Swimming: NZ trio nail top 10 swims

Gareth Kean Photo / Steven McNicholl

The New Zealand swimming trio of Gareth Kean, Lauren Boyle and Glenn Snyders swam their way into the top-10 in the world on day three of the world swimming championships in Shanghai today.

Kean, 19, broke another New Zealand record to finish eighth in the final of the 100m backstroke while both Boyle and Snyders went under the old national records in semifinals of the 200m freestyle and 50m breaststroke respectively.

Kean, from the Capital Club in Wellington, recorded a third straight personal best in the 100m backstroke, clocking 53.50sec in the final to break the New Zealand record he set in yesterday's semifinal.

The 200m specialist said he was delighted with his performance and consistency.

"Consistency is something I have been trying to work on. To put together three top class swims in the 100m is really pleasing. I've now dropped a second off my best at this meet which is pretty huge at this level," Kean said.

"It's given me some real confidence that I am on track, that I am well tapered and I am now looking forward to the 200m in two days."

He is especially pleased to have coach Gary Hurring with him in Shanghai this week and has targeted a top swim in the 200m backstroke, which is the event in which Hurring won a silver medal at the 1978 world championships.

"It's special to have him here. I am not swimming for myself, this is a team effort and Gary is a key to that. We have been together for a long time and we are very close. It would mean a lot if I could do something special for him in the 200."

Kean said he was fired up by the white-hot atmosphere in the pool.

"It's amazing. The crowds are huge and the atmosphere is incredible. It really helps to lift you."

European champion Camille Lacourt shared the gold medal with fellow Frenchman Jeremy Stravius after a rare dead heat in 52.76, with the Asian champion Ryosuke Irie (Japan) third.

Snyders, 24, broke his old New Zealand record for the second time in the 50m breaststroke but was a fingertip from a place in his first ever final at the world championships.

The North Shore club swimmer, coached by Mark Regan, was fourth in his semifinal in 27.64sec which was under his old record set at the Delhi Commonwealth Games. It was a touch outside the time of 27.52sec he produced in the heats to be the ninth fastest, a tenth of a second off a place in the final.

Snyders has advanced himself into the top-10 in the world in both the 50m and 100m breaststroke, which is a sound platform to push forward to the London Olympics. He still has the 200m breaststroke to come on Thursday.

Boyle broke the national record in qualifying eighth fastest in the women's 200m freestyle in 1min 57.72sec this morning. This took more than half a second off Melissa Ingram's previous New Zealand record (1min 58.32sec) and almost a second off Boyle's previous best.

She used her strength over the second half of her semifinal to zoom home from seventh to finish fifth in 1min 58.09sec, under the old record but just outside her heat swim, and 12th fastest overall.

Boyle rattled home in 59.58sec over the second 100m, the third fastest in her semi, with her heat time pushing her into the top 10 in the world, which has given her confidence towards potentially her best event, the 800m freestyle on Friday.

Earlier Taranaki's Dylan Dunlop-Barrett clocked 8min 13:06sec in heats of the men's 800m freestyle to be outside his national record set at April's trial and did not advance.

Tomorrow, the youngest member of the team, 16-year-old Sophia Batchelor is the only New Zealander in action in the heats of the 50m backstroke.

- NZPA