2009  FINA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

 

 

August 2 - ROME - The United States capped the 2009 FINA World Championships Sunday with a gold medal and world record in the men’s 4x100m medley relay, with the team of Aaron Peirsol (Irvine, Calif.), Eric Shanteau (Lilburn, Ga.), Michael Phelps (Baltimore, Md.) and David Walters (Newport News, Va.) turning in a time of 3:27.28.

 

Americans won four medals on the eighth and final night of competition, including a 1-2 performance from Ryan Lochte (Daytona Beach, Fla.) and Tyler Clary (Riverside, Calif.) in the men’s 400m IM and a silver medal from Rebecca Soni (Plainsboro, NJ) in the women’s 50m breaststroke. Team USA finished the meet with 22 medals overall – 10 gold, six silver and six bronze – leading all countries in both gold medals and total medal count.

 

Team USA received the FINA trophy as the top national team of the meet at the conclusion of Sunday’s session.In addition to the 4x100m medley, three world records were broken in Sunday’s finals. Setting world records were Great Britain’s Liam Tancock in the men’s 50m backstroke (24.04), Russia’s Yulia Efimova in the women’s 50m breaststroke (30.09) and Germany’s Britta Steffen in the women’s 50m freestyle (23.73). Soni set the American record in the women’s 50m breast in 30.11.

 

In all, 42 world and 23 American records were set over the course of the meet.The U.S. led through every leg of the men’s 400m medley relay.  Peirsol led off with a meet record in the men’s 100m back with a time of 52.19, and Shanteau followed with a 58.57 split on the breaststroke leg keeping the second-place Germans at bay by two-hundredths of a second. Phelps widened the gap with a time of 49.72 in the butterfly, and Walters brought it home with a sub-47 (46.80) freestyle split. The Americans shattered the former world record by more than two seconds. Germany finished 1.3 seconds behind in 3:28.58, while Australia was third in 3:28.64. “Our game plan was to come in here and win all the relay events,” Phelps said. “To get a world record is a great bonus. We wanted to finish on the best note we could.”Sunday’s win marked Phelps’ sixth medal of the week, a tally which includes five golds and one silver. He received the men’s FINA high point award for his efforts.

 

Peirsol and Walters won two golds in Rome, while Shanteau finished the meet with a medal of each color.The men’s 400m IM shaped up to be a four-way race between Lochte, Clary, Hungary’s Laszlo Cseh and Brazil’s Thiago Pereira. Cseh led in the first 100, but fell behind Clary and Lochte at the end of the backstroke. Lochte made his move in the breaststroke and increased his lead. Clary moved into medal position in the homestretch. Lochte and Clary went 1-2 in 4:07.01 and 4:07.31, while Cseh finished third in 4:07.37. Sunday’s win was Lochte’s fourth of the week after taking gold in the 200m IM, the 400m free relay and the 800m free relay. He also won bronze in the 200m back. “It’s new for me to be in the spotlight in an IM race,” Lochte said. “I hope someday [Phelps] will be back in this race, because I love racing against him.”

 

Soni’s silver in the women’s 50m breast was her second medal of the meet after winning gold in the 100m breast earlier in the week. Her American record Sunday was just two-hundredths of a second behind Efimova’s world-record finish. Australia’s Sarah Katsoulis was third in 30.16.Two Americans competed in the finals of the women’s 400m IM. Team USA’s Elizabeth Beisel (Saunderstown, RI) and Julia Smit (Mt. Sinai, NY) hung with the pack before finishing fifth and sixth with times of 4:34.90 and 4:35.33 respectively. Hungary’s Katinka Hosszu won gold in a meet record time of 4:30.31, followed by Zimbabwe’s Kirsty Coventry in 4:32.12 and Australia’s Stephanie Rice in 4:32.29.

 

Germany’s Britta Steffen won her third gold medal of the week with her world record in the women’s 50m free. Finishing second was Sweden’s Therese Alshammar in 23.88, while Australia’s Cate Campbell and the Netherlands’ Marleen Veldhuis tied for third in 23.99. Americans Amanda Weir (Lawrenceville, Ga.) was seventh in 24.23 and Dara Torres (Parkland, Fla.) finished eighth in 24.48.Tancock broke the world record in the 50m back in Sunday’s finals, and in semifinals on Saturday. Japan’s Junya Koga took silver in 24.24, while South Africa’s Gerhard Zandberg won bronze a tenth of a second behind in 24.34. No Americans swam in the finals of this event.Ous Meloulli of Tunisia won Sunday’s finals of the men’s 1500m free in a time of 14:37.28. Canada’s Ryan Cochrane finished second in 14:41.38, followed by Sun Yang of China in 14:41.38. No Americans swam in the finals of this event.

 

Press conference highlights from tonight’s session, as well as throughout the World Championships, are available at www.swimnetwork.com. Results are available at www.omegatiming.com.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ROME – Michael Phelps won gold and set a world record in one of the most anticipated match-ups of the meet Saturday at the 2009 World Championships, defeating Serbian Milorad Cavic in the finals of the men’s 100m butterfly by 13-hundredths of a second in 49.82.Phelps’ medal was one of two won by Team USA on the seventh night of competition. Elizabeth Beisel took bronze in the women’s 200m back in 2:06.39.The U.S. medal tally in the pool after day 7 stands at 18, including eight gold, four silver and six bronze. The Americans lead all countries in both gold medals won and in overall medal count.Besides Phelps’ swim, three world records were set Saturday. Setting world records were Zimbabwe’s Kirsty Coventry in the women’s 200m back (2:04.81), Great Britain’s Liam Tancock in the semifinals of the men’s 50m back (24.08) and China in the women’s 400m medley relay (3:52.19).

 

In the men’s 100m butterfly, Phelps was out fourth at the wall in 23.36 and then made his signature move on the field as he headed down the final 50 meters. He started reeling Cavic in with about 25 meters to go and put him away in the final 5 to 10 meters.Cavic was second in 49.95, followed by Rafael Munoz of Spain in 50.41. American Tyler McGill, swimming in his first World Championship final, was seventh in 51.42.After an emotional celebration in the pool, Phelps was grinning from ear to ear as he greeted the press in the mixed zone.“You could tell by my celebration that I was extremely satisfied by that race,” Phelps said. “I swam it perfectly. That’s exactly what I had to do. I heard the crowd get louder and louder, and I could tell it was going to come down to the touch. “I don’t think I have ever been that emotional and fired up after a race. You saw by my reaction how much I wanted that.”The hype surrounding this match-up began at last year’s Olympic Games in Beijing, where Phelps out-touched Cavic for gold by one-hundredth of a second. On Saturday, the two became the first swimmers to break the 50-second barrier in a non-freestyle, 100-meter race. “I’ve always been able to have the most interesting races in the 100 fly,” Phelps said. “It really brings out the best in everyone, and those kinds of things make the sport more exciting. I have a feeling this (rivalry) is going to be around for a while.”Women’s

 

Beisel swam a steady race Saturday in the finals of the women’s 200m back, moving into the third position at the 100-meter mark and holding on to that place through the finish. Coventry was first in world record time, followed by Russia’s Anastasia Zueva in 2:04.94. Beisel’s teammate, National Team rookie Elizabeth Pelton, was sixth in 2:08.04“The final 50 meters are my strength,” Beisel said. “I need to work a bit on my power in the first 100. But this is my first world championships medal, and this is a great result. I’m very excited to leave my mark here and get on the podium.”

 

Americans Cullen Jones and Nathan Adrian took fifth and sixth in the men’s 50m free, turning in times of 21.47 and 21.49, respectively. Cesar Cielo won his second individual event of the week, setting a meet record in 21.08. France’s Fred Bousquet took silver in 21.21, while his teammate Amaury Leveaux took bronze in 21.25. Jones set an American record of 21.40 in the semifinals of this event Saturday.

 

Australia’s Marieke Guehrer won the women’s 50m fly with a time of 25.48. Yafei Zhou of China and Ingvild Snildal of Norway took silver and bronze in 25.57 and 25.58. No Americans swam in the finals of this event.

 

Denmark’s Lotte Friis won gold in the women’s 800m free in meet record time Saturday, touching in 8:15.92. Great Britain’s Joanne Jackson was second in 8:16.66, while Italy’s Alessia Filippi was third in 8:17.21. The former meet record set by American Kate Ziegler in 2007 stood at 8:18.52 No Americans qualified for the finals in this event. Chloe Sutton and Haley Anderson finished 10 and 28 in yesterday’s prelims in 8:29.25 and 8:45.91.

 

China came out on top of the field by 39-hundredths of a second with its world record. Australia touched right behind in 3:52.58, followed by Germany in 3:55.79. The Americans finished 10 in prelims this morning and did not qualify for finals.

 

Team USA’s Kasey Carlson and Rebecca Soni qualified fifth and sixth for the finals of tomorrow night’s 50m breaststroke in 30.46 and 30.56. Carlson set the American record in this event in this morning’s prelims, turning in a time of 30.34.Amanda Weir and Dara Torres will both be swimming in Sunday’s finals of the women’s 50m free, qualifying fourth (24.32) and eighth (24.43), respectively. Australia’s Cate Campbell qualified as the top seed in a meet record time of 24.08.No Americans swam in the semifinals of the men’s 50m back Saturday. Britain’s Tancock qualified as the top seed for tomorrow night’s finals with a world record. 

 

 

 

 Rome, Italy – August 1 – The USA Men’s Senior National Team fell just short of a Bronze Medal at the FINA World Championships as they lost to Croatia earlier today 8-6. With the loss the United States finishes in fourth place overall, a marked improvement from ninth in 2007 and ends tourney play with a 4-2 record overall.

 

Team USA played a tremendous first half and got started early scoring the first goal less than 60 seconds into the match. Team Captain Tony Azevedo (Long Beach, CA/Stanford) took a feed from Ryan Bailey (Long Beach, CA/UC-Irvine) to hit on a power play goal for a 1-0 lead. Croatia would answer some two minutes later to tie the game at 1-1 but that was short lived.

 

At the 3:01 mark in the period JW Krumpholz (Santa Ana, CA/USC) was the recipient of some great passing on the counter attack as Layne Beaubien (Coronado, CA/Stanford) fired a pass to Jeff Powers (San Luis Obispo, CA/UC-Irvine) who quickly found Krumpholz for the score and a 2-1 lead. The USA added just minutes later on a player advantage as Brian Alexander (Santa Ana, CA/UCSB) moved in on the near side and cashed in the score for a 3-1 lead. Croatia added a score late in the period but it would remain a USA lead at 3-2.

 

In the second the United States built their lead using another power play goal this time from Peter Varellas (Moraga, CA/Stanford) who lit the proverbial lamp for a 4-2 lead at the 4:37 mark. The USA defense stayed strong as well, especially after the Varellas goal. Croatia would get three attempts on the cage in a single possession all denied by the USA defense and keeper Merrill Moses (Palos Verdes, CA/Pepperdine) who finished with 9 saves. However, late in the period the United States was called for a five meter penalty, Croatia converted and it was a 4-3 game in favor of the USA at halftime.

 

The third quarter belonged entirely to Croatia. After winning the opening sprint they were able to keep the United States scoreless for the entire period. From there they added two scores to take a 5-4 lead at the 1:40 mark in the third quarter. In the fourth the United States battled back. Jeff Powers made his way to the net and received a nice pass which he used to beat the Croatian goalie for a time game at 5-5.

 

It was a short lived tie as less than a minute later Croatia used a power play to take the lead at 6-5. Then moments later at the 4:06 mark in the period Croatia went inside to get a score out of two meters for a two goal lead at 7-5. The Croatia defense was there as well halting a USA man-up opportunity with just 1:47 to play. Despite time winding down the United States stuck with it getting a double exclusion against Croatia with 59 seconds left. Azevedo received a quick pass and found the cage to draw within 7-6. But it was Croatia that would answer last scoring a backbreaking man-up goal with just 27 seconds left to seal the game and the Bronze Medal at 8-6.

 

The United States went 5/11 on power plays while Croatia was 4/8. The USA did not attempt a penalty shot and Croatia was 1/1

 

Scoring

USA 6 (3, 1, 0, 2) T. Azevedo 2, J. Powers 1, J. Krumpholz 1, P. Varellas 1, B. Alexander 1

CRO 8 (2, 1, 2, 3) S. Barac 2, P. Obradovic 2, I. Hinic 1, A. Buslje 1, D. Buric 1, M. Boskovic 1

 

Saves – USA – M. Moses 9 – CRO – J. Pavic 13

6x5 – USA 5/11 – CRO 4/8

Penalties – USA 0/0 – CRO 1/1

 

Flash Quotes

 

“You know we came in here obviously wanting to get a medal, we have never won a medal as the USA men’s team so that was our goal and we fell a little short, but I’m proud of the guys, we played well, we kind of ran out of gas a little bit there at the end and tonight Croatia was a better team.” Terry Schroeder USA Head Coach

 

On the USA returning to prominence in men’s water polo

 

“Well I think we are back in the top four, and we want to be consistently in the top four and on the men’s side there are really 10 good teams. When you look at Montenegro finishing ninth and Hungary finishing fifth there are really good teams battling for these positions. It’s definitely good to be back in that top group but we all talked before the game what a medal would mean and the guys are pretty disappointed, it’s just a tough loss, a tournament like this you want to finish with a win.” Terry Schroeder USA Head Coach

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rome, Italy - July 31 - The wind has temporarily been taken out of the USA Women's Senior National Team's sails. Moments after their Gold Medal winning victory over Canada, 7-6, in the finals of the 2009 FINA World Championships a protest was lodged by the Canadians, with a ruling expected Saturday morning in Rome. The protest comes from Canada in regards to a game misconduct called against the United States’ Elsie Windes (Portland, OR/California) with 27 seconds remaining in the second quarter.

 

Canada has protested that they should have been awarded a player advantage following the game misconduct, which they were not. According to USA Water Polo officials an addendum was recently made to the rule book referring to this type of situation where sides in fact remain even after the game misconduct, which is how the officials ruled during the match. An update on the matter will be posted on usawaterpolo.org tomorrow morning in Rome once a decision is rendered.

 

If the outcome stands it marks the third World Championship for the United States women, a record among all nations with women's water polo. It is also three titles for USA veterans Brenda Villa (Commerce, CA/Stanford) and Heather Petri (Orinda, CA/California). In addition it is the first major FINA Championship for Head Coach Adam Krikorian, who joined the staff this spring.

 

Protests aside this match was a defensive battle throughout with goals coming at a premium. Canada would strike first with a goal at the 5:13 mark after a five meter penalty was called against the United States. Canada converted the player advantage and led 1-0. This was short lived as less than a minute later it was the United States striking on a power play courtesy of Petri for a tie game at 1-1. Canada would answer last as they went inside to center Krystina Alogbo for a spinning goal and the lead 2-1 going to the second period.

 

In the second quarter the USA offense started to get into a groove. Lauren Wenger (Long Beach, CA/USC), the Most Outstanding Player of the 2007 World Championships connected for a goal from distance for a tie game at 2-2 just 25 seconds into the period. A minute and change later and it was Villa answering the call on a quick catch and shoot for the first lead of the match at 3-2. Canada rallied with consecutive goals and built a 4-3 lead with 4:19 left in the period. Team USA then went inside and found results as Kami Craig (Santa Barbara, CA, CA/USC) powered her way towards the net for a score and a 4-4 game. Some three minutes later came a goal from Windes off a rebound for a 5-4 lead. This was followed by the game misconduct, ruled as Windes came up in celebration but inadvertently made contact with her defender.

 

The USA held the one goal lead going into the third but the offensive well ran dry in the early second half. Both teams were scoreless until the 2:57 mark when Canada came through with a player advantage goal to tie the match at 5-5. That was the score going to the fourth and final frame. The red, white, and blue got the lead back in a hurry, as after a Canada exclusion it was Kelly Rulon (Point Loma, CA/UCLA) hitting the back of the net for the 6-5 advantage. Canada drew another five meter penalty and was able to convert at the 3:58 mark to once again knot the game, this time at 6-6.

 

If there hadn't been enough oddities thus far things got a little stranger at the 3:43 mark. Craig worked inside to draw a five meter penalty which was to be shot by Rulon. On Rulon's first attempt she missed to the right but was knocked into by Alogbo on the release. This led to a second five meter being call and Alogbo sent from the match. This time Rulon converted and the lead was 7-6. From there the defense made stop after stop thanks in part to 11 saves from Betsey Armstrong (Ann Arbor, MI/Michigan) and the United States was able to come away the winners and recipients of the Gold Medal.

 

The USA went 3/10 on power plays and 1/2 on five meter penalties while Canada was 2/9 on power plays and 1/1 on penalty shots. Canada goalie Rachel Riddell has 12 saves on the day and was named the tourneys top goalkeeper. In earlier action Russia defeated Greece to claim the Bronze Medal.

 

Scoring:

USA 7 (1, 4, 0, 2) K. Rulon 2, B. Villa 1, H Petri 1, K. Craig 1, E. Windes 1, L. Wenger 1

CAN 6 (2, 2, 1, 1) E. Csikos 4, K. Alogbo 1, D. Perreault 1

 

Saves - USA - B. Armstrong - 11 - CAN. R. Riddell - 12

6x5 - USA - 3/10 - CAN 2/9

Penalties - USA 1/2 - CAN 1/1

 

Flash Quotes

 

"Obviously I'm happy and happy for the girls, you look at over the past year, a disappointing finish for them at the Olympic Games and to come back here for them and to come away with the Gold is really special for them and they are a great group." Adam Krikorian, Team USA

 

"I felt like we got better as the tournament wore on, these tournaments are long and so after the game against Russia I think it was easy for people to lose faith and question and start to panic, but we did a nice job of continuing to believe in what we are doing and the potential of this team." Adam Krikorian, Team USA

 

On Third World Championship for USA Women

"That's a tribute to all the past players and coaches and staff that have been a part of things and this 2009 team is just one piece of that" Adam Krikorian, Team USA

 

"I think this is the first time any (women's water polo) nation has won three titles, Petie and I have been around a long time, and the feeling to be able to demonstrate what usa water polo has become in the least 10 years, its a tribute to our foundation." Brenda Villa, Team USA captain

 

"I think to be a part of this program and to consistently be competing in final matches, it's where we want to be and where we want to progress to and it's a testament to what we put together in the United States." Heather Petri, Team USA

 

 

Peirsol, Men's 800 Free Relay Break World Records       

 

ROME – Aaron Peirsol and the Americans’ 800m free relay won gold and set world records Friday at the 2009 FINA World Championships. Peirsol’s victory came in the men’s 200m backstroke, where he shattered his former mark in this event by 1.16 seconds, turning in a time of 1:51.92. Later in the evening, Michael Phelps, Ricky Berens, David Walters and Ryan Lochte combined for a time of 6:58.55 in the men’s 800m free relay, edging the mark set by the U.S. last year at the Olympic Games by a hundredth of a second.

 

Peirsol and the men’s 800m free relay accounted for two of the four medals won by Team USA on the sixth day of competition. Ryan Lochte took bronze behind Peirsol in the men’s 200m backstroke in 1:53.82, and Eric Shanteau took silver in the men’s 200m breaststroke in 2:07.65.

 

The Americans’ medal count in the pool after Friday’s session stands at 16 – seven gold, four silver and five bronze. The U.S. leads all countries in gold medals and in the overall medal count.

 

Besides the two American swims, four other world records were set Friday at Stadia Del Nuoto. Germany’s Britta Steffen broke the first in the women’s 100m freestyle, her time of 52.07 15-hundredths of a second faster than the world record she set leading off Germany’s 400m free relay on the first night of competition. The Netherlands’ Marlene Veldhuis set a world record (25.28) in the first heat of the semifinals of the women’s 50m butterfly, only to have that mark broken in the second heat by Sweden’s Therese Alshammar (25.07). Then Serbia’s Milorad Cavic broke Michael Phelps' world record in the semifinals of the men’s 100m butterfly in 50.01.In addition to the world records, Cullen Jones set an American record in the semifinals of the men’s 50m free in 21.40. It was just one-hundredth of a second faster than the former American record, set by Jones in July at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials.

 

Peirsol took the lead at the start of the 200m back and was three-tenths ahead of world record pace at the first turn. Teammate Ryan Lochte took the lead by 12-hundredths of a second over Peirsol at the 100-meter mark, only to have Peirsol pull ahead again in the third length.As he headed home, Peirsol built about a body-length lead on the rest of the field. Japan’s Ryosuke Irie was second in 1:52.51, while Lochte was third in 1:53.82.“That was a piece of cake,” Peirsol said. “It felt really good. I’ve had this sort of time in my mind for a while and have been waiting to do it for a long time.  I’ve kind of been struggling in this race lately. I don’t know if it’s mental, physical or what, but tonight I pushed through it. “Peirsol’s swim was a bit of redemption for him after misjudging his race in the semifinals of the 100m back earlier in the week and failing to qualify for the finals of that event.“I was motivated,” Peirsol said. “My mind was so fresh. I think maybe not doing the 100 let me focus all my energy on this race. I’ve had a lot of waiting around to do during this meet, and to swim so well in that final makes me feel really good. The adrenaline rush did not last long, though. I am hurting right now.”

 

The U.S. finished the first leg of the men’s 800m free relay about two seconds behind Germany, but Ricky Berens quickly gained ground and took a body-length lead by the end of the second leg. Teammate David Walters held on to that lead, and then Ryan Lochte held off the charging Russians in the final 100 meters of the race for the win.Russia took silver in 6:59.15, followed by Australia in 7:01.65.“These guys all swam unbelievable legs,” Phelps said. “It was all because of these guys. I was about a half-second off what I split in Beijing, and I wasn’t too pleased (with myself). But this relay is all about team.”Walters was swimming in his first relay final representing the U.S. in an international competition and said he overswam the first half of his leg.“I was naïve, out of control,” Walters said. “There’s a lot to improve, a lot I can learn from it. It was definitely one of the more painful races of my career.”“These guys set it up, and I just tried not to mess it up for them,” Lochte said. “In the final length, I turned and saw the Russians and thought, ‘This is not going to be easy.”Berens praised his teammates’ efforts.“For Lochte to have a tough double like that and bring it home like he did was incredible,” Berens said.

 

Shanteau finished second behind Hungary’s Daniel Gyurta in the men’s 200m breaststroke by one hundredth of a second. Shanteau swam a strong race, keeping in contact with the field over the course of the first 100 meters and then making his move. By the end of the third length, he was in second place. As he went stroke-for-stroke with several swimmers down the stretch, he came up long at the wall and was out-touched by Gyurta as he glided to the finish. Giedrius Titenis of Lithuania was third in 2:07.80.

 

Rebecca Soni led the field in the women’s 200m breast by more than a body length for most of the race, and was 1.55 seconds ahead of world record pace at the 100 meter mark. She was 1.22 seconds ahead of world record pace at the final turn, but somewhere about halfway down the homestretch, she hit a wall.Serbia’s Nadia Higl, Canada’s Annamay Pierse and Austria’s Mirna Jukic passed her in the final five to 10 meters, taking the gold (2:21.62), silver (2:21.84) and bronze (2:21.97) in order. Soni finished fourth in 2:22.15.“I don’t really know what happened,” Soni said. “Sometimes things don’t go the way you planned, and tonight was a prime example of that. This is just one of those races you learn from.”Women’s 100m Free

Steffen’s world record in tonight’s finals of the women’s 100m free bested the rest of the field by almost a second. Fran Halsall of Great Britain was second in 52.87, while Libby Trickett of Australia was third in 52.93. Americans Amanda Weir and Dana Vollmer finished fourth and fifth, respectively, with times of 53.12 and 53.30.Weir set the American record twice in this event, once in the prelims (53.20) and once again in the semifinals (53.02).

 

The world record was broken twice in the semifinals of the women’s 50m butterfly, once in the first heat by Veldhuis and then again in the second heat by Alshammar. American Christine Magnuson finished 15 in the semifinals and will not be swimming in Saturday’s finals.Team USA’s Cullen Jones and Nathan Adrian qualified fifth and seventh, respectively, for tomorrow night’s finals of the men’s 50m freestyle. Jones set the American record by a hundredth of a second in 21.40, while Adrian turned in a time of 21.46. The top seed is Fred Bousquet of France, who set a meet record in 21.21.

 

Milorad Cavic and Michael Phelps are the top two qualifiers in what might be the marquee matchup of the meet, the men’s 100m butterfly. Phelps beat Cavic by one-hundredth of a second in the Olympic finals of this event last year in Beijing. Friday, Cavic broke Phelps’ world record, set in July at the U.S. World Championship Trials, by 21-hundredths of a second. Phelps turned in a 50.48 in Friday’s semis. U.S. National Team rookie Tyler McGill – the third-fastest American of all time in this event behind Phelps and three-time Olympian Ian Crocker – will also be in the mix as the eighth seed, qualifying in 51.07.

 

Americans Elizabeth Beisel and Elizabeth Pelton will both be swimming in Saturday’s finals of the women’s 200m back as the fourth and eighth seeds. Beisel touched in 2:07.48 in tonight’s semis, while Pelton touched in 2:09.57. Zimbabwe’s Kirsty Coventry finished as the top seed in a meet record time of 2:05.86.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

July 30 - ROME – American Ryan Lochte won a gold medal and set a world record in the men’s 200m IM Thursday at the 2009 FINA World Championships, breaking the former mark of 1:54.23 held by Michael Phelps with a time of 1:54.10. He and teammate Eric Shanteau took first and third in this event, leading the Americans’ efforts on the fifth day of competition.

 

In addition to Lochte and Shanteau, Team USA’s Dana Vollmer, Lacey Nymeyer, Ariana Kukors and Allison Schmitt took the silver in the women’s 800m free relay, setting an American record in 7:42.56.Their efforts brought the U.S. medal count in the pool after the first five days to 12 – five gold, three silver and four bronze.

The Americans lead all countries in both gold medals and total medals won.Besides Lochte’s swim, world records were set in all but the semifinals of the women’s 100m free and the semifinals of the men’s 200m backstroke.

 

Setting world records Thursday were Lochte in the men’s 200m IM, Canada’s Annamay Pierse in the semifinals of the women’s 200m breast (2:20.12), Brazil’s Cesar Cielo Filho in the finals of the men’s 100m free (46.91), Australia’s Jessicah Schipper in the finals of the women’s 200m butterfly (2:03.41), China’s Jing Zhao in the finals of the women’s 50m backstroke (27.06), Australia’s Christian Sprenger in the semifinals of the men’s 200m breaststroke (2:07.31) and China’s 800m free relay (7:42.08).

 

Three other American records also fell Thursday night. Setting those records were Amanda Weir in the semifinals of the women’s 100m free (53.02), David Walters in the finals of the men’s 100m free (47.33), and Shanteau in the semifinals of the men’s 200m breast (2:07.42).

 

Lochte jumped out to the lead at the start of the 200m IM and was two-tenths under world record pace at the 100-meter mark. He then built a body-length lead heading into the final turn and cruised home from there. It was his second gold medal of the week after swimming a crucial leg of the gold medal-winning men’s 400m free relay on the first night of competition.“I felt really good,” Lochte said. “Any time you win a medal or break a world record, it makes you feel special. I knew I would have to swim faster than in previous rounds, but I think I can be even quicker. I will get back in the pool as soon as possible and train even harder.”Shanteau, meanwhile, surged ahead of Brazil’s Thiago Pereira in the final lap, coming from behind and capturing the bronze by two-tenths of a second over the Brazilian with a time of 1:55.36. Hungary’s Laszlo Cseh was second in 1:55.24Coming into Rome, Lochte and Shanteau were the second- and third-fastest swimmers of all time in this event. They leave as the first and fourth fastest in history.“I didn’t get a world record, but I did get a best time, so I can’t complain,” Shanteau said. “It’s my first world championship medal, so to go out there tonight and get that bronze, I’m very happy.”Shanteau returned to the pool a short time later to set the American record in the semifinals of the men’s 200m breaststroke with a time of 2:07.42. He set the meet record in this morning’s prelims, but that record fell in the first heat of tonight’s semifinals, after Sprenger broke the world record by two-tenths of a second.Shanteau’s time in the semis of the 200m breast was good enough to qualify second for tomorrow’s finals, where he and Sprenger will meet head-to-head in lanes 3 and 4.“I had a lot of training in college to do that,” Shanteau said. “It was kind of like going back to the good old days five or six years ago when I did two or three events in an hour. So I kind of took that approach tonight, and it worked out well. I couldn’t believe I did a 2:07.

 

”Women's 800m Free Relay

The U.S. women’s 800m free relay was a second behind China when Allison Schmitt dove in for the final leg of the race. Schmitt, the silver medalist in last night’s 200m freestyle finals, chiseled away at the Chinese’s lead, but in the end came up about a half a second short. Great Britain finished third in 7:45.51.The U.S. team’s goal coming into the race was to swim faster than the former world record of 7:44.31, which they did.“We knew we could do it, and it all came down to a really close race,” Vollmer said.  “I give Allison a lot of credit. She dove in a couple seconds behind and erased (China’s lead) to half a second. We all raced well. I couldn’t ask for more from my teammates.”“We put a strong team together today,” Nymeyer said. “We thought we could go under the (former) world record, and we did. We’re proud of our accomplishment.”

 

David Walters’ American record of was not quick enough to medal in Thursday’s finals of the men’s 100m free. Walters took fifth place behind some heavy hitters, including Brazil’s Cesar Cielo Filho and France’s Alain Bernard and Fred Bousquet. The three fastest sprinters in the world finished in that order, with Cielo Filho breaking the 47-second barrier and setting the world record. Bernard was second in 47.12, while Bousquet was third in 47.25.Despite breaking the world record in prelims of the women’s 200m free Wednesday, Team USA’s Mary DeScenza missed medaling by about two tenths of a second Thursday, finishing fourth with a time of 2:04.41.Australia’s Schipper won the gold in world record time, ahead of China’s Zige Liu (2:03.90) and Hungary’s Katinka Hosszu.

 

Weir broke the American record she set in this morning’s prelims of the women’s 100m freestyle, swimming to a time of 53.02 in semifinals and qualifying third for tomorrow night’s finals behind Germany’s Britta Steffen and Australia’s Libby Trickett. Weir’s teammate Dana Vollmer, who took bronze in the women’s 200m free last night and silver in the 800m free relay, qualified seventh for tomorrow night’s finals in 53.55.In this morning’s prelims, Weir set the American record with a time of 53.20, 19-hundredths of a second faster than the former mark set by Natalie Coughlin at the Santa Clara International Invitational last year.Rebecca Soni cruised to a second-place qualification in the semifinals of the women’s 200m breast Thursday in 2:20.93. Soni’s time, which was swum in the first semifinal heat, was a meet record, until Canada’s Annamay Pierse erased that mark and Soni’s world record in the next heat. The world and meet record now stand at 2:20.12. Earlier in the meet, Aaron Peirsol missed qualifying for the finals of the 100m back and did not have a chance to defend his 2007 world title. He made sure that didn’t happen in the semifinals of the men’s 200m back, setting the meet record in the first heat with a time of 1:54.06.  Peirsol is the top seed heading into tomorrow night’s finals, while teammate Lochte qualified as the fifth seed in 1:55.39.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tuesday, July 28 - ROME - The USA Water Polo Men's Senior National Team will be assured a chance at a medal after defeating Germany 8-5 earlier today in a low scoring affair at the FINA World Championships. Behind eight different goal scorers and stifling defense the United States improved to 4-0 in tourney play and will meet the winner of Spain/Canada on Thursday.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tuesday,  July 28 - ROME  –  Rebecca Soni (Plainsboro, NJ) and Kasey Carlson (Walnut Creek, Calif.) led the American effort Tuesday at the 2009 FINA World Championships, winning gold and bronze medals in the women’s 100m breaststroke with times of 1:04.93 and 1:05.75, respectively. Sixteen-time Olympic medalist Michael Phelps also contributed to Team USA’s cause with a silver medal in the men’s 200m free, finishing behind Germany’s Paul Biedermann with a time of 1:43.22. The United States’ medal tally in pool events after three days now stands at five, including three gold, one silver and a bronze. The U.S. currently leads all countries in gold medals.

 

Soni entered Tuesday night’s finals as the top seed in the race, after setting a world record in the semi-final on Monday with a time of 1:04.83. In the final, she turned in a time of 1:04.93 for the win. Less than one second later, Carlson earned her first World Championship medal, touching in 1:05.75 for bronze. Silver went to Yuliya Efimova of Russia with a time of 1:05.41. “Standing here as a World Champion is a great feeling,” said Soni. “Having Kasey [Carlson] on the podium with me is even better.”

 

In men’s 200m free, Phelps was off to a quick start, but trailed Beidermann slightly at each turn. With about 25 meters to go, Beidermann pulled away to earn his second gold medal and world record of the week(1:42.00). Danila Izotov of Russia was third in 1:43.90. “It’s my second-fastest 200 free time ever,” said Phelps. “The only time I was faster was in the Olympic finals last year. I’ve only been back in the water for six months, so all in all, it wasn’t a bad swim. Deep down inside, I can’t be mad. I can’t be disappointed.”

 

Beiderman’s world record was one of three  broken Tuesday on the third night of competition. Also setting records were Great Britain’s Gemma Spofforth in the finals of the women’s 100m back (58.12) and Italy’s Federica Pellegrini in the semifinals of the women’s 200m free (1:53.67). In addition to the three world records, Team USA’s Dana Vollmer (Granbury, Texas) set the American record in the semifinals of the women’s 200m free in 1:55.29.

 

In other finals action, Hayley McGregory (Houston, Texas) finished 6 in the women’s 100m back in 59.42, 1.3 seconds behind Spofforth’s world record. Russia’s Anastasia Zueva, who set the world record in yesterday’s semifinals, took silver in 58.18. Emily Seebohm of Australia won bronze in 58.88.

Team USA’s Chloe Sutton (Mission Viejo, Calif.) finished eighth in the women’s 1500m free with a time of 16:16.10. Italian Alessia Filippi won the gold and set a meet record with a time of 15:44.93, followed by Lotte Friis of Denmark in 15:46.30 and Camelia Potec of Hungary in 15:55.63.

Japan’s Junya Koga took gold in the men’s 100m backstroke with a meet record time of 52.26, followed by Germany’s Helge Meeuv in 52.54 and Spain’s Aschwin Wildeboer in 52.64. American Matt Grevers (Lake Forest, Ill.)  the 2008 Olympic silver medalist in this event, was seventh in 53.14.

Three semi-final races were also contested tonight, with five Americans advancing. In the men’s 50m breaststroke, Mark Gangloff (Akron, Ohio) qualified eighth, turning in a time of 27.24. He will be the only American finalist in this event. Two Americans qualified for the finals of the women’s 200m free. Vollmer is the USA’s top seed, qualifying second with her American record, while Allison Schmitt (Canton, Mich.) qualified as the fourth seed in 1:56.11.

 

Phelps later returned to the pool to cruise to a second-place qualification in the men’s 200m butterfly with a time of 1:53.48. He will be joined in the final Wednesday by teammate Tyler Clary (Riverside, Calif.), who qualified eighth in 1:54.75.

 

Action continues Wednesday with finals in the men’s 200m fly (Phelps, Clary), 50m breast (Gangloff) and 800m free (Vanderkaay), as well as the women’s 200m free (Vollmer, Schmitt).

Finals can be viewed live at www.universalsports.com.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Monday - July 27  ROME –World Champion Ariana Kukors (Auburn, Wash.) lowered her own world record in the 200m IM, touching in 2:06.15 and claiming the first individual gold medal of the meet for Team USA as action continued at the FINA World Championships in Rome on Monday. Team USA’s Rebecca Soni (Plainsboro, NJ) set the world record in the semifinals of the women’s 100m breast in 1:04.84, and teammate Dana Vollmer (Granbury, Tex.) set the American record in the women’s 100m butterfly in 56.94.

 

Kukors who first set the world record in the event in the semi-finals on Sunday night, improved her 24-hour-old mark by .88 seconds in the final. Silver went to Australia’s Stephanie Rice in 2:07.03, while Hungary’s Katina Hosszu won the bronze in 2:07.46.  “The last couple weeks, I’ve had some goal times in the back of my head, and I knew I had a big drop coming,” Kukors said. “I was very pleased to hear the words ‘world champion’ before my name (in the medal ceremonies). It was the first time for me, and something I’ll always remember.”

 

Three other world records also fell Monday in Rome. Breaking those records were: Australia’s Brenton Rickard in the men’s 100m breaststroke (58.58), Sarah Sjolstrom of Sweden in the women’s 100m butterfly (56.06) and Anastasia Zueva of Russia in the semifinals of the women’s 100m back (58.48).

 

Soni, who won gold in the 200m breast in Beijing, became the first woman to ever go under 1:05 in the 100-meter distance, and bettered the previous mark of 1:05.09 held by Leisel Jones of Australia.  “I’m really happy with my time,” Soni said. “It exceeded my expectations. I know it’s only a semi-final, but tomorrow I will be focused on winning gold rather than breaking a world record.”  World Championship rookie Kasey Carlson (Walnut Creek, Calif.) was seventh in the 100m breast semifinal in 1:06.95. She will join Soni in tomorrow’s final.

 

In the final of the women’s 100m fly, Cal Berkeley swimmer and 2004 Olympian Dana Vollmer (Granbury, Tex.) set an American record, touching in 56.94 to tie for fifth-place. The swim made Vollmer the first American woman to go sub-57 seconds in the race. The World Championship in the event went to Sweden’s Sarah Sjostrom who lowered her own world record to 56.06. In second was Australia’s Jessicah Schipper in 56.23, and third went to Liuyan Jiao of China (56.86).

 

In the final of the men’s 100m breaststroke, 2008 Olympian Eric Shanteau (Lilburn, Ga.) finished just three-hundredths of a second out of medal position, posting a time of 58.98, for fourth place. The World Championship in the event went to Australian Brenton Rickard, who swam a world record-time of 58.58. Silver went to Hugues Duboscq of France (58.64) while bronze went to Cameron Van Der Burgh of Russia (58.95).

 

In other semi-final action on Monday, Michael Phelps (Baltimore, Md)advanced as the third seed in the men’s 200m freestyle. The world record-holder in the event posted a time of 1:45.23 heading toward Tuesday’s final. David Walters (Yorktown, Va.) finished 12th in the semifinal in 1:46.61 and did not advance.

 

In the men’s 100m back, Matt Grevers (Lake Forest, Calif.) was the lone American to qualify for Tuesday’s final. Grevers qualified fifth in 52.82, while world record-holder Aaron Peirsol (Irvine, Calif.) failed to advance, finishing ninth in the semifinal with a time of 53.22.  In the women’s 100m back, Hayley McGregory (Houston, Texas)tied for seventh in 59.55 and will swim in tomorrow’s final. Elizabeth Pelton (Baltimore, Md.) finished 13th in 1:00.51, just off her personal-best time.  The men’s 50m fly final was also contested with the World Championship going to Serbia’s Milorad Cavic in a championship record-time of 22.67.

 

Tomorrow night’s finals include the men’s 200m freestyle (Phelps) and 100m backstroke (Grevers) as well as the women’s 100m backstroke (McGregory) and breaststroke (Soni, Carlson). Additionally, the women’s 1500m freestyle final will be contested, including Chole Sutton (Mission Viejo, Calif.) who dropped approximately 12 seconds from her own personal best to advance earlier today. Semi-finals will be held in the women’s 200m free and the men’s 50m breast and 200m fly.

  

Full Results are available here.  Tuesday morning prelims will be held in the men’s 50m breaststroke, 200m fly and 800m freestyle as well as the women’s 200m freestyle.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The 2009 FINA World Championships are being broadcast live on NBC, USTV universalsports.com. Go to universalsports.com for the complete broadcast and event schedule.

 

 

 

 

 

JULY 26 - ROME – The United States men’s 4x100m freestyle relay won gold and set a meet record on the first night of pool action at the 2009 FINA World Championships. Ariana Kukors (Auburn, Wash.), swimming in the semifinal of the women’s 200m IM, broke the world record with a time of 2:07.03.

The relay team of Michael Phelps (Baltimore, Md.), Ryan Lochte (Daytona Beach, Fla.), Matt Grevers (Lake Forest, Ill.) and Nathan Adrian (Bremerton, Wash.) touched in 3:09.21,  just 31-hundredths of a second ahead of second-place Russia and more than half a second ahead of the heavily-favored French, who finished with the bronze in 3:09.89. “When we came into this meet, we really wanted to win all three relays,” Phelps said. “This was a perfect way to end day one. All these guys swam excellent splits. To be able to be on a team with them is an honor for me.”

 

Kukors’ world record in the 200m IM was almost a second-and-a-half faster than the former mark of 2:08.45, held by Stephanie Rice of Australia. Kukors was nearly eight-tenths of a second ahead of world record pace at the 100-meter mark, and was almost two seconds under the world record pace at the final turn.  She is the top seed heading into tomorrow night’s finals. Teammate Julia Smit (Mt. Sinai, N.Y.) missed qualification by about two-tenths, finishing ninth overall in 2:10.29.

 

Initially, Kukors finished was not slated to swim the event, after finishing third in the 200m IM at the U.S. World Championship Team Trials earlier this month in Indianapolis. She squeezed into the spot after American teammate Elizabeth Pelton scratched from the event because of a scheduling conflict with the 100m back.

“Nobody expected anything from me in this event,” Kukors said. “In the last two weeks of training I focused on my technique, particularly on my turns. The world record is a big surprise, but I’m very happy to have it.”

 

In addition to Kukors’ record, five other swimmers broke world records Sunday, including Sarah Sjostrom of Sweden in the semifinals of the women’s 100m butterfly (56.44), Paul Beidermann of Germany in the finals of the men’s 400m free (3:40.07), Federica Pellegrini in the finals of the women’s 400m free (3:59.15), Britta Steffen of Germany leading off the women’s 400m free relay (52.22) and the Netherlands in the women’s 400m free relay (3:31.72).

 

Eric Shanteau (Lilburn, Ga.) set an American record in the semifinal of the men’s 100m breast, with a time of 58.96.  Shanteau is the top seed entering the finals, which are set for Monday night. In setting the American record Sunday,  Shanteau became the first American to break the 59-second barrier in this event.  The former American record of 59.01 was set by Mark Gangloff earlier this month at the U.S. World Championship Trials in Indianapolis. Gangloff finished 11 in Sunday’s semis in 59.71 and did not advance. “I was really happy with my swim,” Shanteau said, “but I will be even happier if I get a medal of any color tomorrow.”

 

In the men’s 400m free relay, the United States was in third place through the first two legs, but Phelps (47.78) and Lochte (47.03) kept the team in contact with the rest of the field. The French were a little more than half-a-second ahead of the Americans at the start of the third leg, but Grevers’ split of 47.61, lessened the French lead to five-hundredths of a second over the Americans, and the Russians took the lead. From there, Adrian hammered his way home in a blistering 46.79 to propel the U.S. to victory. “I just tried to stay within myself and try to race my own race,” Adrian said.

 

In other races, American Allison Schmitt (Canton, Mich.) finished fourth in the women’s 400m free in 4:02.51. Federica Pellegrini of Italy finished more than a second ahead of the rest of the field, shattering her own world record by 1.26. Great Britain’s Joanne Jackson and Rebecca Adlington finished second and third, respectively, with times of 4:00.60 and 4:00.79.

 

Peter Vanderkaay (Rochester, Mich.) placed fourth in the 400m free behind Germany’s Paul Biederman, who broke the legendary Ian Thorpe’s world record by a hundredth of a second. Tunisia’s Ousama Mellouli was second in 3:41.11, while China’s Zhang Lin was third in 3:41.35.

 

In the women’s 400m free relay, the team of Amanda Weir (Lawrenceville, Ga.), Dara Torres (Parkland, Fla.), Christine Magnuson (Tinley Park, Ill.) and Dana Vollmer (Granbury, Texas) finished fourth in 3:35.23. The Netherlands won gold with the world record swim, followed by the Germans in 3:31.83 and the Australians in 3:33.

 

 

 

Michael Phelps:  “I was confident with (Adrian) on the block. I was confident he was going to step up and swim an excellent leg. That’s good news for the future of our relays.”

 

Ryan Lochte:  “Right before the race, I looked up at (France’s Alain) Bernard, and he’s like seven feet tall. I thought, ‘How am I racing this guy?’ I just tried to do my part and not mess it up for the other guys.”

 

US Men's Head Coach Bob Bowman: “Each person really did their job in the end. I really wanted Nathan on the end of this relay, because he’s the future of sprinting here in this country.”

 

2009 FINA World Championship Records  (7/26/2009)

 

Sarah Sjostrom, SWE, Women’s 100m Fly (P), 56.76

Ariana Kukors, USA, Women’s 200m IM (P), 2:08.53

Roland Schoeman, RSA, Men’s 50m Fly (P), 22.90

Federica Pellegrini , ITA, Women’s 400m Free (P), 4:01.96

Brenton Rickard, AUS, Men’s 100m Breast (P), 58.98

Australia,  Women’s 400m Free Relay (P), 3:35.26

Germany, Women’s 400m Free Relay (P), 3:34.74

Australia, Men’s 400m Free Relay (P), 3:12.58

France, Men’s 400m Free Relay (P), 3:11.38

Brazil, Men’s 400m Free Relay (P), 3:11.26

Sarah Sjostrom, SWE, Women’s 100m Fly (SF), 56.44

Paul Biedermann, GER, Men’s 400m Free (F), 3:40.07

Ariana Kukors, USA, Women’s 200m IM (SF), 2:07.03

Rafael Munoz, ESP, Men’s 50m Fly (SF), 22.68

Federica Pellegrini, ITA, Women’s 400m Free (F), 3:59.15

Eric Shanteau, USA, Men’s 100m Breast (SF), 58.96

Britta Steffen, GER, Women’s 100m Free (400m Free Relay F), 52.22

Nedtherlands, Women’s 400m Free Relay (F), 3:31.72

USA, Men’s 400m Free Relay (F), 3:09.21

 

Ariana Kukors, Women’s 200m IM (P), 2:08.53

Peter Vanderkaay, Men’s 400m Free (F), 3:43.20

Ariana Kukors, USA, Women’s 200m IM (SF), 2:07.03

Eric Shanteau, USA, Men’s 100m Breast (SF), 58.96

 

Sarah Sjostrom, SWE, Women’s 100m Fly (SF), 56.44

Paul Biedermann, GER, Men’s 400m Free (F), 3:40.07

Ariana Kukors, USA, Women’s 200m IM (SF), 2:07.03

Federica Pellegrini, ITA, Women’s 400m Free (F), 3:59.15

Britta Steffen, GER, Women’s 100m Free (400m Free Relay F), 52.22

Nedtherlands, Women’s 400m Free Relay (F), 3:31.72

 

 

 

 

JULY 26 - ROME  – Ariana Kukors broke the American record this morning in the prelims of the women’s 200m IM at the 2009 FINA World Championships, her time of 2:08.53 just eight-hundredths of a second off the world record held by Olympic gold medalist Stephanie Rice of Australia. Kukors qualified as the top seed heading into tonight’s semifinals. Finals of that event will be held Monday night.  Initially, Kukors did not qualify for this event, finishing third at the 2009 World Championship Trials in Indianapolis. She is filling a spot vacated by teammate Elizabeth Pelton, who scratched from the IM due to a scheduling conflict with the 100m back.

 

For more coverage from the 2009 World Championships, including news and complete results, go to our special events page.

 

 

The following records have been set at the 2009 FINA World Championships:

 

Sarah Sjostrom, SWE, Women’s 100m Fly (P), 56.76

Ariana Kukors, USA, Women’s 200m IM (P), 2:08.53

Roland Schoeman, RSA, Men’s 50m Fly (P), 22.90

Federica Pellegrini , ITA, Women’s 400m Free (P), 4:01.96

Brenton Rickard, AUS, Men’s 100m Breast (P), 58.98

Australia,  Women’s 400m Free Relay (P), 3:35.26

Germany, Women’s 400m Free Relay (P), 3:34.74

Australia, Men’s 400m Free Relay (P), 3:12.58

France, Men’s 400m Free Relay (P), 3:11.38

Brazil, Men’s 400m Free Relay (P), 3:11.26

 

Ariana Kukors, 200m IM (P), 2:08.53

 

JULY 25 - ROME – The U.S. World Championship Team, which includes 23 Olympians, will kick off competition July 26 at the 13 FINA World Championships at Foro Italico in Rome.  Among the competitors on the first day of competition will be Olympic gold medalists Michael Phelps (Baltimore, Md.), Dara Torres, Ryan Lochte, Aaron Peirsol and Rebecca Soni.

 

 

 

 

 

July 25 - ROME, Italy - David Boudia (Noblesville, Ind.) and Thomas Finchum (Indianapolis, Ind.) won the silver medal in men's synchronized 10-meter Saturday, wrapping up the most successful World Championships for the United States since 1991.

 

Boudia and Finchum's silver medal gave the U.S. its fourth medal of the World Championships, the most won by the U.S. since the 1991 worlds. "The U.S. has had a great meet, and this was a great way to end it," said Finchum, who won bronze with Boudia for the only U.S. medal at the 2007 World Championships.

 

Finchum and Boudia finished with 456.84 points, jumping ahead of Cuba's Jose Guerra and Jeinkler Aguirre in the final round. The Cubans finished with 456.60 points for bronze, and China's Lin Yue and Huo Liang scored 482.54 for gold. "Thomas and I are very excited to win the silver medal. We've been working hard since Beijing," Boudia said. "We're excited to put the U.S. back on track, and I hope this is not the end."

 

The Cuban team held nearly a six-point lead over the Americans heading into the final round, with both teams performing a back 2 ½ with 2 ½ twists to close out the meet. The U.S. dove first and scored 98.04 points, with Cuba following with 92.34 points, enough to move the U.S. ahead.

 

The U.S. also won silver medals in men's 3-meter synchro (Troy Dumais and Kristian Ipsen), men's 3-meter (Troy Dumais) and women's 10-meter synchro (Haley Ishimatsu and Mary Beth Dunnichay).

 

 

                          Young U.S. Open Water team finishes strong in Ostia  

 

July 25 - ROME  -  Open water action concluded on Saturday as Team USA took 10th and 11th in the women’s 25k, and earned an 11th place finish in the men’s 25K.For the women, 15-year-old Eva Fabian blazed at the front of the pack, keeping pace with the leaders for much of the race. The World Championship rookie eventually finished the race in a time of 5:50:41.5, good for 10th place. "I'm actually feeling really great that I finished. It was a tough race," said Fabian. "I wasn't expecting it to be that wavy. I was looking for a little higher of a finish, but I'm happy with my first 25K." 

 

Finishing just over two minutes later was Team USA's Emily Hanson, who was 11th in a time of 5:53:01.6.In the men’s race, 16-year-old Tennessean Sean Ryan earned an 11th place finish, with a time of 5:36:22.2. “I think I was out really well,” said Ryan. “I underestimated how much energy I was using and then on the last 2 laps, the leaders pulled away and I just couldn’t hang with them. I sort of ran out of energy. I think it’s a great learning opportunity and I’m ready to try again soon.”U.S. teammate Alex Meyer was poised to finish top-10, but was disqualified rounding the final buoy.

 

The swimmers navigated through a choppy waters for more than five-and-a-half hours. A full beach of spectators looked on in Ostia. The crowd erupted into cheers when Italian swimmer Valerio Cleri won the men's race in 5:26:31.6. Australia's Trent Grimsey took second in 5:26:50.7 and Russian swimmer Vladimir Dyatchin was third in 5:29:29.3.The World Championship in the women's 25K went to Germany's Angele Maurer (5:47:48.0), while silver went to Anna Uvarova of Russia in 5:47:51. Rounding out the medal stand was Italy's Federica Vitale with a time of 5:47:52.7. Full results from today's 25K and all the open water races can be found here.

 

Pool action at the World Championships begins Sunday with prelims and semi-finals in the women’s 100m fly, 200m IM and 400m free, and the men’s 400m free, 50m fly and 100m breaststroke. Additionally, the men’s and women’s 4x100m freestyle relays will be contested (prelims and finals). Results will be available here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

July 24 - ROME, Italy - Kelci Bryant (Chatham, Ill.) and Ariel Rittenhouse (Santa Cruz, Calif.) finished sixth in Friday's women's synchronized 3-meter finals at the FINA World Championships.

 

       Bryant and Rittenhouse scored 305.10 points, 5.7 points behind bronze medalists Julia Pakhalina and Anastasia Pozdniakova of Russia. China's Guo Jingjing and Wu Minxia won another world title, this time with 348.00 points. Italy's Tania Cagnotto and Francesca Dallape scored 329.70 for silver.

 

       "We did OK, but we definitely have the potential to do better," said Rittenhouse, who earlier in the week turned in a fifth-place showing individually on 3-meter.

 

       Their best dive came in the fourth round, earning 72.90 points on their inward 2 ½ that bumped them from eighth to fifth in the standings.

 

       "I thought it was a good performance considering how little we've been able to train together," Bryant said. Rittenhouse moved back to southern California after the Olympics, while Bryant has been training in Indianapolis.

 

       David Boudia (Noblesville, Ind.) and Thomas Finchum (Indianapolis, Ind.) were fourth in the men's synchronized preliminaries on Friday. They scored 426.54 points, less than a point behind the third-place Cuban team of Jose Guerra and Jeinkler Aguirre. Olympic gold medalists Lin Yue and Huo Liang of China led the field. The finals are set for Saturday, the last day of diving competition at the FINA World Championships.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

July 23 - ROME, Italy - Troy Dumais (Ventura, Calif.) won his second silver medal of the 2009 FINA World Championships on Thursday, placing second to China's He Chong in the men's 3-meter finals.

 

       Dumais scored 498.40 points to He's 505.20. Canada's Alexandre Despatie took the bronze with 490.30 points. Earlier in the week, Dumais paired with Kristian Ipsen (Clayton, Calif.) for silver in synchronized 3-meter.

 

       Dumais came up short of a medal at the 2008 Olympic Games, where he finished sixth, perhaps setting the tone for success this year.

 

       "It's been a long year. After Beijing, it was tough. You set goals and you come up short. But it's tough to see dreams go away," said Dumais, who is competing in his sixth World Championships. "I have to give it to my coach, my teammates and USA Diving. They've supported me better than ever this year."

 

       His 3-meter medal continues the success the U.S. team has had in Rome. With two events still remaining, Team USA has won three silver medals. At the 2007 worlds, the U.S. won one medal -- a bronze on the final day of competition.

 

Dumais was in fourth place - seven points out of third - after four rounds but then turned in 94.50 points on his reverse 3 1/2 for the highest scoring dive of the fifth round to move up to third. He finished with 87.50 points on his reverse twister, good enough to bump him up to second.

 

"I came here and did my job," Dumais said.

 

       Chris Colwill (Brandon, Fla.) finished eighth with 451.70 points, saving his best dive for last with 87.50 points on his reverse 3 ½ in the final round.

 

       "I had a better performance today, but I know I'm capable of hitting 470," Colwill said.

 

       In other action Thursday, Kelci Bryant (Chatham, Ill.) and Ariel Rittenhouse (Santa Cruz, Calif.) finished seventh with 293.40 points in the women's synchronized 3-meter preliminaries to advance to Friday's finals. China's Guo Jingjing and Wu Minxia led the field with 342.90 points.

 

       The diving events at the World Championships continue through July 25.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

July 23 - ROME - Andrew Gemmell and Fran Crippen officially earned the silver and bronze medal, respectively, in the men’s 10K open water race at the FINA World Championships. The race took place on Wednesday, July 22, however, results were not finalized until today, following the decision made by the Jury D’Appel represented by the FINA Bureau. The decision involved the finish of Crippen, which was protested by Italy and Greece. The Chief Judge initially validated the protest, but the United States successfully appealed to the Jury D’Appel, which ruled in favor of Crippen on Thursday.

 

“I’m extremely happy. It’s a little bit weird, because you always want to win based on your performance and I thought I did that yesterday,” said Crippen following the FINA ruling.  “The last 20 hours have been extremely frustrating, but we were able to get through it. The appeal went in our favor today and we are all extremely happy because of that and because of our great day yesterday.”

 

Gemmell, 18, finished second to champion Thomas Lurz of Germany. The medals for Gemmell and Crippen are the first World Championship medals for both swimmers and mark the first time that two U.S. open water swimmers have finished in the top three in one event. The Open Water 10K was officially added to the Olympic program for the 2008 Olympic Games. “I think it’s great that we have such depth in U.S. open water,” said U.S. Open Water Head Coach Catherine Vogt. “I think that this can really reach out to more kids out there, and let them know that this is attainable and there are a lot of ways to get here.”

 

Open water action concludes on Saturday with the men’s and women’s 25K races. Emily Hanson (Bloomington, Ill.) and Eva Fabian (Keene, NH) will compete for the women, while Sean Ryan (Hixon, Tenn.) and Alex Meyer (Ithaca, NY) will represent the men’s team.

 

 

July 22 - OSTIA, Italy – Andrew Gemmell (Wilmington, Del.) won a silver medal Wednesday at the FINA Wolrd Championships in the men’s 10K open water race. Gemmell, who was swimming near the back of the pack at the last buoy, surged in the final 650 meters, overtaking all but eventual champion Thomas Lurz of Germany. The medal was the first at a senior-level meet for the 18-year-old.  “I noticed it got a little choppy out there toward the end, but it didn’t really affect me at all,” said Gemmell.  “I just tried to keep in my own zone and keep it smooth.”

 

U.S. teammate and Pan American champion Fran Crippen (Conshohocken, Pa.) touched next, seeming to secure a two-three finish for Team USA. The finish was later protested by Italy and Greece, and the protest was accepted by the referee. It has since been appealed by the U.S., and the appeal has been sent to the FINA jury, who will rule tomorrow. A decision is expected around midday. Entering the final 2K, Crippen was in striking distance, behind four to six swimmers, including Lurz and Valerio Cleri of Italy. In the final stretch, however, Crippen turned up the speed, cruising into medal-position.  “It was comfortable the whole time, really,” said Crippen.  “I was able to do some really good drafting, and I don’t think I’ve ever had a race where I drafted so much, so that was really exciting. I used a different tactic because I raced yesterday in the 5K, and I needed to race a little different today, a little smarter, and I was able to do that, so it was good. ”

 

“On the last lap, I was somewhere between 4 and 8 the whole time. The only thing I knew was that I didn’t want to take the lead until the last 500, so if I could stay in the four-five-six range and not take the lead and just draft, I thought I’d give myself a chance to win. That’s all I wanted was to just give myself a chance to win. I know Lurz is fast in the pool, but I’m pretty confident in my speed as well.”

 

On the women’s side, Emily Brunemann (Crescent Springs, Ky.) finished 24with a time of 2:02:06.6 while Eva Fabian (Keene, NH) came in 27 with a time of 2:02:09.9  Both women swam near the front of the pack through the first two laps before falling back in the second half of the race. Brunemann, who finished ninth in the 5K on Tuesday, said fatigue was a factor.  “For my first World Championships, I was really happy with how I did,” said Brunemann. “With my 5K, I was happy with getting in the top 10, and then trying to come back and swim today was a lot harder than I had anticipated.  I felt great on the second lap, and then I just kind of hit a wall, so there are definitely some things to change, but I’m happy with how I did.”

 

The World Championship in the women’s 10K went to Keri-Anne Payne of Great Britain, who led throughout and touched in 2:01:37.1. In second, finishing just nine-tenths later, was Russia’s Ekatarina Seliverstova (2:01.38.0). Rounding out the medal podium was Italy’s Martina Grimaldi (2:01:38.6).

 

For the women’s results, click here.

 

Open water action concludes on Saturday with the men’s and women’s 25K races. Emily Hanson (Bloomington, Ill.) and Eva Fabian (Keene, NH) will compete for the women, while Sean Ryan (Hixon, Tenn.) and Alex Meyer (Ithaca, NY) will represent the men’s team.

 

*Results for the Men’s 10K are unofficial, pending the decision of the FINA Bureau tomorrow. Times will also be available at that point, at www.omegatiming.com.

 

FINA PRESS RELEASE: Wednesday, 22 July 2009  - Following an appeal from USA Swimming after the men’s 10km race of the Open Water Swimming competition at the 13th FINA World Championships in Ostia (ITA) on July 22, 2009, the FINA Jury of Appeal (the FINA Bureau) will meet on Thursday (July 23) after the conclusion of the FINA Technical Swimming Congress.  The decision of the FINA Jury of Appeal will be communicated as soon as possible following the meeting.

 

 

 

Rome, Italy - July 22 - Using a strong offensive first half the USA Men's Senior National Team rolled to victory over Macedonia 13-6 earlier today at the FINA World Championships. The win puts the men at 2-0 in group play with a strong chance to win their group and earn an off day. They will meet up with Romania on Friday in the final match of group play.

 

As for this match the United States set the tone in the first quarter blanking Macedonia while posting three scores to take a 3-0 advantage. A little over a minute into the contest Layne Beaubien (Coronado, CA/Stanford) got things going with a power play goal thanks to an exclusion drawn by Ryan Bailey (Long Beach, CA/UC-Irvine). From there Bailey scored a goal of his own, also on a man advantage and the United States led 2-0 with more than five minutes to play in the period. Bailey would have a hand in the final goal of the period as he set up a cutting Tony Azevedo (Long Beach, CA/Stanford) on an alley-oop of sorts for the score and a 3-0 USA lead.

 

In the second stanza it was more of the same. Azevedo cashed in on a five meter penalty shot and then followed that with a natural goal for a 5-0 lead. At the 3:56 mark Brian Alexander (Santa Ana, CA/UCSB) drew a five meter penalty which was converted by Adam Wright (Seal Beach, CA/UCLA) and the USA was in front 6-0. Macedonia finally cracked the scoring column with back to back tallies to draw within 6-2 at the 2:52 mark but that was quickly snuffed out by Team USA. Jeff Powers (San Luis Obispo, CA/UC-Irvine) worked free for an inside shot to make it 7-2. Then in one of the better sequences in the game the USA sprung out on a counter attack with Azevedo hitting JW Krumpholz (Santa Ana, CA/USC) right at the door step and Krumpholz did the rest for an 8-2 USA lead at the half.

 

The third quarter saw the United States continue their offensive attack while keeping the Macedonians at bay. After a Macedonia goal made it 8-3 Bailey drew a five meter and then converted the shot for a 9-3 USA advantage. This was followed by Azevedo scoring his fourth goal of the evening on a man advantage for a 10-3 lead. Macedonia struck again to close within four but with just eight seconds left in the period Peter Varellas (Moraga, CA/Stanford) used a player advantage to his advantage for a score and an 11-4 lead going to the fourth.

 

Merrill Moses (Palos Verdes, CA/Pepperdine) posted five saves through three quarters and was relived by Genai Kerr (Imperial Beach, CA/UC-Irvine) who kept up the defensive effort halting one shot in the quarter. As for the offense, there was more to be had for the red, white, and blue as Wright put home his second score of the day at the 3:49 mark for a 12-4 lead. Moments later Justin Johnson (Trabuco Canyon, CA/UCLA) got in the mix with a score and it was a 13-4 lead, good enough to give the USA the win in this one. Macedonia tacked on two more late goals but they proved to not factor in the outcome.

 

Team USA was once again solid on man advantages going 4/8 while Macedonia was 2/8. Team US went 3/3 on five meter penalty shots while Macedonia was 1/1. Next up for the United States is Romania on Friday at 12:10pm.

 

Scoring:

USA 13 (3, 5, 3, 2) T. Azevedo 4, R. Bailey 2, A. Wright 2, P. Varellas 1, J. Johnson 1, J. Powers 1, J. Krumpholz 1, L. Beaubien 1

MKD 6 (0, 2, 2, 2) D. Dimovski 2, D. Benic 1, M. Micic 1, D. Krstic 1, M. Basic 1

 

Saves - USA - M. Moses 5 - G. Kerr 1 - MKD - M. Urosevic 6

6x5 - USA 4/8 - MKD - 2/8

Penalties - USA 3/3 - MKD - 1/1

 

Flash Quotes

"I think that we talked about having to come out with the same intensity and energy and the guys did that. When you open up with a five goal lead in the beginning of the game it's hard to keep that intensity going, we made some silly mistakes along way but we did what we had to do win." – Terry Schroeder – USA Men’s Head Coach

 

"They know it won’t be an easy game on Friday, we have struggled against Romania at times in the past and they have a very good center. We know that we will have to be ready and play four quarters against those guys.” – Terry Schroeder – USA Men’s Head Coach

 

 

 

July 22 - ROME, Italy - Troy Dumais (Ventura, Calif.) and Chris Colwill (Brandon, Fla.) have advanced to Thursday's men's 3-meter finals after top-12 finishes in Wednesday's semifinals at the FINA World Championships.  Canada's Alexandre Despatie led the semifinal field with 485.05 points.

 

Dumais finished with 471.50 points to place third in the semis after leading a morning preliminary session that featured 51 divers, more than any other event at the World Championships.  "I dove well, but it was a long day," Dumais. "(In the semis) I missed my gainer a little, but it happens. I'm going to come out tomorrow and go after it."

 

Colwill scored 429.20 points and clawed his way into the finals. He was in 16th after four rounds, but had the best-scoring dive in the fifth round with 89.25 points on his reverse 2 ½ with 1 ½ twists to jump to 13th, one spot shy of the final qualifying spot. In the final round, he scored 84 points on his reverse 3 ½ to bump him to 11th and a spot in the finals.  "I know I'm one of the best divers out there, and I'm known for keeping my composure," Colwill said. "Ever since I was little kid, I've been known for being able to climb my way back."

 

In addition to men's 3-meter finals, Thursday's competition also includes women's synchronized 3-meter preliminaries. Diving events at the World Championships continue through July 25.

 

 

 

 

 

Rittenhouse, Boudia pos top-six showings at World Championships 

 

July 21 - ROME, Italy - Ariel Rittenhouse (Santa Cruz, Calif.) and David Boudia (Noblesville, Ind.) had top-six performances on women's 3-meter and men's 10-meter Tuesday at the FINA World Championships, turning in the top U.S. finishes on those events in more than a decade.

 

 Rittenhouse scored 335.10 points to finish fifth on women's 3-meter. No American woman had finished in the top five at the World Championships since Karen Dalton in 1994. Boudia tallied 491.80 points to finish sixth on men's platform, the best U.S. finish at worlds since Mark Ruiz placed sixth in 1998.

 

      Rittenhouse's best score came in the second round, earning 72 points on her reverse 2 ½, and was steady throughout all five rounds.

 

       "I feel great. I dove really well, and with this being my first World Championships (individually), I couldn't be happier," said Rittenhouse, who competed in the 2007 worlds in the synchronized 3-meter event. "I really focused on what I learned in prelims and semis and kept to my routine."

 

       Boudia earned 10s on two of his dives - two on his inward 3 ½ in the second round and one on his back 3 ½ in the fifth round.

 

       "I felt comfortable up there, and I started off well. I had a mishap on my gainer and gave up some points there, but it happens," Boudia said. "There's room for improvement."

 

       Great Britain's Tom Daley scored 539.80 to win the 10-meter contest, with China's Qiu Bo (532.20) and Zhou Luxin (530.55) taking silver and bronze.

 

China's Guo Jingjing won her fifth consecutive 3-meter world championship, this time with 388.20 points. Canada's Emilie Heymans was second, and Italy's Tania Cagnotto won bronze.

 

USA's Christina Loukas (Riverwoods, Ill.) finished eighth at 320.20. Loukas was in second place after two dives before scoring 5s on her back 2 ½ in the third round to drop in the standings. She then came back with the highest scoring dive of the fourth round, picking up 72 points on her reverse 2 ½.

 

       "I know this is going to make me go home and train even harder for the next time," Loukas said.

 

       Competition continues with men's 3-meter preliminaries and semifinals on Wednesday. Troy Dumais (Ventura, Calif.) and Chris Colwill (Brandon, Fla.) will compete for the U.S. Diving events at the World Championships run through Saturday, July 25.

 

 

 

 

1. Russia, 98.667; 2. Spain, 97.333; 3. China, 95.667; 4. Japan, 94.333; 5. Italy, 93.834;

6. Canada, 93.833; 7. Ukraine, 92.667; 8. France, 92.167; 9. Greece, 90.833; 10. Brazil, 90.333;

11. Great Britain, 89.166; 12. United States, 88.500

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rome, Italy - July 20 - Battling a tenacious Italian team looking for revenge and perhaps an even more supercharged crowd the United States Men's Senior National battled their way to a 9-8 victory on the opening day of play at the FINA World Championships. Italy, who has fallen to the United States in most of the recent major tournaments including the FINA World League Super Final in June and the Olympic Games in 2008 had a raucous crowd on their side but the United States came through time and again to preserve the win.

 

The red, white, and blue were on the board early as Layne Beaubien (Coronado, CA/Stanford) found the cage on a player advantage to take a 1-0 lead. Italy countered with a score a minute later but that was answered by Tony Azevedo (Long Beach, CA/Stanford) hitting on a quick shot to take a 2-1 lead. A little over 90 seconds later the United States answered again on a man advantage as Jesse Smith (Coronado, CA/Pepperdine) found the corner from outside for a 3-1 advantage.

 

With 2:52 to go in the opening quarter Brian Alexander (Santa Ana, CA/UCSB) was rolled from the game following an exclusion, but the USA answered with strong defense and a pair of shot blocks. Italy would post one more score to end the quarter trailing 3-2. The United States looked to pull away in the second when Peter Varellas (Moraga, CA/Stanford) took a pass from Azevedo on a man advantage and hit the net for a 4-2 lead. This was followed shortly after by a six on four advantage for the United States and Azevedo hitting the back of the net for a 5-2 lead.

 

Defense was a priority throughout in this contest and was a factor late in the second quarter. After the USA was called for a five meter penalty, goalie Merrill Moses (Palos Verdes, CA/Pepperdine) stopped the penalty shot to keep the lead at three. Italy would answer in the waning seconds of the quarter as they found the net with just two second remaining to pull into halftime down just 5-3.

 

Italy inched closer in the early part of the third quarter converting on a five meter penalty to trail by just a goal at 5-4. The USA rallied when Azevedo scored the third of his four goals on the night converting on a player advantage to rebuild the lead to 6-4. Italy answered thirty seconds later with a lob shot to again pull within a score at 6-5. This would be the tally as play moved into the fourth quarter. Early in the fourth Tim Hutten (Seal Beach, CA/UC-Irvine) picked up his third exclusion taking another player out of the rotation for the United States. From there Italy converted on the power play and tied the game at 6-6, the first tie since early in the opening period.

 

Beaubien would come calling for the United States shortly thereafter as he was the beneficiary of some solid passing to deliver a goal and the lead back to Team USA at 7-6. A minute later with the shot clock winding down Beaubien unloaded another solid shot, this one skipping its way into the cage for a two goal lead at 8-6. Italy hung around to find the net with 2:36 remaining as local hero Alesandro Calcaterra scored the second of his three goals to put it back to a one goal margin at 8-7.

 

Offensively the difference maker came at the 1:23 mark when Azevedo on a man advantage scored from outside off a solid pass to put the lead back up at 9-7. From there Italy marched down only to be stonewalled by Moses and the game was in hand. A late goal by the Italians with just seven seconds remaining proved not to be a factor as the United States came away winners. Moses posted nine saves in the victory while the United State was a superb 7/9 on player advantages. Italy turned in a 4/13 performance. The United States is back in action on Wednesday against Macedonia at 5:00pm local Italy time. Macedonia fell to Romania 6-4 in action earlier today.

 

Scoring:

USA: 9 (3, 2, 1, 3) T. Azevedo 4, L. Beaubien 3, J. Smith 1, P. Varellas 1

ITA: 8 (2, 1, 2, 3) A. Calcaterra 3, M. Felugo 2, V. Rizzo 2, A. Mangiante 1

 

Saves - USA - M. Moses 9 - ITA - S. Tempesti 11

6x5 - USA 7/9 - ITA 4/13

 

 

 

 

 

1. Russia, 98.833; 2. Spain, 97.500; 3. China, 96.166; 4. Japan, 94.667; 5. Canada, 94.333;

6. Italy, 93.833; 7. Ukraine, 92.333; 8. France, 92.000; 9. Greece, 91.833; 10. United States, 89.833; 11. Brazil, 89.667; 12. Great Britain, 89.166 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

July 19 - ROME, Italy – Mary Beth Dunnichay (Elwood, Ind.) and Haley Ishimatsu (Seal Beach, Calif.) came through in the last round to give the U.S. its second World Championships medal, winning silver in women’s synchronized 10-meter Sunday.

 

Dunnichay and Ishimatsu finished with 324.66 points, second only to 2008 Olympic gold medalists Wang Xin and Chen Ruolin’s 369.15. Malaysia was third at 321.66.“This is a big break for Haley and me. It’s amazing. We had a great list, and we’ve worked really, really hard,” Dunnichay said. “I’m still in shock. I couldn’t be happier.”Ishimatsu and Dunnichay were in fourth place with one round to go, but just four points separated the second and fourth spots.

 

The Americans came through with 84.66 points on their back 2 ½ with 1 ½ twists to move ahead of both Malaysia and Canada, which also performed the same dive in the last round.“It’s great to have close competition because it pushes you,” Ishimatsu said. “With it being so close, we really wanted to make sure our last dive went really well. I’m so excited to get a medal at the World Championships. It feels good.”This is the first medal at a world event for the 16-year-olds, who were fifth at the 2008 Olympics and the 2007 World Championships and eighth at the 2008 World Cup. “We’ve grown a lot as a synchro team,” Dunnichay said. “We train hard, smile and just try to do the best we can.”

 

Women’s 1-meter was also contested Sunday. Christina Loukas (Riverwoods, Ill.) led the U.S. with a eighth-place finish at 266.35 points, and Brittany Viola (Orlando, Fla.) scored 244.80 for 14 th. Yulia Pakhalina of Russia scored 325.05 points for gold.The diving events at the World Championships continue through July 25. Monday’s competition features women’s 3-meter and men’s 10-meter.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

July 18 - USA's Troy Dumais and Kristian Ipsen won the silver medal in men's synchronized 3-meter on Saturday at the FINA World Championships in Rome, and you can catch the action on Universal Sports.Universal Sports will be televising the World Championships (See highlights from the silver medal performance), beginning at 9 p.m. EDT, Saturday, July 18.

 

Diving will be featured on Universal broadcasts throughout the championships. To see when diving will be shown, click here (Check local listings to be sure times are accurate for your area). To find out if Universal Sports is offered in your market, click here. Even if you don't get Universal Sports on TV, you can tune in to www.universalsports.com/diving to watch the event via webcast.

 

Also, be sure to check www.usadiving.org for updates and other information throughout the championships.

Competition continues Sunday with Christina Loukas and Brittany Viola on 1-meter and Haley Ishimatsu and Mary Beth Dunnichay on women's 10-meter synchro.

 

 

 

 July 18th - Rome, Italy – The synchronized swimming portion of the 2009 FINA World Championships kicked off today with the team tech preliminaries. Team USA finished the day in the seventh place position with a 93.166, advancing to the team tech finals which will take place Sunday morning at 11 a.m. “We have a fresh new team,” said Co-captain Meghan Kinney, of the youthful team. “This was our debut, so we had nothing to lose. We didn’t hold back.”