【2011.08.01 澳大利亚人报】Grant Hackett's 1500m freestyle record falls

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http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/sport/grant-hacketts-1500m-freestyle-record-falls-to-chinas-sun-yang/story-e6frg7mf-1226105626365


China's Sun Yang on his way to smashing Grant Hackett's 1500m freestyle world record in Shanghai. Picture: Getty Images Source: Getty Images

FOR the first time in almost 20 years, the world 1500m freestyle record is not in Australian hands.

It was the end of an era last night as Grant Hackett's revered decade-old world record fell to a new and improved model of himself, China's Sun Yang, at the world championships in Shanghai.

Almost 10 years to the day after Hackett (14:34.56) created his monument at the 2001 world titles in Fukuoka, Sun, who is guided by Hackett's former coach Denis Cotterell, lowered the standard to 14:34.14.

But on a day that Australian swimming lost a piece of its past, it also got another glimpse of its future after new world 100m freestyle champion James Magnussen fell just 0.2 seconds short of stealing the 4x100m medley gold medal from the favoured US team and winning a third gold medal this week.


China's Sun Yang acknowledges the crowd after winning the gold medal and smashing Grant Hackett's world record in the 1500m freestyle. Source: Getty Images

Former Australia captain Hackett was in a car on his way home from Melbourne Airport last night when informed that Sun had broken his mark.

It came as no surprise to the dual Olympic champion, who had predicted that Sun would break it in front of his home crowd in Shanghai, after he fell only a second short at last year's Asian Games.

"It's been nice to hang on to it for that long, but I really don't feel that sad, personally," Hackett said of the loss of his record.

"I feel more that it is Australia losing something. I would have loved it to go to another Australian, but on a personal level sport evolves and you just accept it."

He was only surprised that Sun, who is even taller than the 198cm Hackett, didn't break the mark by more. "I'm very surprised it was only by a whisker when it comes down to 1500m. It's almost annoying that it was such a small margin. Hopefully another Australian can come up over time to get it back for us."

This is the first time since Kieren Perkins first broke the mark at the 1992 Olympic trials that an Australian has not held the 1500m record. Perkins broke it three times in his career, before Hackett overtook him.

Sun swam the race completely differently from the way that both Perkins and Hackett set their records. The two Australians revolutionised the event by taking the race out hard from the start and holding on.

But the 19-year-old Chinese built through the race, conserving his energy with a smooth controlled stroke through the first 1100m, drifting to more than three seconds outside Hackett's pace at the 1000m mark, before he began to surge for home.

He was still just over two seconds behind Hackett's pace as he made the 1400m turn, but unleashed a sensational last 100m of 54.22sec.

"That was the way I thought he would do it," Hackett said.

Magnussen dragged the Australian relay of Hayden Stoeckel, Brenton Rickard and Geoff Huegill from fourth to second and just a fraction away from gold last night.

He entered the water the best part of a second behind American Nathan Adrian and cut back all but 0.2sec of his lead, putting in easily the fastest split of the day (47sec). The Australian stopped the clock in 3:32.26, just 0.2sec behind Adrian.

Triple Olympic champion Stephanie Rice collected her first medal at the event when she won the bronze and was 0.01sec short of silver, in the 400m individual medley.

American Ryan Lochte, was confirmed as the star of Shanghai last night as he collected his fifth gold medal, winning the 400m individual medley by more than four seconds (4:07.13) from teammate Tyler Clary.

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