Nouvelles-sport canadien
June 1, 2007
Victoria�s Ryan Cochrane lowers meet record at Mel Zajac Jr International / Bell Swimming Grand Prix
VANCOUVER � Ryan Cochrane of Victoria recently returned from the land down under and finished on top in the men�s 800-metre freestyle in meet record time on Friday to open the 44th Mel Zajac Jr International / Bell Swimming Grand Prix.
Cochrane, who broke the Canadian record en route to an eighth place finish at the worlds in March, took the gold in eight minutes and 00.090 seconds. That smashed the previous meet mark of 8:10.15 set by Andrew Hurd of Toronto last year. C.J. Nuess of the U.S., was second in 8:20.59 and Jarrod Ballem of Calgary third in 8:21.71.
��That was my best time since the worlds,�� said Cochrane, who remained in Australia for six weeks after the worlds to work with a training group. ��I approached the race differently than usual by starting out much faster. I think by doing that I underestimated how hard the race would be, but I�m really happy with it.��
In the men�s 200 backstroke, Canadian record holder Matt Hawes of Vancouver was the winner in 2:01.47 with David Cromwell of the U.S., second in 2:03.49 and Nick Thoman of the U.S, third in 2:03.99.
Megan Jendrick of the U.S., a double Olympic champion at the 2000 Sydney Games and a world silver medalist in March won the 100 breaststroke in 1:09.81. Annamay Pierse of Vancouver was second in 1:10.03 and Chelsey Salli of Langley, B.C., third in 1:11.49.
��This is my first meet since the worlds so I�m basically feeling out the events,�� said Jendrick, 26. ��My race tonight was O.K. I felt I took too many strokes so I�ll need to make some adjustments.��
Other winners Friday in men�s competition included Matthew Huang of Montreal in the 100 breaststroke and Matt Rose of Victoria in the 50 butterfly. For the women Elizabeth Wycliffe of Kingston, Ont., took the 200 backstroke and Jessica Rodriquez was a double winner with victories in the 200 freestyle and 400 individual medley. Kelsey Ditto of the U.S., lowered a meet record in her 1,500 freestyle victory.
Competition continues through to Sunday.
Full results: http://www.pacificdolphins.com/results/