World Championships: Anna Elendt Wins 100 Breast with Outside Smoke
The attention was on the middle of the pool in Tuesday’s women’s 100 breaststroke final at the World Aquatics Championships.
That was just fine by Anna Elendt.
The German who trains in Austin won a world title out of Lane 1 with a time of 1:05.19. It caps and up-and-down last few years for the German, who won silver in this event at the 2022 World Championships but finished a disappointing 20th at the Paris Olympics in 1:07.00.
Kate Douglass rallied for silver in 1:05.27. Tang Qianting of China grabbed bronze in 1:05.64.
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The attention was trained on the middle lanes. In Lane 3, Tang took the swim out in 29.84, the Chinese swimmer trying to build a lead knowing that the 200 breaststroker in Douglass would be on her heels in the final meters.
Douglass was fourth at the turn, and her 34.63 in the final 50 was the second-quickest coming home. It was enough to get past Tang by .37 seconds, all achieved in the final 10 meters.
But she didn’t get past Elendt, who stayed eight hundredths to the good in the outside lane and tucked away from view, despite Douglass hitting her finish.
It’s the first high-profile 100 breast for Douglass, who won four golds at the Paris Olympics. A star over a variety of distances, the 100 has largely been closed off to her, in part because of American dominance from the likes of Lilly King and Tokyo gold medalist Lydia Jacoby. But with King retiring after this meet (she finished ninth in the semifinals) and Jacoby on a hiatus from the sport, Douglass is the heir apparent for the program and looking the part.
Fourth was Satomi Suzuki of Japan in 1:05.78. Evgeniia Chikunova closed the quickest, in 34.59. But she was seventh at the wall, too far back to make the podium. Her 1:06.04 edged Anita Bottazzo by two hundredths.
