By Aap and James Cooney, Daily Mail Australia
00:41 February 14, 2024, updated 00:42 February 14, 2024
- Anderson wins silver medal in women’s 100m backstroke
- West Aussie sets personal best at World Championships
- Anderson said it felt “incredible” to perform on the world stage.
Australia’s Iona Anderson won silver in the women’s 100m backstroke at the World Aquatics Championships in Doha, taking second place in a stampede of teenage swimmers led by America’s Claire Curzan.
The 18-year-old from Western Australia faced Queensland’s Jaclyn Barclay, 17, a year her junior, in Tuesday’s final.
Anderson set a personal best, finishing 59.12 seconds ahead of the dominant Karzan (58.29), who is just 19 years old.
“I’m just grateful to be on this team and to have the opportunity to race,” Anderson said.
“I got a little bit of a boost before the Olympic trials. Just being able to be on the world stage is incredible.”
Barclay showed the strength of Australia’s backstroke in the absence of reigning champion Kayleigh McKeown, finishing just 0.10 seconds from the podium and finishing just behind Canada’s Ingrid Wilm with a strong stroke of 59.28 points.
Italy’s Simona Cuadarella once again won gold in the women’s 1500m freestyle while American superstar Katie Ledecky chose to stay home.
Ledecky has won five of the past six world titles in the 1,500 meters, but has decided to skip the championships, which have been postponed due to the coronavirus, to focus on this year’s Paris Olympics.
Cuadarella began to pull away from the rest around 500 meters, finishing almost half a lap ahead in 15 minutes, 46.99 seconds.
China’s Li Bingjie won the silver medal with a time of 15:56.62, just ahead of bronze medalist Isabelle Gosset of Germany.
Australia’s Maddie Goff placed seventh with a time of 16:16.85.
In the evening’s opening event held at Doha’s Aspire Dome, Hwang Seong-woo won South Korea’s second gold medal of the tournament in the men’s 200m freestyle.
Fan picked up the pace in the first two laps, but American Luke Hobson took the lead with 50 meters to go.
Juan took the lead again on the final lap, holding off Lithuania’s Danas Lapsis to win in 1:44.75.
Hobson won the bronze medal, with Australia’s Elijah Winnington seventh in 1:46.20.
“I don’t have a long-distance course gold medal,” said the 20-year-old Huang.
“But I was able to do that today, so I’m very happy.”
In the men’s 100 backstroke, Hunter Armstrong recovered from a scramble in the semifinals where he swam in the wrong lane to win with a score of 52.68.
The American swimmer won the silver medal over training partner Hugo Gonzalez of Spain. The bronze medal went to Greece’s Apostolos Christou.
Tang Qianting won the women’s 100m breaststroke with a time of 1:05.92, giving China its second gold medal.
The silver medal went to Tess Schouten of the Netherlands, while Hong Kong’s Siobhan Hoey won a surprise bronze medal.