What a surprise
Liu Xiang breaks 50m backstroke world record
CHINA’S Liu Xiang swam a world-record time of 26.98 to win the wom men’s 50m backstroke gold med dal at the Asian Games.
The 21-year-old Liu, who o prefers swimming the free- style, became the first t woman to break 27 second ds in the event, lowering the record o f 27.06 set by fellow Chinese swimmer Zhao Jing at the world championships in Rome in 2009 before the contentious rubberised suits were banned.
“My main focus is actually the 50m freestyle,” Liu Xiang said through a translator. “I didn’t expect to break the world record at all.
“Because the focus is on freestyle, I didn’t have any pressure. I could concentrate on my own performance.”
Fu Yuanhui took silver in 27.68 in a 1-2 finish for China and Japan’s Natsumi Sakai, the 2017 world junior champion, won bronze in 27.91.
Fu Yuanhui won the 50m and 100m backstroke titles at the 2014 Asian Games, was world champion in the 50m backstroke in 2015 and picked up an Olympic bronze in the 100m backstroke at Rio de Janeiro in 2016.
Liu Xiang, who had a previous best of 27.40 and was a bronze medallist in the 50m backstroke at the 2015 world championships, said she still had other events so wouldn’t celebrate for a while.
“This gold medal and world record will give me more confidence when competing in the freestyle,” she said.
The 50m backstroke is not raced at the Olympics, so the world and continental championships hold some significance for those who enjoy the one-lap sprints.
“Still kind of an achievement in swimming,” Liu Xiang said, adding that the event’s absence from the Olympic program, “doesn’t make any difference”. — AP