WOMEN’S 400M FREESTYLE – FINAL
- WR: 3:58.37 Katie Ledecky (USA) 23 AUG 2014 Gold Coast (AUS)
CR: 4:06.30 Elena Sokolova (RUS) 11 JUL 2008 Monterrey (MEX)- WJ: 3:58.37 Katie Ledecky (USA) 23 AUG 2014 Gold Coast (AUS)
After coming in as the second seed for the 400m freestyle final, Australian Tamsin Cook threw down an impressive performance in the event tonight, which came up golden in a new meet record time. Cook’s prelims time was 4:10.45, but the 16 year-old shaved off over four seconds to touch in 4:06.17 to top the podium. Her time narrowly dips under the old championship record mark from Russia’s Elena Sokolova (4:06.30), which has been on the books since 2008.
Splits for Cook’s gold medal-winning swim tonight:
28.26, 30.74, 31.10, 31.26, 31.02, 31.29, 31.62, 30.88 = 4:06.17 (CR)
Cook’s new mark currently ranks as 12th-fastest in the world so far in 2015 and also registers as the 2nd-fastest time by an Australian this year. Only Jessica Ashwood‘s 4:03.34 from the Senior World Championships has been swifter for the Dolphins.
The World Junior Record is a virtually untouchable 3:58.37 from USA’s Katie Ledecky, set back at last year’s Pan Pacific Championships. But, Cook did lower her own Australian Age Group Record for 16 year olds with her new 4:06.17 mark. Her old record was the 4:07.14 she clocked at the Australian Open Championships in April this year.