Pan Pacific Notebook
Not a Slow Summer: Hansen Sets Two More World Records
Brendan Hansen reacts after breaking his own world record in the 200-meter breaststroke.
(Chuck Stoody - AP)
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Monday, August 21, 2006
VICTORIA, B.C., Aug. 20 -- It was another run-of-the-mill meet for U.S. breaststroker Brendan Hansen: two individual events, two world records.
Three days after lowering his world record in the 100-meter breaststroke, Hansen did the same in the 200. At the U.S. championships three weeks ago, Hansen accomplished the same double, meaning he has set four world records in August.
After the race, Hansen, 25, began plotting his next assault on the record books. "Right now, I have to go back to the drawing board to see how low I can make these records," he said.
Hansen, who trains in Austin under coach Eddie Reese, finished in 2 minutes 8.50 seconds, knocking .24 of a second off of his world mark.
Second Gold for Ziegler
Kate Ziegler was just about seething with motivation when she jumped into the water at the start of the 800 final. She still felt the sting of disappointment over Saturday's 400, when she had swum poorly and barely missed a bronze medal. Next to her was Hayley Peirsol, who upset her in the event at the U.S. championships.
So Ziegler, a Bishop O'Connell grad from Great Falls, did not mess around. She dominated from the start to win her second gold medal of the meet in 8:24.56, a personal best time. Peirsol finished second in 8:26.41.
"Last night I was kind of disappointed after the 400 free," said Ziegler, who also won the 1,500. "So I came in here today to make it up to myself." . . .
No one was more surprised that Whitney Myers threatened the nine-year-old world record in the 200-meter individual medley than Whitney Myers.
The 21-year-old from Oxford, Ohio, slashed her personal-best time by nearly two seconds to win a gold medal. Myers, who was under world-record pace at the last turn, faded over the final 50 but still topped Towson's Katie Hoff, the race favorite who already had won three gold medals and claimed her second silver.
Myers, cheered on by a frenzied crowd, finished in 2:10.11, ahead of Hoff (2:11.51) and Australia's Stephanie Rice (2:13.21), but short of Yanyan Wu's 1997 record of 2:09.72.
"I was totally surprised," Myers said.
