Swimming: Hannah McLean back to her very best

North Shore swimmer Hannah McLean confirmed her run of form with New Zealand's first medal at the Fina World Short Course Swimming Championships in China.

McLean smashed Anna Simcic's 14-year-old New Zealand record to win bronze in the women's 200m backstroke.

McLean was one of the hot tips to perform well at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne last month, but ended up with three 4th places in the 100m backstroke, the 50m backstroke and the women's 4x100m medley relay. She finally struck bronze in the 200m backstroke.

It was clear she had not quite swum up to expectations in Melbourne after she reeled off a cracking backstroke leg in the medley, breaking the New Zealand record in a time which would have won gold in the individual 100m backstroke race.

She did the same in Shanghai - swimming another blistering backstroke leg to again break the record, spurring the 4x100m medley team to sixth place in the world championships. Yesterday, she also qualified for the 50m backstroke semi-finals, setting yet another NZ record, with team-mate Liz Coster also qualifying fifth.

McLean's medal was only the fifth ever won by a New Zealand swimmer at the worlds and sparked another strong night.

New Zealand swimmers competed in three finals on the third session and claimed a further three national records to bring the tally to 13 finals and 12 records in the first three days, exceeding the performance of any previous team.

In her 200m backstroke final, McLean was fourth after 50m, third at the midway point and held off the challenge from Italy's Alessa Filippi who passed New Zealand's Melissa Ingram over the final 50m. American Margaret Hoelzer led from the start to claim gold ahead of Australia's Tayliah Zimmer.

McLean's time of 2m 06.96s broke the then world record of Simcic, whose mark of 2m 07.11s was set at the Paris World Cup in 1992.

"Hannah produced a top class performance and was just pipped in the 100m, but stepped up today with a brilliant swim to earn that medal," head coach Trevor Nicholls said. "It is a superb New Zealand record and puts her in the top class."

McLean became the first Kiwi to better the 59-second barrier for the 100m backstroke, clocking 58.60 - nearly half a second under her time in finishing fourth in the 100m backstroke individual final on the previous night.

Wellington 16-year-old Kelly Bentley, in her first major international meet, produced a personal best in sixth, with the experienced Liz Coster and Alison Fitch producing highly competitive efforts in the butterfly and freestyle respectively to hold sixth position after qualifying in eighth.

The relay clocked 4:02.75 to take a further four seconds off the record time they set in the morning heats, with the final set alight by a world record to the powerful Australians.

Dean Kent finished sixth in his second final of the championships, the 200m individual medley, in a strong 1m 57.31s, won in a world record by American Ryan Lochte. Kent, the 27-year-old Commonwealth Games silver medallist, couldn't hold on to the medal position over the final freestyle leg.

New Zealand results

50m backstroke semifinals:
16th Scott Talbot-Cameron 25.13.

200m backstroke final:
1 Margaret Hoelzer (USA) 2:05.29; 2 Tayliah Zimmer (AUS) 2:05.99; 3 Hannah McLean 2:06.96 (NZ record); 5 Melissa Ingram (NZL) 2:07.49.

200m individual medley final:
6 Dean Kent 1:57.31.

Women's 4x100m medley relay:
1 Australia 3:51.84; 2 USA 3:55.65; 3 China 3:55.76; 5 New Zealand 4:02.75.

NZ Records: H. McLean 58.60;K. Bentley 1:10.65; L. Coster 59.69; A. Fitch 53.81.

- NZPA