Jessica Hardy wins the Women’s 50m freestyle gold medal - 2011 Speedo Grand Challenge
Jessica Hardy Trojan-CA has won gold medal in the Women’s 50m freestyle category, on day one of the 2011 Speedo Grand Challenge at the William Woollett Aquatic Centre.
The championship is a three-day competition and will conclude after the completion of all swimming events.
Hardy won the gold medal by overwhelming her following swimmers, Julia Smit, Jane Trepp and Marie Pier Ratelle, who gave her a tough time in claiming the gold medal. Hardy won the golden crown in the winning time of 25.18 seconds. Smit and Trepp finished
her swims for the silver and bronze medals, posting 25.49 and 25.82 seconds, respectively. The fourth fastest spot was secured by Marie-Pier Ratelle with a timing of 25.87 seconds.
The 24-year-old Hardy qualified as the fastest swimmer into the final, clocking a time of 25.56 seconds. She had a considerable faster start that accompanied her with a slight lead from her competitors. Smit then geared up her swim immediately after the
good opening and covered the gap in the initial 20 metres of the race.
Similarly, Trepp and Ratelle engaged each other in a neck-to-neck battle, following Smit towards the finishing wall. Smit gained a slight lead from Hardy in the second-half of the race, appearing as the top contender for the gold medal. In the meantime,
Hardy displayed her tremendous swimming skills, by covering the lead with the help of her fastest kicks.
She defeated Smit in the last 10 metres of the race and claimed the gold medal, clocking an astonishing time of 25.18 seconds. Smit remained only 0.212 seconds slower form capturing the gold medal. Trepp and Ratelle continued their battle, where Trepp out-touched
Ratelle with a difference of only 0.05 seconds.
Hardy was extremely happy with her effort and said that she is very pleased to have sustained the fastest spot. Hardy is also the gold medallist of the same event at the 2010 Pan Pacific Championships. The 24-year-old swimmer said that she will continue
her efforts in the future, to meet the expectations of her fans.
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