Jul 30, 2021

South African sets 1st individual swim world record; US picks up silver, bronze

Posted Jul 30, 2021 2:15 AM

TOKYO (AP) — South Africa's Tatjana Schoenmaker has set the first individual swimming world record at the Tokyo Olympics.

She won the women's 200-meter breaststroke with a time of 2 minutes, 18.95 seconds, breaking the mark of 2:19.11 set by Denmark's Rikke Moller Pedersen at the 2013 world championships in Barcelona.

The United States claimed the other two medals. Lilly King set a blistering pace early in the race and held on for a silver, while Annie Lazor grabbed bronze.

It was the third world record at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre, with the first two coming in women's relays.