29 July 2009

David Davies, the Be Number 1 swimmer who won Olympic bronze in 2004 in the 1,500m freestyle before claiming a silver medal in the 10km open-water event at the Beijing Games last year, broke his own British record in the men’s 800m freestyle final at the World Championships in Rome today, although it was only good enough for a fifth-place finish.

The Welsh swimmer touched home in 7:44.32 as China’s Zhang Lia took gold in 7:32.12 to shave an astonishing 6.53sec off the previous world record for the event, which was set by Grant Hackett at the 2005 World Championships.

Davies, who will participate in the 1,500m at the weekend, said: "Yesterday's swim was really pleasing and to go past it is good. I feel in good shape and I've added a bit more speed as well. I want to do a personal best on Sunday. I haven't done a PB since Athens in 2004, so that is a goal."

Meanwhile, Jo Jackson, who won a silver medal in the women’s 400m freestyle on Sunday, just failed to claim her second medal of the championships when she finished fourth in the 200m freestyle final.

The Be Number 1 swimmer, who had qualified third fastest from yesterday’s semi-finals when she smashed her own British record by almost a second, looked to be catching American Dana Vollmer on the final leg, but had to be content with fourth, finishing in 1:55.88 – 0.24sec behind Vollmer. Local Italian favourite Federica Pellegrini lowered her own world for the second time in 24 hours, touching home in a scarcely believable 1:52.98.

“Amazing,” said Jackson of Pellegrini. “That time she did tonight was unbelievable. It was like a bloke's time. We are all inspired by what she did and hopefully we can be there in a few years' time."
Jackson admitted she was unsure how to approach racing over four lengths, as it is more of a sprint than she is accustomed to.

She added: "I just get in there and do my best because we've got a good chance in the relay tomorrow night. To do a personal best last night I was really happy with and just to get in there tonight, I am happy. A lot of the girls in there tonight are sprinters and they had the edge over me at the start of the race. It is a fun event - there is no pressure on me like there is in the 400m."