ROME, (Reuters) – Nadja Higl and Daniel Gyurta produced shock 200 metre breaststroke victories yesterday to show that fairytales were still possible at a swimming world championships dogged by the controversy over hi-tech suits.
Serbia’s Higl came from nowhere to seize gold in the women’s final after American Olympic champion Rebecca Soni had gone off like a torpedo only to burn out before the wall.
Unlike most of the finals this week in Rome, there was no world record for Higl, just the knowledge she had beaten the best and deserved her title.
“I came to Rome hoping to reach the semi-final, then I got into the final and I won the gold medal. It’s a dream and I still can’t believe it,” she told reporters after bagging a first ever female swimming world championship gold for Serbia.
Canada’s Annamay Pierse smashed the world record in Thursday’s semi-final but she could only finish a close second to Higl with Austrian Mirna Jukic snatching third from an exhausted Soni, who won Tuesday’s 100 breaststroke.
Hungary’s Gyurta was similarly unfancied in the men’s event but he kept his nerve to beat big names Eric Shanteau of the United States and Australia’s Christian Sprenger, who broke the world record in the semis but had to settle for joint-third.
“I didn’t see anything in the last five metres. I just went for it,” Gyurta told reporters.
The fact Gyurta and Higl won without beating world records made their feats even more remarkable, especially as six still fell yesterday to bring the total at the championships to 35.
