Rebecca Soni (USA) defended her Olympic title tonight in the women’s 200m Breaststroke, taking home her first gold medal of the meet and besting her semi-final world record. Soni became the first woman under 2:20 in the 200 breast, posting a 2:19.59. It was a race until the 150m mark, where Soni pulled away from the pack. The silver and bronze medal winners were also under 2:21, with Satomi Suzuki (JPN) at 2:20.72 and Yuliya Efimova (RUS) at 2:20.92, respectively.
Soni won her first Olympic gold medal in 2008 in the 200m breaststroke, where she upset Leisel Jones of Australia with a legendary final 50 metres.
Soni and Efimova both train at USC with coach Dave Salo. This is Yuliya Efimova’s first Olympic medal, while Satomi Suzuki won a bronze medal earlier in the 100m Breaststroke.
Splits Compared:
| Women’s 200m Breaststroke | 50m | 100m (50m) | 150m (50m) | 200m (50m) |
| Annamay Pierse (Rome 2009) WR | 32.03 | 1:07.28 (35.25) | 1:43.42 (36.14) | 2:20.12 (36.70) |
| Rebecca Soni (London 2012 Semi-Final) WR | 32.39 | 1:07.82 (35.43) | 1:43.83 (36.01) | 2:20.00 (36.17) |
| Rebecca Soni (London 2012 Final) WR | 32.49 | 1:08.10 (35.61) | 1:43.95 (35.85) | 2:19.59 (35.64) |
Soni did 2:19.59 she was closed to Rick Colella in 1976 he swam a 2:19.20 for 3rd place in the men. It shows how far swimming has come. Look this up for interested.
Speaking of Rick, he just swam a 2:42 in the 200 breast at age 60 at USMS Long Course Nationals last month in Omaha to establish a new WR for his age group. He also demolished the WR in the 400 IM with a 5:11. Not bad, huh?!
after Monster Phelps comes fabulous Soni …I just see a strong Us team here …getting better after each day > Fantastic
Got it. Thanks!
Typo in the splits for the WR….says time was 2:20.0