Swimswam / Braden Keith coverage of the 200 breaststroke at the 2013 FINA World Championships:
We were treated to an amazing performance by Lithuanian Ruta Meilutyte on day two when the Olympic champion set a new world record in the 100 breaststroke semi-final, and on day five we got to see an equally impressive accomplishment in the 200 distance semis.
Danish swimmer Rikke Moller Pedersen became the second woman in history to go under 2:20 posting a 2:19.11, breaking American Rebecca Soni’s world record of 2:19.59 (read more about that record here). When asked what just was thinking about in the race Pedersen told the press, “(I was) just trying to go strong and compete with the other girls.
Pedersen swam a magnificent race, topping a 2:20.5 from earlier this year, which was almost matched in the second semi-final by Russian Yuliya Efimova who posted a 2:19.85. Their splits are below:
Pedersen – 31.80/1:07.27 (35.47)/1:42.89 (35.62)/2:19.11 (36.46)
Efimova – 32.52/1:07.59 (35.07)/1:43.39 (35.80)/2:19.85 (36.46)
The other six women in the final are as follows; Spaniard Marina Garcia Urzainqui (2:22.88), American Micah Lawrence (2:23.23), Rie Kaneto of Japan (2:23.28), Sally Foster of Australia (2:24.14), Victoriya Solnceva of Russia (2:24.19) and Canadian Martha McCabe (2:24.68). Micah Lawrence was the top seed in the prelims, but was almost two seconds off of that time here. She’s usually so good in a final, that this pacing is a bit of a surprise, but she might turn things around on Friday.
