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World Record Bull Run: 108 In 2008

Dec 21, 2008  - Craig Lord

 The 2008 WR CLUB

No fewer than 55 world long-course records have fallen so far this year - and 53 world short-course records. That's 108 altogether, since February this year. The swimming world is transformed. The latest three world records were set by club teams in the women's and men's 4x100m freestyle and Ashwin Wildeboer at Spanish nationals. Here's the final rush of 2008:

  • 9/12/08: 4x100m free women - 3:28.22 (Eiffel Swimmers
PSV - Eindhoven NED) - Hinkelien Scheuder 52.88, Inge Dekker
52.24, Ranomi Kromowidjojo 52.12 and Marleen Veldhuis 50.98.
  • 20/12/08 : 4x100m free men - 3 :04.98 (CN Marseille) - Gregory Mallet 47.41, Fabien Gilot 44.92, William Meynard 47.65, Frederick Bousquet 45.00.
  • 21/12/08: Aschwin Wildeboer (ESP) set a world s/c record of 49.20 in the 100m back at Spanish nationals in Madrid. Wildeboer was leading a medley team of Sergio Garcis, Olaf Wildeboer and Eduard Lorente to a winning time of 3:30.90. Not sure if the relay time will count for much internationally, given the nationality choices of the two brothers, unless there's been another change of heart. Wildeboer's effort beat the 49.32 set by Russia's Stanislav Donets at the European s/c Champs in Rijeka last week. 
  • Other fast swims to end the year with a bang: Marleen Veldhuis (NED) broke the Euopean record on 100m freestyle
again 51.74 (just 0.04sec off the world record); at Russian nationals - Arkady Vyatchanin, 200m back 1.48.55, Russian record; Valentina Artemyeva 50m breaststroke European record of 29.67; Paul Biederman (GER), 1.41.01 in the 200 free; Randall Bal (USA), 50m back, 23.07. 
  • I make that 141 European records. Ridiculous.

World l/c record counts in recent Olympic years:

2008: 55 
2004: 17
2000: 33
1996: 5
1992: 16
1988: 24
1984: 24
1980: 24
1976: 61
1972: 53

Many of those records were set AT the Olympic Games NOT before. In 1976, for example, 29 world records fell in Montreal. The sport has entered an era in which we must refer to pre-February 2008 and post-February 2008 times, such has been the impact of performance-enhancing bodysuits that have changed the nature of swimming. Impossible to compare Egerszegi with Coventry, Popov with Sullivan and so on. The bulk of the following efforts unfolded in a Speedo LZR Racer. 

Here's how the world-record sequence has unfolded so far:

LONG-COURSE

  • 16/02/08: 200m backstroke - Kirsty Coventry (ZIM) 2:06.39
  • 17/02/08: 50m freestyle - Eamon Sullivan (AUS) 21.56
  • 17/02/08: 100m backstroke - Natalie Coughlin (USA) 59.21
  • 08/03/08: 50m backstroke - Haley McGregory (USA) 28.00
  • 18/03/08: 4x100m freestyle - (NED) 3:33.62 (Dekker, 53.77; Kromowidjojo, 53.61; Heemskerk, 53.62, and Veldhuis, 52.62)
  • 21/03/08: 100m freestyle - Alain Bernard (FRA) 47.60
  • 22/03/08: 400m medley - Stephanie Rice (AUS) 4:31.46
  • 22/03/08: 50m backstroke - Emily Seebohm (AUS) 27.95
  • 22/03/08: 100m freestyle - Alain Bernard (FRA) 47.50.
  • 23/03/08: 50m backstroke - Sophie Edington (AUS) 27.67
  • 23/03/08: 50m freestyle - Alain Bernard (FRA) 21.50
  • 24/03/08: 50m freestyle - Marleen Veldhuis (NED) 24.09
  • 24/03/08: 400m freestyle - Federica Pellegrini (ITA) 4:01.53
  • 25/03/08: 200m medley - Stephanie Rice (AUS) 2:08.92
  • 27/03/08: 50m freestyle - Eamon Sullivan (AUS) 21.41
  • 27/03/08: 100m freestyle - Libby Trickett (nee Lenton) (AUS) 52.88
  • 28/03/08: 50m freestyle - Eamon Sullivan (AUS) 21.28
  • 29/03/08: 50m freestyle - Libby Trickett (AUS) 23.97
  • 02/04/08: 50m backstroke - Liam Tancock (GBR) 24.47
  • 08/06/08: 200m breaststroke - Kosuke Kitajima (JPN) 2:07.51
  • 29/06/08: 400m medley - Michael Phelps (USA) 4:05.25
  • 29/06/08: 400m medley - Katie Hoff (USA) 4:31.12
  • 30/06/08: 100m backstroke - Haley McGregory (USA) 59.15
  • 30/06/08: 100m backstroke - Natalie Coughlin (USA) 59.03
  • 01/07/08: 100m backstroke - Natalie Coughlin (USA) 58.97
  • 01/07/08: 100m backstroke - Aaron Peirsol (USA) 52.89
  • 04/07/08: 200m backstroke - Aaron Peirsol (USA) 1:54.32e
  • 04/07/08: 200m medley - Michael Phelps (USA) 1:54.80
  • 05/07/08: 200m backstroke - Margaret Hoelzer (USA) 2:06.09
  • 10/08/08: 400m medley - Stephanie Rice (AUS) 4:29.45
  • 10/08/08: 400m medley - Michael Phelps (USA) 4:03.84
  • 10/08/08: 4x100m freestyle - USA - 3:12.23 - Nathan Adrian (48.82), Cullen Jones (47.61), Ben Wildman-Tobriner (48.03) and Matt Grevers (47.77)
  • 11/08/08: 100m backstroke - Kirsty Coventry (ZIM) 58.77
  • 11/08/08: 100m breaststroke - Kosuke Kitajima (JPN) 58.91
  • 11/08/08: 100m freestyle - Eamon Sullivan (AUS) 47.24 
  • 11/08/08: 200m freestyle - Federica Pellegrini (ITA) 1:55.45
  • 11/08/08: 4x100m freestyle - USA - 3:08.24 - Michael Phelps (47.51), Garrett Weber-Gale (47.02), Cullen Jones (47.65), Jason Lezak (46.06)
  • 12/08/08: 200m freestyle - Michael Phelps (USA) 1:42.96
  • 12/08/08: 100m backstroke - Aaron Peirsol (USA) 52.54
  • 13/08/08: 100m freestyle - Alain Bernard (FRA) 47.20
  • 13/08/08: 100m freestyle - Eamon Sullivan (AUS) 47.05 
  • 13/08/08: 200m freestyle - Federica Pellegrini (ITA) 1:54.82 
  • 13/08/08: 200m butterfly - Michael Phelps (USA) 1:52.03
  • 13/08/08: 200m medley - Stephanie Rice (AUS) 2:08.45
  • 13/08/08: 4x200m freestyle - USA - 6:58.56 - Michael Phelps (1:43.31), Ryan Lochte (1:44.28); Ricky Berens (1:46.29), Peter Vanderkaay (1:44.68)
  • 14/08/08: 200m butterfly - Liu Zige (CHN) 2:04.18
  • 14/08.08: 4x200m freestyle - AUS - 7:44.31 - Stephanie Rice (1:56.60), Bronte Barratt (1:56.58), Kylie Palmer (1:55.91), Linda McKenzie (1:55.91)
  • 15/08/08: 200m breaststroke - Rebecca Soni (USA) 2:20.22
  • 15/08/08: 200m backstroke - Ryan Lochte (USA) 1:53.94
  • 15/08/08: 200m medley - Michael Phelps (USA) 1:54.23
  • 16/08/08: 200m backstroke - Kirsty Coventry (ZIM) 2:05.24
  • 16/08/08: 800m freestyle - Rebecca Adlington (GBR) 8:14.10
  • 17/08/08: 4x100m medley - AUS - 3:52.69 (Emily Seebohm, Leisel Jones, Jessicah Schipper and Libby Trickett)
  • 17/08/08: 4x100m medley - USA 3:29.34 (Aaron Peirsol, Brendan Hansen, Michael Phelps and Jason Lezak)
  • 05/12/08: 50m backstroke - Randall Ball (USA) 24.33

 SHORT-COURSE:

  • 09/04/08: 400m medley - Kirsty Coventry (ZIM) 4:26.52 (two women, Hannah Miley, GBR, and Mireia Belmonte, ESP, also raced in LZR suits and inside previous world record)
  • 09/04/08: 4x100m freestyle - USA 3:08.44 - Ryan Lochte, Bryan Lundquist, Nathan Adrian and Doug Van Wie (* - the last swimmer here wore the new Tyr suit) - (The Netherlands also raced inside previous WR, all in LZRs)
  • 09/04/08: 4x200m freestyle - NED 7:38.90 - Inge Dekker; Femke Heemskerk; Marleen Veldhuis; Ranomi Kromowidjojo. (the next two team home, GBR, 7:38.96, and AUS, 7:39.01, also raced more than seven seconds inside previous world record).
  • 23/02/08: 200m backstroke: Reiko Nakamura (JPN) 2:03.24.
  • 23/02/08: 200m butterfly: Yuko Nakanishi (JPN) 2:03.12 
  • 10/04/08: 50m breaststroke - Jessica Hardy (USA) 29.58.
  • 11/04/08: 200m backstroke - Kirsty Coventry (ZIM) 2:00.91
  • 11/04/08: 50m butterfly - Felicity Galvez (AUS) 25.32.
  • 11/04/08: 50m freestyle - Duje Draganja (CRO) 20.81.
  • 11/04/08: 200m medley - Ryan Lochte (USA) 1:51.56.
  • 11/04/08: 4x100m medley - USA 3:51.36
  • 12/04/08: 100m medley - Ryan Lochte (USA) 51.25
  • 12/04/08: 200m medley - Kirsty Coventry (ZIM) 2:06.13
  • 12/04/08: 4x100m freestyle - NED 3:29.42 (Hinkelien Schreuder, Femke Heemskerk, Inge Dekker and Marleen Veldhuis - 51.43 split, fastest in history). 
  • 13/04/08: 50m backstroke - Sanja Jovanovic (CRO) 26.37
  • 13/04/08: 200m backstroke - Markus Rogan (AUT) 1:47.84
  • 13/04/08: 100m medley - Ryan Lochte (USA) 51.15
  • 13/04/08: 100m butterfly - Felicity Galvez (AUS) 55.89
  • 13/04/08: 50m freestyle - Marleen Veldhuis (NED) 23.25
  • 13/04/08: 4x100m medley men - Russia -3:24.29 (Stanislav Donets; Sergey Geybel; Korotyshkin; Sukhorukov)
  • 25/04/08: 100m breaststroke - Leisel Jones (AUS) 1:03.72
  • 25/04/08: 100m butterfly - Libby Trickett (nee Lenton), (AUS) 55.74 
  • 20/07/08: 800m freestyle - Grant Hackett (AUS) 7:23.42
  • 06/09/08: 50m freestyle - Roland Schoeman (RSA) 20.64
  • 25/10/08: 50m butterfly - Matt Jaukovic (AUS) 22.50
  • 26/10/08: 50m backstroke - Robert Hurley (AUS) 23.24
  • 08/11/08: 50m breaststroke - Cameron Van der Burgh (RSA) 26.08
  • 09/11/08: 100m breaststroke - Cameron Van der Burgh (RSA) 56.88
  • 11/11/08: 100m backstroke - Peter Marshall (USA) 49.94
  • 11/11/08: 50m breaststroke - Cameron Ven der Burgh (RSA) 25.94
  • 12/11/08: 50m backstroke - Peter Marshall (USA) 23.05
  • 12/11/08: 50m butterfly - Therese Alshammar (SWE) 25.31
  • 15/11/08: 100m backstroke - Peter Marshall (USA) 49.63
  • 16/11/08: 200m freestyle - Paul Biedermann (GER) 1:40.83
  • 16/11/08: 50m backstroke - Randall Bal (USA) - 22.87
  • 16/11/08: 50m butterfly - Marieke Guehrer (AUS) - 24.99
  • 28/11/08: 400m medley - Julia Smit (USA) 4:25.87
  • 06/12/08: 50 'fly - Amaury Leveaux (FRA) 22.29
  • 06/12/08: 200 free - Coralie Balmy (FRA) 1:53.18
  • 07/12/08: 100 free - Alain Bernard (FRA) 45.69
  • 11/12/08: 50m free - Amaury Leveaux (FRA) 20.48
  • 12/12/08 : 100 free - Amaury Leveaux (FRA) 45.12
  • 12/12/08 : 800 free - Alessia Filippi (ITA) 8 :04.53
  • 13/12/08 : 100 free - Amaury Leveaux (FRA) 44.94
  • 13/12/08 : 200M butterfly - Nikolay Skvortsov (RUS) 1 :50.60
  • 13/12/08 : 50m backstroke - Sanja Jovanovic (CRO) 26.23
  • 14/12/08 : 50m butterfly - Amaury Leveaux (FRA) 22.18
  • 14/12/08 : 100m backstroke - Stanislav Donets (RUS) 49.32
  • 14/12/08 : 200m freestyle - Federica Pellegrini (ITA) 1 :51.85
  • 14/12/08 : 400m IM - Mireia Belmonte (ESP) 4 :25.05
  • 19/12/08: 4x100m free women - 3:28.22 (Eiffel Swimmers
PSV - Eindhoven NED) - Hinkelien Scheuder 52.88, Inge Dekker
52.24, Ranomi Kromowidjojo 52.12 and Marleen Veldhuis 50.98.
  • 20/12/08 : 4x100m free men - 3 :04.98 (CN Marseille) - Gregory Mallet 47.41, Fabien Gilot 44.92, William Meynard 47.65, Frederick Bousquet 45.00.
  • 21/12/08: 100m backstroke - Aschwin Wildeboer (ESP) - 49.20