McLean leads another record breaking night for NZ swimmers
Swim star Hannah McLean continued her record barrage on the penultimate night of finals at the Fina world short course championships in China last night.
McLean bagged her second New Zealand record of the day, qualifying fifth fastest in the 50m backstroke in Shanghai.
The North Shore 24-year-old followed up on her bronze medal in the 200m backstroke final on the previous night to break her own national record in the process. She bettered the 2003 mark in going under the 28 second barrier for the first time in the heats of the 50m backstroke and lowered it again to clock 27.75s in the semifinal.
It was McLean’s seventh New Zealand record on these world championships.
Mclean also anchored the women’s 4x100m freestyle relay that produced a remarkable performance to finish equal fourth with the United States in the final. The quartet of Lauren Boyle, Alison Fitch, Helen Norfolk and McLean set a New Zealand record of 3:37.70 in the final, with the team taking nearly seven seconds off the old record in the two swims today.
McLean will be joined in the final on the last night by clubmate Liz Coster who qualified sixth fastest in a personal best 27.89, also under McLean’s previous record.
It was a strong night for Coster who recorded a New Zealand record in the semifinal of the 100m butterfly. She edged under her own record set in 2004, clocking 1:00.28 although it was only the 12th fastest and she missed a spot in the finals as did team-mate Georgina Toomey.
Earlier Alison Fitch did not progress in the 50m freestyle semifinal, clocking 25.37s, while Dean Kent missed out in the 100m individual medley, as the 13th fastest in 55.16s.
The women’s relay campaign continued on its rise in fortunes, making their third straight final. They also broke the New Zealand record twice – going three seconds fastest in the morning heats and taking more than three seconds off that time to clock 3:37.70 in the final.
McLean came in for sprinter Nichola Chellingworth in the final, showing her versatility to produce a superb 53.79s leg with Fitch going 53.94 to bring the Kiwis back into the race. They were dragged along by the Netherlands who set a new world record in beating the powerful Australian team.
The championships conclude tomorrow with nine Kiwi swimmers involved in individual heats along with the men’s 4x100m medley relay with McLean, Coster and Toomey already through to finals.
New Zealand results:
- 50m backstroke semifinal: Hannah McLean 27.75, 5th fastest (NZ Record); Liz Coster 27.89, 6th fastest.
- 50m freestyle semifinal: Alison Fitch 25.37s, 16th.
- 100m butterfly semifinal: Liz Coster 1:00.28, 12th (NZ Record); Georgina Toomey 1:01.59, 16th
- 100m individual medley semifinal: Dean Kent 55.16, 13th.
- 4x100m freestyle relay final: New Zealand (L Boyle A Fitch H Norfolk H McLean) 3:37.70, 4th equal
