Rome 2009, Day 5:

Women's 100m freestyle heats:

Amanda Weir (USA) woke the sprint club up this morning with a 53.20 best time in heats just ahead of Libby Trickett (AUS).

The way Weir swam it was interesting: 26.25 going out 26.95 coming home, no dive. Almost a negative split. In fact on what passes for swimming right now, it was a negative split.

Wonder how that works. May like this, as explained by Paul Biedermann when explaining how he felt in his X-Glide: "It feels really good in the suit. Normally you move your arms and legs in a race and at some point you are waiting to go down, go under. With this suit you move your arms and legs and that's all that happens the whole way."

Libby Lenton, as she was then, clocked 54.32 to qualify in Melbourne 2007. That would have placed her 15th in Rome heats. Phew - just through! 

In Rome for real, Trickett went through second in 53.49, with Ranomi Kromowidjojo (NED) and Britta Steffen (GER), Olympic champion and world record holder, next through in 53.61 and 53.62.

Rome 2009: 

• Top 16 through: 53.20 - 54.60
• Inside 53.5: 2
• Inside 54: 10
• Inside 54.5: 14
• Inside 55: 21
• Inside 56: 30

Melbourne 2007:

• Top 16 through: 54.04 - 55.69
• Inside 53.5: 0
• Inside 54: 0
• Inside 54.5: 3
• Inside 55: 8
• Inside 55.5: 13
• Inside 56: 17