 and Germany third in 3:55.79. Denmark's Lotte Friis triumphed in the women's 800m freestyle in 8:15.92. Britain's Joanne Jackson was second in 8:16.66 and Italy's Alessia Filippi was third in 8:17.21. Olympic champion and world record-holder Rebecca Adlington was shut out of the medals in fourth. Australia's Marieke Guehrer won the women's 50m butterfly in 25.48. China's Zhou Yafei was second in 25.57, barely edging Norway's Ingvild Snildal who took bronze in 25.58. One more world record fell in semi-final action, as Briton Liam Tancock clocked 24.08sec to lead the way into the final of the men's 50m backstroke. The night's four world records took the tally for the week to 39 with one day remaining - but as so often Phelps was the undisputed star. As in Beijing, Cavic used his early speed to take the lead at the turn. Phelps was fourth at the 50m mark - better than his seventh in Beijing - and used his vaunted finishing strength to overhaul Cavic in the final 25m. "I set it up perfectly, it was exactly what I wanted to do," said Phelps, who has also won gold in the 200m fly and two relays this week. "I had to be out in that first 50m within striking distance and I went out in 23.3sec, that's the fastest I've been out in, I haven't been within half a second of that. It's really gratifying."

Source: Eurosport.

[NikNak]

Thanks for all the info.

Just be mindful of how you are posting the information and pictures and make sure that the information doesn't scroll all the way across the page to the right and mess up the alignment here.

[Brucas4life]

No problem. Are any of the pictures doing that then? It all appears fine on mine so I thought it was ok.

Sorry it took me a while to post it, but here is some of the final day's news.

Five-star Phelps ends worlds on golden note ROME (AFP) - Michael Phelps ended on a golden note as the United States rounded out the swimming World Championships' world record total at a staggering 43 with a medley relay triumph. Phelps, whose campaign began with a shock defeat in the 200m freestyle, bounced back to win the 100m and 200m butterfly, and the United States won all three men's relays to give America's superstar a creditable cache of five gold after all. "I think it?s not how you start, it?s how you finish," Phelps said. "For us to end on this note, going into next year, it's a great way to finish." It was fitting that the meet concluded with the Americans' world record swim of 3min 27.28sec, an improvement on the mark set by the US in winning Olympic gold in Beijing. After all, world records were what these championships, the fastest swimming competition in history, were all about. Germany's Britta Steffen broke her third world record of the meet with her triumph in the women's 50m free - a win that saw her match her 50m-100m freestyle double of Beijing. Liam Tancock of Britain lowered the men's 50m backstroke world record for the second time in as many days and Russia's Yulia Efimova clocked a world record to win the women's 50m breaststroke. Tunisia's Oussama Mellouli added a world title to his Olympic 1,500m freestyle gold. His 14:37.28 was the second-fastest ever, but shy of Grant Hackett's world record of 14:34.56 - leaving at least one sacrosanct mark on the books. Nor did the records fall in the demanding 400m individual medleys. Hungary's Katinka Hosszu, winner of two bronze medals already, climbed the top step of the podium with a victory in the women's 400m medley, and American Ryan Lochte captured his fourth gold of the championships with a triumph in the men's 400m individual medley. Lochte capitalized on the absence of Phelps, who opted out of the four-stroke races this season. He broke Phelps's world record in winning the 200m individual medley, and also earned gold on two freestyle relays. Lochte, like Phelps, Briton Gemma Spofforth and Zimbabwe's Kirsty Coventry, notched his world record here in the outdated Seedo LZR Racer, rather than one of the newer polyurethane suits that fueled Rome's record rampage. "There's so much controversy between the suits, it seems like every race is a world record," Lochte said. He was looking forward a rule change in January limiting the technology. "I think we'll decide who are real swimmers out there, I hope I'll be among them." Lochte was feeling the pressure in the closing stages of the medley, with American Tyler Clary and Hungarian Laszlo Cseh in hot pursuit. "I didn't think I was going to hurt that much," he said. "I just gave it everything I had at the very end." Clary made it a US one-two, as he edged Cseh in 4:07.31, the Hungarian taking bronze 4:07.37. Steffen came out on top in a frantic 50m free final. Her world record of 23.73 beat the previous mark of 23.96 set by Marleen Veldhuis in April. Sweden's Therese Alshammar was inside the old mark as well, taking silver in 23.88, while Aussie teen Cate Campbell and the Netherland's Veldhuis shared the bronze in 23.99. At the other end of the distance spectrum, Mellouli kept things close through the first 1,000m, then pulled inexorably away to get the win over Canadian Ryan Cochran and China's Sun Yang. Cochrane was second, more than four seconds adrift in 14:41.38 and Sun earned bronze in 14:46.84. Hosszu couldn't challenge the women's 400m medley world record of Australian Stephanie Rice, but she beat the woman herself. Hosszu won her first gold of the championships to go with two bronzes. She dueled with Olympic silver medallist Kirsty Coventry throughout, finally overtaking the Zimbabwean for good on the final freestyle leg to win in 4:30.31. Coventry was second in 4:32.12 and Rice, who set the world record in winning gold in Beijing but has had a chequered build-up to worlds, was third in 4:32.29. Tancock's second world record in two days, 24.04 in the 50m back, gave him the gold over Japan's Junya Koga and South African Gerhard Zandberg. Efimova clocked a record 30.09 to win a 50m breaststroke in which silver medallist Rebecca Soni (30.11) and bronze medallist Sarah Katsoulis (30.16) were both under the previous mark of 30.23 set by Canadian Amanda Reason in July.

Source: Eurosport.

[Motoko Ayoama]

Damn this Cesar Cielo Filho, he won the 50m and 100m freestyle before two French each time .

[NikNak]

Originally Posted by Brucas4life (View Post) No problem. Are any of the pictures doing that then? It all appears fine on mine so I thought it was ok.

Yeah. Some of the pics were doing that too. Your latest post was perfect though. Thanks for posting all of the information.

[Brucas4life]

Oh sorry about that. I'll go and see if I can resize some of the pictures, it's weird that they are showing fine on my screen.

I still can't believe the number of records that were broken in Rome, it was just insane. I'm glad this suit is going to be banned soon though as it's just making the existing records mean nothing.

[NikNak]

Originally Posted by Brucas4life (View Post) Oh sorry about that. I'll go and see if I can resize some of the pictures, it's weird that they are showing fine on my screen.

I know it is weird. Thanks for trying, though.