The Swedish women were the first to get on the board en route to what could be several World Records, as they have marked the official all-World mark in the women’s 200 SCM Freestyle Relay with a 1:37.21.
This is a bit of an odd situation, as FINA has only recently started recognizing this record, earlier in the fall in fact, and so the record is significantly slower than the LEN-recognized European and Championship Records.
Sweden’s relay of Michelle Coleman, Sarah Sjostrom, Louise Hansson, and Magdalena Kuras combined for a 1:37.21 over 200 meters of freestyle. The European and Championship Records are still at 1:33.25 from the 2009 edition of this meet, where the Dutch were loaded with the deepest roster of incredible sprinters we’ve perhaps seen in the modern era.
The Dutch, for their count, were disqualified in the prelims of this race, and so with no Kromowidjojo won’t have the opportunity to tweak their relay for finals.
Close behind Sweden in the morning was Russia in 1:37.98 and Denmark in 1:39.15, also threats to overcome for gold in finals.
Results for the 200 free relay available here.
Full meet results, in a single PDF, are available here.
Full live meet results are available here.
BRADEN – can you explain to me the logic of how the world record is slower than the european record?