Olympic champion Liu Zige wiped a stunning 1.6 seconds off the world record in the women’s 200m butterfly at China’s National Games on Wednesday.
Liu was timed in 2 minutes, 1.81 seconds, Xinhua news agency reported, eclipsing the previous world mark of 2:03.41 set by Australian Jessicah Schipper at the swimming world championships in July.
“I don’t think the result today is fast enough for me, and there is still room for me to better the record in the future,” Xinhua quoted Liu as saying after setting the first swimming world record of the National Games, which started last Friday and run through Wednesday.
Reports said Liu set the record while wearing a Speedo LZR Racer, one of several swimsuits that will be banned by swimming’s world governing body beginning next year and have already been banned in competition in the US.
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