CANBERRA – Ryosuke Irie set a new world record in the men’s 200-metre backstroke as Australia hung on to narrowly beat Japan in the two-day Duel in the Pool swim meet yesterday.
Irie sliced 1.08 seconds off American Olympic champion Ryan Lochte’s world record in a new time of one minute 52.86 seconds.
But the record may be in doubt because Irie wore a high-tech Arena swimsuit, which world governing body FINA still has to rule on its legality.
Irie’s effort comes after Frenchmen Fred Bousquet and Alain Bernard bested Australian Eamon Sullivan’s world records in the 50 and 100m freestyle in state-of-the-art Jaked and Arena suits last month.
Irie, 19, has been in hot form and only three weeks ago he missed the 200m record by 8/100ths of a second in clocking 1:54.02 at the Japanese world championship trials.
The Osaka university student was also just 0.02 seconds outside American Aaron Peirsol’s 100m backstroke world record of 52.56secs here Saturday.
Irie said he was confident of breaking the world record again at July’s FINA World Championships in Rome.
‘I am very happy to break the world record in Australia and I am going to break (the world record) again at the world championships,’ he said.
The Japanese sensation finished more than five seconds ahead of Australia’s Ashley Delaney and compatriot Takashi Nakano.
– Nampa-Reuters
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