Neil Agius breaks barrier to set 200m free record
The positive performances by Maltese swimmers in the Rome World Championships continued yesterday, with the limelight being taken by Neil Agius when he broke the two-minute 200 metres freestyle barrier after clocking 1:59.61, thus bettering his own...
The positive performances by Maltese swimmers in the Rome World Championships continued yesterday, with the limelight being taken by Neil Agius when he broke the two-minute 200 metres freestyle barrier after clocking 1:59.61, thus bettering his own national mark set last month by 61 hundredths of a second.
Agius finished third in heat three. However, the lad must have been elated at having gone past an elusive signpost in the 200m race. Meanwhile, the improving Edward Caruana Dingli posted a personal best of 2:03.43 in a preceding heat of the same event.
In the first event of the morning, Nicole Cremona covered the 100m backstroke in 1:09.16. Later, Melinda Sue Micallef swam the 100m breaststroke in 1:18.66, a personal best for this up-coming swimmer.
Mark Sammut and Caruana Dingli were then involved in the 100m backstroke, the former clocking 1:05.08 and the latter 1:05.43, which was another personal best for him.
These times, including three national records so far, are fulfilling the expectations of coach Andy Colbourn and the local swimming clan, whose hopes were pinned on our swimmers increasing their tally of new national limits in these championships.