Frolander adds world title to Olympic gold

FUKUOKA (JAPAN), JULY 26. Dutch superswimmer Inge de Bruijn captured her second gold medal at the World swimming championships with a comfortable victory in the 50m butterfly event on Thursday, while three others added world championship titles to their Olympic glory.

The three-times 2000 Olympic champion de Bruijn clocked 25.90s to win ahead of two Swedes in a discipline not on the Olympic programme. Therese Alshammer took silver in 26.18 and Anna-Karin Kammerling grabbed bronze in 26.45.

``I took a break after the Olympics. I didn't know what to expect here. I am surprised and happy that I have two gold medals now,'' said de Bruijn, who won the 100m freestyle gold on Wednesday.

Sweden did better in the next race when Lars Frolander confirmed his 100m butterfly Olympic gold by adding the world championship title in a tight race.

Frolander barely hung on to win in 52.10, beating a late challenge from American Ian Crocker, who won silver in 52.25. The bronze went to Geoff Huegill of Australia who clocked 52.36.

``It was a tough and very close race,'' said Frolander, who admitted he had planned to swim a little faster. Olympic champion Diana Mocanu won the women's 200m backstroke in 2:09.94. Stanislava Komarova won a silver for Russia in 2:10.43 and Joanna Fargus of Britain won bronze in 2:11.05.

Italy's Massimiliano Rosolino made it back-to-back world titles with a Sydney gold in-between in the 200m medley with an undisputed victory in 1:59.71. American Thomas Wilkins got silver in 2:00.73 and Justin Norris won Australia's only medal of the day, a bronze in 2:00.91.

The men's 200m breaststroke saw a surprise podium. Unheralded American Brendan Hansen won gold in 2:10.69, Kiev-born Maxim Prodoprigora gave Austria a best-ever world championship result in the form of silver with 2:11.09 and Kosuke Kitajima delighted the home fans with a bronze for Japan in 2:11.21.

``I had actually hoped for a medal after missing the Sydney final last year for swimming too slow,'' said Prodoprigora, who fled Ukraine with his parents after the nuclear plant disaster in Chernobyl in 1986.

Britain awarded gold in relay

Also, Britain was confirmed gold medallists in the women's 4x200 metres women's freestyle relay after the world governing body FINA upheld disqualifications of original winners Australia and second-placed United States.

Australians had celebrated their win by jumping into the pool before all teams had completed the race. The U.S. recorded a false start.

Germany, which finished fourth and Japan which finished fifth, were elevated and took silver and bronze respectively.

The German swimmers presented the Australian team with porcelain plates as a consolation gesture as German Federation chief Christa Thiel said, ``Australia had by far the best performance.''

China won two more diving golds to take its tally to five. Minxia Wu and Jing Jing Guo won the women's synchronised 3- metres springboard event, leaving only silver for Russian Olympic champions Julia Pachalina and Vera Ilina. Germans Ditte Kotzian and Conny Schmalfuss won the bronze medal.

The men's synchronised platform gold went to China's Liang Tian and Jia Hu, Mexicans Eduardo Rueda and Fernando Platas won silver while the bronze went to Roman Wolodkov and Anton Sacharov of Ukraine.

- DPA

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