Suit-aided Verraszto storms to record

SWIMMING NEWS:EVELYN VERRASZTO of Hungary smashed the women's 200 metre Individual Medley world record she set only a month ago at the World Cup meet in Moscow yesterday's opening night of finals at the European Short Course (25-metre) championships in Istanbul.

Wearing the polyurethane body suit that will be banned from competition from January, Verraszto set the 236th world record since the introduction of the controversial suit two years ago, beating Italian defending champion Francesca Segat into silver, with Britain’s Hannah Miley in bronze.

The 20-year-old from Budapest clocked a time of 2:04.64, almost one-and-half seconds inside the record she set in the Russian capital in November.

That time and the other world records set over the past two years, will now be known as “suit-aided” come the start of the new year.

Ireland’s lone competitor in the women’s 200 IM, 16-year-old Gráinne Murphy, failed to emerge from the morning swims, but she still recorded an Irish junior record of 2.14.06. The three-time European Junior champion decided to forgo the shiny suits for this meet and is using a new textile version that will come back into vogue next month.

Austria’s Marcus Rogan won the men’s 200 IM gold in an European record of 1.51.72, while the second world record of the night went to the Russian men’s 50 metres medley relay who won gold in 1.31.80.

Earlier in the day there were three Irish senior and three junior records on the opening morning of heats, but none of the Irish competitors progressed.

Stephen McQuillan broke the six-year-old Irish record in the heats of the 100 metres butterfly in 54.06, 0.15 of a second inside the old time.

Donal O’Neill broke his 50 metres backstroke record in the lead leg in the 50 metres medley relay in 24.81, inside the record he set at the recent Irish nationals, while the team of O’Neill, Conor Leaney, Stephen McQuillan and Michael Dawson knocked almost two seconds off the Irish record with a time of 1.38.84.

Dawson set two junior records in the 100 breaststroke heats, splitting in 28.37 at the 50 mark and finishing in 1.00.96 – knocking over two seconds off Andrew Bree’s record.

The Irish will be hoping for better in today’s events which see Donal O’Neill go in the 50 metres backstroke, Leaney and McQuillan in the 100 metres free, Gráinne Murphy and Nuala Murphy in the 800 metres free, and the women’s 50 metres freestyle relay are also in heat action.