MARIEKE SETS UP WORLD CUP SHOWDOWN IN SYDNEY
DURBAN, October 19: An in form Marieke Guehrer will arrive into Australia tomorrow for a show down with 50 metres butterfly world record holder Felicity Galvez in next weekend's FINA/ARENA World Cup after nudging the mark for a second time in Durban over the weekend.
A re-born Guehrer clocked the equal second-fastest time ever by an Australian when she stopped the clock at 25.36 - just 0.24 shy of the world mark set by two-time Olympian Galvez at this year's FINA World Short Course Championships in Manchester.
Guehrer had clocked 25.63 to win the gold medal in the opening World Cup round in Belo Horizonte last weekend.
Guehrer now shares the second-fastest time with Olympic 100m butterfly champion, Libby Trickett as Australia's women mount a new age butterfly domination.
As she did in Belo Horizonte Guehrer left nine-time world champion Sweden's Therese Alshammar (25.80) in her wake.
The Athens Olympic backstroker also finished with silver in the women's 100m freestyle to Swede Josefin Lillhage in another successful day for the Australians.
Christian Sprenger followed his win in the 200m breaststroke and silver in the 50m final with another silver in the 100m breaststroke in 58.55.
Kyle Richardson continued his consistently good form, winning silver to Olympic finalist Stefan Nystrand (Sweden) in the 50m freestyle final, clocking 22.13 to Nystrand's 21.42 after his bronze medal winning swim to Olympic 1500m champion Oussama Mellouli (Tunisia) in the 200m freestyle final in 1:45.99.
Meanwhile South Australia's rising star Jackie Staples won a pair of bronze medals in the 200m butterfly (2:12.39) and the 400 metres individual medley (4:42.75) and in the 100m backstroke final, Beijing Olympian Sophie Edington also grabbed bronze in 59.90.
Sprenger, Guehrer, Galvez, Mellouli and Nystrand will join a host of other stars including Bronte Barrett, Cate Campbell. Alice Mills, Grant Brits, Nick Ffrost, Emily Seebohm and Patrick Murphy when Telstra presents the FINA/ARENA World Cup at the Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre on October 25 and 26. - IAN HANSON.
FINA/ARENA WORLD CUP, Durban, Day 2:
RESULTS
WOMEN
50m butterfly: 1.Marieke Guehrer (Australia) 25.56 2. Therese Alshammar (Sweden) 25.80 3. Mandy Loots (South Africa) 26.99
100m individual medley: 1. Fabiola Molina (Brazil) 1:01.31 2. Josefin Lillhage (Sweden) 1:01.58 3. Mandy Loots (South Africa) 1:01.72
200m breaststroke: 1. Melissa Ingram (New Zealand) 2:04.98 2. Melissa Corfe (South Africa) 2:07.17 3. Jessica Pengelly (South Africa) 2:09.60
400m freestyle: 1. Melissa Ingram (New Zealand) 4:05.62 2. Melissa Corfe (South Africa) 4:10.33 3. Rene Warnes (South Africa) 4:16.53
200m butterfly: 1. Mandy Loots (South Africa) 2:07.84 2. Kathryn Meaklim (South Africa) 2:11.51 3. Jackie Staples (Australia) 2:12.39
100m backstroke: 1. Fabiola Molina (Brazil) 59.15 2. Melissa Ingram (New Zealand) 59.40 3. Sophie Edington (Australia) 59.50
400m individual medley: 1. Jessica Pengelly (South Africa) 4:30.45 2. Kathryn Meaklim (South Africa) 4.30.74
3. Jackie Staples (Australia) 4.42.75
50m breaststroke: 1. Suzaan van Biljon (South Africa) 32.42 2. Courtnay Mower (South Africa) 32.49 3. Jeanie du Toit (South Africa) 32.72
100m freestyle: 1. Josefin Lillhage (Sweden) 53.07 2. Marieke Guehrer (Australia) 54.36 3. Liezel Burger (South Africa) 56.95
MEN
200m backstroke: 1. George du Rand (South Africa) 1:51.82 2. Evgeny Aleshin (Russia) 1:55.04 3. Yannick Lebherz (Germany) 1:56.13
50m freestyle: 1. Stefan Nystrand (Sweden) 21.42 2. Kyle Richardson (Australia) 22.13 3. Wesley Gilchrist (South Africa) 22.19
200m individual medley: 1. Oussama Mellouli (Tunisia) 1:56.73 2. Darian Townsend (South Africa) 1:57.18 3. Jay-Cee Thompson (South Africa) 1:59.16
50m backstroke: 1. Randall Bal (USA) 23.64, 2. Peter Marshall (USA) 23.73 3. Daniel Orzechowski (Brazil) 24.76
100m butterfly: 1. Garth Tune (South Africa) 52.19 2. Neil Watson (South Africa) 52.59 3. Simon Sjodin (Sweden) 52.66
100m breaststroke: 1. Cameron van der Burgh (South Africa) 57.99 2. Christian Sprenger (Australia) 58.55
3. Felipe Lima (Brazil) 58.86
200m freestyle: 1. Oussama Mellouli (Tunisia) 1:43.62 2. Darian Townsend (South Africa) 1:44.02 3. Kyle Richardson (Australia) 1:45.99
1 500m freestyle: 1. Oussama Mellouli (Tunisia) 14:54.73 2. Riaan Schoeman (South Africa) 14:54.82 3. Heerden Herman (South Africa) 15:12.61