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Hurley Heads Champs; CR For Santos

Dec 15, 2012  - Craig Lord

Istanbul, World Short-Course Championships, Day 4 finals:

Men's 50m backstroke

All that world cup racing this season surely helped as Robert Hurley (AUS) sharpened up to take the crown in an Australian record of 23.04 ahead of Olympic 100m champion Matt Grevers (USA), on 23.17, and defending champion Stanislav Donets (RUS), 23.19, Guido Guilherme (BRA) locked out by 0.06sec, Australia's second man in the mix, Ashley Delaney, on 23.42.

“I did the whole world cup series this year and that was very important to get that race practise for myself," said a proud Hurley. "I swam 56 races across six weeks and I don’t think I even swum that much in the last three years of my life. So I really knew how to execute my race to perfection and to get the Australian record at my first World Championships I’m absolutely stoked.

"I broke the world record four years ago in 23.24 so tonight I went quicker than I did in a [shiny] suit which is pretty great and I’m not too far off the world record now so hopefully I can get it down even further,” Hurley added.

Men's 50m butterfly

Nicholas Santos (BRA) took gold in his third championship record through the rounds, leaving the standard at 22.22, 0.04sec ahead of Chad Le Clos (RSA), the bronze going to Thomas Shields in a US record of 22.46.