Schipper’s world record in 200 fly is 26th mark to fall in Rome, passing Beijing Olympics

Schippers sets 26th WR of worlds, passing Beijing

ROME — Down goes Beijing. Jess Schipper of Australia has set the 26th world record of the world swimming championships, surpassing the total from last summer’s Olympics.

Schipper rallied on the final lap Thursday to win the 200-meter breaststroke in 2 minutes, 3.41 seconds. She broke the mark of 2:04.14 that American Mary Descenza set a day earlier in the preliminaries.

Descenza not only lost her record — she didn’t even get a medal by finishing fourth.

China’s Liu Zige took the silver in 2:03.90, also lower than the previous world record. Hungary’s Katinka Hosszu claimed the bronze in 2:04.28, beating Descenza by 13-hundredths of a second.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.

ROME (AP) — Brazil’s Cesar Cielo has become the first swimmer to break 47 seconds in the 100-meter freestyle, setting another world record and holding off France’s Alain Bernard at the world championships.

Cielo won the furious down-and-back race in 46.91 seconds on Thursday. He eclipsed Eamon Sullivan’s mark of 47.05 set during the semifinals of the Beijing Olympics.

Bernard won the Olympic gold when he beat Sullivan in the final. He had to settle for silver in Rome at 47.12. Fellow Frenchman Fred Bousquet pushed the pace over the first 50 and held on for bronze in 47.25.

Cielo’s record was the 25th of these championships, matching the total from last summer’s Olympics with three days still to go.