Tokyo Medal Hope Lewis Clareburt Powers To Stunning New Zealand Record In The 200IM swimmingworldmagazine.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from swimmingworldmagazine.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Swimming: Lewis Clareburt breaks another NZ record on eve of Tokyo Olympics
10 Apr, 2021 08:40 PM
2 minutes to read
Lewis Clareburt claimed a bronze medal at the World Championships in 2019. Photo / Getty Images
NZ Herald
A stronger contender for a medal in the pool at the Tokyo Olympics is proving he should head into the Games in career-best form.
Lewis Clareburt set his second New Zealand Open record of the week yesterday while meeting the Olympic qualification time in the 200m Individual Medley.
Clareburt beat the previous record (1:59.24) by 1.35 seconds, finishing in 1:57.89 seconds. The previous record was held by Bradlee Ashby in 2017 at the FINA World Championships.
He also claimed victory on Saturday in the men’s 100m freestyle, in a time of 49.04, just shy of his record-breaking mark of 48.96 set in the relay earlier in the meet. Meanwhile, Pukekohe’s Andrew Jeffcoat also set a New Zealand Open record in the men’s 50m backstroke during the morning heats, clocking 25.06 – knocking 0.18 seconds off Daneil Bell’s 12-year-old record. Jeffcoat was then just 0.02 seconds off breaking the record again in his win in the final. There were high hopes for Auckland’s Helena Gasson in the women’s 200m IM after she clocked 2:12.68 in the morning’s heats – just 0.12s off Olympic qualification. However, she went slightly slower in her win in the final (2:13.38).
Kiwi Lewis Clareburt Clocks Stunning 400IM of 4:09 87 swimmingworldmagazine.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from swimmingworldmagazine.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
McCarthy swam the event in 4:47.19 seconds. She beat the time (4:47.75), which was set as the standard by Swimming New Zealand when the records originated. The 50m freestyle races took place on Tuesday with George Williams from Coast Swim Club taking the win in the men’s event and 16-year-old Laura Littlejohn from St Paul’s Swimming Club winning the women’s.
Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images
Lewis Clareburt shone in the men s 400m individual medley at the national swimming championships on Tuesday. Williams swam a personal best of 22.99 seconds and Littlejohn, who also swam a PB, finished in 25.59 seconds. Taiko Torepe-Ormsby from Wharenui Swim Club took silver in the men’s 50m freestyle, swimming a personal best time of 23.30. Torepe-Ormsby would need to shave off just under a second to beat Michael Pickets standing age-group record of 22.37 seconds.