SOUTH Africa’s Tatjana Schoenmaker has won her heat in 1:04.82 in women’s 100m breaststroke, setting an Olympic record.
She has qualified for the semi-finals taking place on Monday.
The South African superstar is regarded as the favourite for the 200m breaststroke, but showed that she means business in the 100m as well.
Schoenmaker stopped the clock in a new Olympic record of 1 minute, 04.82 seconds (1:04.82), slashing her personal best of 1:05.74 by nearly a second.
She still trails defending champion, American Lilly King, on the 2021 world list, with her best this year being 1:04.72.
Meanwhile, world record holder Kaylee McKeown was the fastest qualifier in the women’s 100m backstroke at the Tokyo Games on Sunday, setting a new Olympic record with her time of 57.88 seconds.
McKeown’s effort in the sixth heat was the third time the Olympic record had fallen during the session after Kylie Masse of Canada and American Regan Masse also broke it.
The trio are the three fastest swimmers in the history of the event.
Masse posted 58.17 in the fourth heat to break the previous Olympic Record of 58.23 set by Australian Emily Seebohm in 2012.
Smith lowered it to 57.96 before McKeown responded to the challenge.
South Korea’s Hwang Sunwoo was fastest in the men’s 200m freestyle, qualifying for the semi-finals with a time of 1:44.62.
- Additional reporting by Reuters
