World Swimming Championships
New Zealand swimmers Lauren Boyle and Glenn Snyders smashed New Zealand records to spark an outstanding start to the FINA World Swimming Championships in Shanghai today.
Boyle is the first of the Swimming New Zealand squad to contest a final when she competes in the 400m freestyle tonight (local time).
The 23 year old was the third fastest qualifier in this morning’s heats of the women’s 400m freestyle, clocking a superb 4:05.61, which was nearly two seconds faster than the national record she set in the trials in April.
Boyle, returned permanently from the United States earlier this year to train under Mark Regan at the Swimming New Zealand High Performance Centre.
She was third fastest behind defending world champion Federica Pellegrini (ITA) and Camille Muffat (FRA), and ahead of 800m freestyle world champion Lotte Friis, the swimmer coached by Regan to Olympic success in his time in Denmark.
Boyle will swim in a straight final tonight.
Her Swimming New Zealand HPC and North Shore clubmate Snyders went under the magical one minute barrier for the first time to finish second fastest qualifier in the men’s 100m breaststroke.
The 24 year old won the ninth of 11 heats in 59.94, which broke his own national record set with the benefit of suits back in 2009.
Snyders, also coached by Regan, was second fastest overall behind Norway’s Alexander Dale Oen, the Beijing silver medallist and European champion in 59.71 and will contest the semifinal tonight.
In other swims Sophia Batchelor (AqauaGym, Christchurch) was 39th fastest in heats of the 100m butterfly and Dylan Dunlop-Barrett (AquaBladz, Taranaki) 30th in the 400m freestyle, in their first swims in the world long course championships.
Teammate Daniel Bell was 30th fastest just outside his best in heats of the 50m butterfly, a warm-up swim for his backstroke later in the meet.
The women’s 4x100m freestyle relay team, without star sprinter Hayley Palmer who withdrew earlier in the week with illness, were 14th fastest in their heat.