Two more world records fell on the next-to-last day of swimming — the 22nd and 23rd of a lightning-quick week.
Britain’s Rebecca Adlington won gold in the 800m freestyle, breaking Janet Evans’ 19-year-old world record — the oldest in swimming.
Adlington touched in 8 minutes, 14.10 seconds to crush the mark of 8 minutes, 16.22 seconds set by the American in Tokyo on Aug. 20, 1989. Alessia Filippi of Italy took the silver and Lotte Friis of Denmark the bronze.
PHOTO: AP
Adlington completed a sweep of the women’s distance events in Beijing, having upset American Katie Hoff to win the 400m freestyle.
Kirsty Coventry of Zimbabwe defended her Olympic title in the 200m backstroke, winning in a world-record time. She led all the way and finished in 2 minutes, 5.24 seconds, lowering the mark of 2 minutes, 6.09 seconds set by Margaret Hoelzer at the US trials last month.
Hoelzer took the silver in 2 minutes, 6.23 seconds and Reiko Nakamura of Japan the bronze in 2 minutes, 7.13 seconds.
No one was happier that Cesar Cielo, who won Brazil’s first swimming gold with an upset in the 50m freestyle. He broke down crying on the medal stand and was mobbed by his teammates on the deck.
He won in 21.30 seconds, lowering his own Olympic mark of 21.34 seconds that he set in the semi-finals. Amaury Leveaux of France took the silver in 21.45 seconds and Alain Bernard, also of France, the 100m champion, won bronze in 21.49 seconds.
Also, 41-year-old Dara Torres of the US cruised into the final of the 50m freestyle with the fastest semi-final time, 24.27 seconds. Australian teenager Cate Campbell was second at 24.42 seconds.
Taiwan kept their hopes of advancing to next year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Saturday, backed by solid pitching. Taiwan last night played against Nicaragua. As of press time, Nicaragua was leading 6-0. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan on Saturday kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen struck out one and allowed no hits, except for a hit-by-pitch over
Taiwan kept its hopes of advancing to the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome last night, backed by solid pitching. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. The win was crucial for Taiwan, as a loss would have eliminated the team from contention for the next WBC. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen (沙子宸) struck out one and allowed no hits, except for
Team Taiwan are set to face Spain in a win-or-go-home match tonight for the final berth at the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), despite losing to Nicaragua 6-0 in the WBC qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Sunday. The home team’s loss on Sunday means Nicaragua finish first in the qualifier round in Taipei with a perfect 3-0 record and advances to next year’s finals. After crushing South Africa 9-1 earlier on Sunday, Spain took second place in the four-team qualifier with a 2-1 record. With a 1-2 record, Taiwan finished third while South Africa placed at the bottom with
Team Taiwan avoided missing the World Baseball Classic (WBC) for the first time by defeating Spain 6-3 in a do-or-die game in Taipei last night. After narrowly escaping a mercy-rule loss to Spain in the WBC Qualifiers opener on Friday last week, the home team — winner of last year's WBSC Premier12 title three months ago — got their revenge against the 2023 European champions at Taipei Dome. "It felt quite different from when we won the Premier12," Taiwan captain Chen Chieh-hsien (陳傑憲) said after the game, recalling the ups and downs the team has experienced over the past few days. Unlike in
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