American Peirsol back on top after 100 back flop, setting world record in 200 back

4 races, 4 WRs as Peirsol makes up for flop

ROME — Another world record has fallen at the world swimming championships, the mark for the women’s 50-meter butterfly going down in consecutive semifinal heats.

Marleen Veldhuis of the Netherlands won the first semi in 25.28 seconds, eclipsing her own mark of 25.33 set in April. She got to keep the record less than 5 minutes — Sweden’s Therese Alshammar won the next semi in 25.07.

World records fell in the first four races of the night, raising to 33 the number of marks set at Foro Italico. Germany’s Britta Steffen eclipsed her own mark in the 100 free final, and Aaron Peirsol of the United States crushed his record in the 200 backstroke, beating the old mark by more than a full second.

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

ROME (AP) — Aaron Peirsol of the United States has made up for a disappointing swim at the world championships, breaking his own world record in the 200-meter backstroke by more than a full second.

Fellow American Ryan Lochte, the defending Olympic and world champion, pushed Peirsol in the first half of the race, actually leading at the midway point.

But Peirsol blew everyone away over the second down-and-back, pulling away to win in 1 minute, 51.92 seconds. His previous record, set three weeks ago at the U.S. nationals, was 1:53.08.

Japan’s Ryosuke Irie claimed silver in 1:52.51, also under the old mark. Lochte faded to third at 1:53.82.

Peirsol’s record was the 31st world mark of the meet.