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A Sea Of Shiny Suits And Meaningless Times

Jul 31, 2009  - Craig Lord

The USA and Japan renewed an 80-year-old rivalry as they both clocked 7:03.30 in the heats of the 4x200m freestyle to take lanes 4 and 5 for the final. No team other than the US, with its 6:58 world record, has ever gone faster. In the wash, 11 teams got inside 7:10. Two years ago in Melbourne: no team got inside 7:10 in heats. Japan's national record stood 6sec away, year-on-year. Look back to Melbourne and we see Japan's best male quartet on 7:13.68, 11th best in the world.

Rome 2009

  • Top 8 through: 7:03.30 - 7:08.07
  • Inside 7:05: 2
  • Inside 7:10: 11

Melbourne 2007:

  • Top 16 through: 7:10.99 - 7:18.93
  • Inside 7:05: 0
  • Inside 7:10: 0
  • Inside 7:15: 2