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China's Liu breaks women's 200m butterfly WR at National Games

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-10-21 22:27

JINAN: China's Olympic champion Liu Zige demolished world record to snatch the women's 200m butterfly title at the National Games on Wednesday.

The Chinese swimming sensation powered home in an amazing 2:01.81, shaving over two seconds off previous world mark of 2:03.41 set by Australian Jessica Schipper at the Rome World Championships last summer.

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She was almost four seconds clear of her long-time arch rival Jiao Liuyang, runner-up of the Beijing Olympics, who posted 2:05.57 for a silver medal. The bronze medal went to Kong Jie from the Chinese Army team who finished 2:05.57.

Liu's splash of speed lit up the Natatorium of Jinan. To the cheers of the exciting home fans, Liu seized the lead immediately off the pad and roared through the water to secure the victory, leaving the rest of her rivals lamenting the unreachable gap.

At the Beijing Olympics, Liu clocked 2:04.18 seconds in the 200m butterfly final to win China's only swimming gold, wiping over one second off the then world best set by Schipper in 2006.

Her teammate Jiao Liuyang took the silver in 2:04.72, also inside the former world mark.