Liam Tancock pockets Men’s 50m back-stroke title: Day eight – 2011 FINA World Championships
World record holder of the Men’s 50m back-stroke event, Liam Tancock of Great Britain, won the title of 50m event on the final night of the Federation International de Natation (FINA) organised 2011 World Championships in Shanghai, China.
Tancock claimed the title of the shortest back-stroke discipline, as he touched the finishing wall and ended his swim to submit a fastest time of 24.50 seconds. His time was just 0.46 seconds away from his world record of 24.04 seconds, made at the 2009
Rome World Championships.
Tancock’s undisputed effort was only 0.07 seconds faster than his strongest competitor, Camille Lacourt of France, who stepped on the podium for the silver medal, by reporting in a second fastest time of 24.57 seconds. Lacourt remained 0.09 seconds away
from his subsequent swimmer, Gerhard Zandberg of South Africa, who occupied the bronze medal for the third fastest swim, with a timing of 24.66 seconds.
In the meantime, Aschwin Wildeboer Faber of Spain emerged as the fourth fastest swimmer of the event to conclude his swim, as he stayed only 0.16 seconds behind the bronze medallist and posted a time of 24.82 seconds. David Plummer of USA, who was the back-stroke
leg of USA relay team in 4*100m medley relay, remained just 0.10 seconds behind Faber and ended his swim in a fifth fastest time of 24.92 seconds.
He was trailed by his team-member, Nicholas Thoman of USA and Guy Barnea of Israel, who engaged each other in a neck-to-neck swim for the sixth best spot. Thoman and Barnea failed to overcome each other’s efforts and ended in a tie for sixth position, by
posting a time of 25.01 seconds. Switzerland’s Flori Lang was the last finisher of the single-lap event, as he was just 0.14 seconds away from the pair of sixth position holders and clocked a time of 25.15 seconds.
Tancock, who defended his title with great audacity, received a huge round of applause from the audience, while the winners were awarded medals and accolades after the completion of the session.
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