Swimming: German's backdoor route to record
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.THE German prodigy Franziska Van Almsick recovered from apparent World Championship disaster to deny China with a 200 metres freestyle world record in Rome last night.
Van Almsick, already a millionaire at the age of 16, set only the ninth fastest time in the morning heats - good enough only for the consolation final. But after swift 'negotiations' inside the German team, Dagmar Hase, who clocked the eighth quickest time, scratched from the final, allowing Van Almsick to be promoted to the vacant lane eight.
The German took full advantage of her controversial reprieve, just beating China's Lu Bin to the touch in 1min 56.78sec. Both girls swam inside Heike Friedrich's 1986 world record of 1:57.55, while the bronze medal-winner, Claudia Poll, of Costa Rica, was just outside.
Van Almsick's backdoor route to the final did not defy any swimming regulations, but was felt by many to be morally wrong. Dave Champion, the coach to Karen Pickering, whose heat time was just 0.01sec slower than Van Almsick's, said: 'It is not right.' Pickering finished second in the B final, with Alex Bennett seventh.
Van Almsick angrily denied rumours that Hase had been induced by money to withdraw from the final. 'I despise people who say this. Hase decided alone that she would let me compete,' she said.
Van Alswick admitted, however, that she had hesitated before deciding to swim the final. 'I could not be sure I could be really happy if I won a medal,' she said.
Another world record was broken when the American Tom Dolan clocked 4:12.30 in the 400m individual medley to eclipse the previous mark of 4:12.36 set by the Hungarian Tamas Darnyi in 1991.
The Commonwealth champion Samantha Riley won gold in the 200m breastroke, while Rafal Szukala, of Poland, won the men's 100m butterfly and Sweden took the men's 4 x 200m freestyle relay.
Results, Sporting Digest, page 39
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments