The party is over. The closing day, the eighth, of the formidable Fukuoka Swimming World Championship brought a latest world recordthe tenth, for the final flattery of the palate.
It came hand in hand Ruta Meilutytė, who, after equaling on Saturday, in the semifinals, the record for the 50 breaststroke (29.30), surpassed him in the final with 29.16. Another “bite” of consideration for such a short journey. The other tests, as if they did not want to share, hindering him, the primacy of the Lithuanian woman, returned from her own psychological hell, flirted with her records without conquering them.
was on point again Sarah Sjostrom. His record (23.61) in the 50 freestyle semifinals foreshadowed another in the final. But, with 23.62, the Swede lacked, then, one hundredth to match it and two to beat it.
He wasn’t that close, but he wasn’t far behind either, in the 1,500, the Tunisian long-distance runner, already winner in the 800 and silver in the 400, Ahmed Hafnaoui. His 14:31.54 touched the 14:31.02 of Sun Yang, established at the London 2012 Games.
The other individual winners of the day were Hunter Armstrong (USA) in the 50 backstroke (24.05) and, in the 400 styles, the Canadian pearl, Summer McIntosh (4:27.11), which, already in the first section, the butterfly, sank to the bottom of the pool the hopes of the “other Katie”, American: Grimessecond with 4:31.41.