World record-holder Ryan Lochte of the USA won the men’s 200m individual medley final — despite his goggles steaming up — at swimming’s world championships on Thursday.
Gold medalist US swimmer Ryan Lochte poses with his medal on the podium during the award ceremony of the men's 200-metre individual medley swimming event in the FINA World Championships in Barcelona on August 1, 2013. (AFP/Fabrice Coffrini)
BARCELONA: World record-holder Ryan Lochte of the USA won the men’s 200m individual medley final — despite his goggles steaming up — at swimming’s world championships on Thursday.
Lochte, the Olympic silver medallist, clocked 1min 54.98secs to win gold with 18-year-old Kosuke Hagino of Japan at 1.31 back and Brazil’s Thiago Pereira, who had led after the first two legs, finished 1.32 adrift in bronze.
Hagino won his second silver at these Barclona championships after finishing second to China’s long-distance expert Sun Yang in Sunday’s 400m freestyle final.
Lochte, who collected his 13th world gold dating back to Montreal in 2005, suffered from misty goggles in the final length, but still managed to touch the wall first.
“My goggles fogged up in the last fifty so I couldn’t really see the rest of the field, I was just hoping I was in first and could get to the wall,” said the 28-year-old, who also won a worlds silver here with the USA in Sunday’s 4x100m relay.
“I just wanted to hit my turns hard and by the end I was praying that I finished first.”
Lochte took an extended break from swimming after winning five medals, including two golds, at the London 2012 Olympics and admitted he was pleased with gold, given his lack of training this year.
“It feels good considering my training hasn’t really been there this year,” he said before swimming again on Thursday to qualify second fastest from the semi-finals for Friday’s 200m backstroke final.
“The first two days here I wasn’t myself, I was too worried about the outcome of each race.
“I’m normally really relaxed and I lost that in the first few days, but now I feel like myself again.
“I have four more races left. I needed to just go back to being relaxed and having fun.”
This was Lochte’s second individual medal after finishing fourth in Tuesday’s 200m freestyle final, failing to defend the title he won at the 2011 championships in Shanghai.
Bronze medallist Pereira, who won a silver in the 400m IM London Olympic final behind Lochte, said he was disappointed to miss silver by onehundredths of a second, but his priority is to win gold on home soil at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games.
“I didn’t check the splits yet, but I think I just went a little bit harder in the first 100m and that’s why I was a little slow in the breaststroke and the freestyle,” said the 27-year-old.
“I am still three years away from Rio and that is my ultimate goal.”
Source AFP
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