Israeli swimmer Toumarkin shows promising form in Kazan

Yakov Toumarkin will take part in the 200m back heats on Thursday in what is considered to be his strongest event and in which he reached the final at London 2012.

By ALLON SINAI
Israel’s Yakov Toumarkin registered his best result to date at the world championships on Monday (photo credit: REUTERS)
Israel’s Yakov Toumarkin registered his best result to date at the world championships on Monday
(photo credit: REUTERS)
Israel’s Yakov Toumarkin ended the 100-meters backstroke at the world swimming championships in 12th place on Monday, improving his national record and proving he is in top form ahead of his main event later this week in Kazan, Russia.
Toumarkin, who has already booked his place at next summer’s Rio Olympics, knocked 13 hundredths of a second off the record on Monday, clocking a time of 53.77 seconds, 38 hundredths of a second from a place in the final.
Nevertheless, the 23-year-old, who is competing in his third world championships, registered his best-ever finish at the event, which he will be hoping to improve on in the coming days.
Toumarkin will take part in the 200m back heats on Thursday in what is considered to be his strongest event and in which he reached the final at London 2012.
Amit Ivry continued her disappointing showing in Kazan on Monday, recording a time of 1:09.08m in the women’s 100m breaststroke, good enough for 28th place, 1.5 seconds from a semifinal berth.
Meanwhile, Hungary’s Katinka Hosszu underlined her status as the leading all-round swimmer with a world record in the women’s 200 meters individual medley at the world championships on Monday.
Hosszu, the 2014 world swimmer of the year, clocked two minutes 6.12 seconds as the 26-yearold not only defended her title but shaved 0.03 seconds off the previous mark set by American Ariana Kukors at the 2009 world championships.
Japan’s Kanako Watanabe took silver, 2.33 seconds behind Hosszu, while Britain’s Siobhan O’Connor claimed bronze.
Britain’s Adam Peaty secured his first world title in the men’s 100m backstroke after a whirlwind 12 months on the international scene.
The 20-year-old world record holder claimed gold from Cameron van der Burgh of South Africa in 58.52 seconds, overtaking the Olympic champion in the final three strokes to win by 0.07 seconds and add to his European and Commonwealth collection. Ross Murdoch, of Britain, won bronze.
Sweden’s Sarah Sjostrom set her second world record in 24 hours in coasting to the women’s 100m butterfly title.
Sjostrom’s time of 55.64 seconds broke her previous mark of 55.74, set in the semifinals on Sunday when she became only the second woman to dip below 56 seconds.
She held off Nordic rival Jeanette Ottesen, who claimed silver in 57.05 seconds.
Florent Manadou of France took gold in the men’s 50m butterfly, touching in 22.97 seconds to beat Brazil’s Nicolas Santos.
Mitchell Larkin of Australia will be favorite to take the men’s 100m backstroke title after qualifying fastest for Tuesday’s final, so too compatriot Emily Seebohm who advanced to the women’s 100m backstroke with the fastest time.
American Ryan Lochte produced a superb performance to qualify fastest for the men’s 200m freestyle final.
Lochte started from lane one, having labored to a semifinal berth in 13th place, but the multiple world champion led from the outset to post 1:45.36, edging Briton’s James Guy out by 0.07 seconds as fastest qualifier.
Yuliya Efimova, competing in her first major competition since her doping ban ended in February, topped qualification for the women’s 100m breaststroke final.
Reuters contributed to this report.


Related Tags
swimming