Rebecca Soni was cruising along in the women’s 200m breaststroke, 1.5 seconds ahead of world-record pace halfway through a race she won in Beijing.
But Soni went out too fast and fell from first to fourth on the last lap. Serbia’s Nadja Higl raced by to claim gold, Canada’s Annamay Pierse took silver and Austria’s Mirna Jukic got bronze.
Four world records were set in the first three events of the night, not long after governing body FINA announced that its ban on bodysuits would take effect the first day of next year. It may take years, even decades to surpass the technology assisted times of these championships.
Germany’s Britta Steffen broke her own record in the 100m freestyle at 52.07, having set the previous mark of 52.22 on the leadoff leg of the 400m free relay at these championships.
After Peirsol’s world record, the mark in the women’s 50m butterfly dropped in consecutive semi-final heats.
Marleen Veldhuis of the Netherlands won the first semi in 25.28, eclipsing her own mark of 25.33 set in April. She got to keep the record less than 5 minutes — Sweden’s Therese Alshammar won the next semi in 25.07.
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