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Coutts: Fastest Ever 200 IMer In Textile
Oct 4, 2010 - Craig Lord
Commonwealth Games, Delhi, day 1 finals:
Women 200m medley
Emily Seebohm, after a 2:09.93 win at Pan Pacs, had been tipped for gold but it was another Aussie 2:10 buster, Alicia Coutts, who claimed the crown, a 2:09.70 the fastest ever effort witnessed in a textile suit. Shiny (non-textile) apparel was banned on January 1, while the best pre-2008 effort was the then world mark of 2:09.72 that had stood to Wu Yanyan, a Chinese swimmer subsequently shamed and banned for doping.
The silver went to Seebohm, the leader until half-way, on 2:10.83, with Julia Wilkinson (CAN) taking bronze on 2:12.09, 0.03sec ahead of Natalie Wiegersma (NZL), European bronze medallist Hannah Miley (SCO) fifth in 2:12.90.
The splits tell the tale of how the race was won and lost on breaststroke:
By the time Seebohm turned into freestyle, the .7sec gap at the wall had turned into something that looked and felt like much more, the game up.
Coutts, on a 2:11.43 best in 2008 before a troubled 2009, put her success down to "1 lot of hard iron work ... I've been working on my backstroke and breaststroke." She added: "I'm very happy with my time. I didn't expect to win."On her injury, she said:
"In 2007 I had major abdominal surgery and there were also some complications after the surgery. I had surgery again after the 2008 Olympic Games, so 2009 was a write-off. I keep trying to come back better than ever and improve myself. It's nice to step up and show that I'm capable of being a champion and being the best." Next up for Coutts, the 100m free, in which she said she was looking for "something special".
A part-time receptionist from Queensland, Coutts attributed her progress to six intense weeks of specific medley preparation with coach John Fowlie, among the more emotional of folk to be found on the deck in Delhi this day.
Coutts said: "I actually didn't expect to win but I turned after the breaststroke and thought, 'Oh my god, I'm in front, keep going'. I'm very happy with the time. It was a big PB and a big morale booster for me. There was always Steph and then Emily so it's nice to step up and show that I am capable of being a champion, of being the best."
Seebohm said of silver, which ended talk of eight golds for the teenager: "It was a hard race but I lost to a great competitor. I'm glad I lost to an Aussie though. Breaststroke has always been my weak one but i'll just keep working on it I guess."
Wilkinson's take: "This morning it felt awful but I said to myself, 'You know what? I am going to do what I do best and just race tonight'. I really tried not to think about the outcome but tried to concentrate on every little aspect of my race. I just thought 'put your head down and fly'."
The result:
History in the making:
Top 3 comparisons
Gold-medal leader board: AUS 6/11 (since 1970)
Records:
Rankings
Impact on 2010 world rankings:
Impact on all-time world top 10: 0
From The Archive:
Kirsty Coventry won the 2002 Commonwealth crown and has since tussled headlong on medley with Australia's Stephanie Rice at Olympic and world levels. But the Commonwealth clashes that might have been were put paid to by the foul policies of former Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe, who so alienated so many foreign leaders that his country was booted out of the Commonwealth Games. Politics, says the IOC, should never play a part in sport. The reality is that it does, for better and for worse - and the loser in the game is invariably the athlete. Coventry, long based in the US with coach Kim Brackin is now preparing for 2011 world titles in Shanghai at her new base in South Africa. The Zimbabwean will defend the world 200m backstroke crown and be a medley force to reckon with, Olympic and world medals in her large treasury of honours.
