FINA WORLD CUP – BERLIN
- Tuesday, August 30 – Wednesday, August 31, 2016
- Berlin, Germany – Schwimm- und Sprunghalle im Europa-Sportpark
- Short Course – 25 m
- Series Points after Paris
- Current Money Lists through Paris
- Entries
- Start Lists
- Live stream
- Live results
American swimmer Katie Meili has broken her 2nd American Record in as many days swimming at the second stop of the 2016 FINA World Cup Series in Berlin, Germany.
Unlike her 100 breaststroke record from Tuesday, her swim from Wednesday’s 100 IM final is without question both the American Record and the fastest swim by an American in the event.
She swam a 58.02, which placed her 2nd behind the World Record holder Katinka Hosszu (57.12) in the event. The swim took half-a-second from a two-year old record held by superstar Natalie Coughlin, who swam 58.55 at a meet in Viareggio, Italy in 2014.
Meili’s swim bumps her up to 6th on the all-time rankings, though Hosszu has been so dominant in this event that nobody is close to her World Record.
The 100 SCM IM is not an event often offered to American swimmers outside of this World Cup series and the Short Course World Championships. The last World Record holder in the women’s event representing the United States was Natalie Coughlin in 2002, and Meili is now the only American ranked in the world’s top 13 swimmers in history.
Current top 5 performers of all-time:
- Katinka Hosszu, Hungary (56.67)
- Alicia Coutts, Australia (57.53)
- Siobhan-Marie O’Connor, Great Britain (57.59)
- Ruta Meilutyte, Lithuania (57.68)
- Hinkelien Schreuder, Netherlands (57.74)
- Katie Meili, United States (58.02)
I really hope she can carve out a highly successful pro swimming career (not that she isn’t already but I mean big time with big endorsements and all). She is and will continue be a great ambassador for the sport and the United States for a long time if she so chooses.
Not to mention a great role model for a lot of swimmers considering how late she came on.
I know she has a Columbia degree and probably has other career opportunities. I just hope she sticks to swimming a little longer.
With any luck, breaking these records will provide her more reason to stay around longer.