Audrey Derivaux Tops Field in 200 IM for Third Title of World Junior Championships
The week at the World Junior Championships for Audrey Derivaux started with a fourth-place finish in the 400-meter individual medley. Since that event, the American 16-year-old has made the top step of the podium her home in Otopeni, Romania.
After claiming victories in the 200 butterfly and 200 backstroke earlier in the meet, Derivaux added the title in the 200 individual medley to her collection on Friday night. The top seed, Derivaux backed up that status by posting a time of 2:10.58 in the final. That performance allowed Derivaux to beat Great Britain’s Amalie Smith (2:11.07) by a half-second.
Not surprising, Derivaux bolted to the front of the field on the opening butterfly leg, splitting 27.88. She followed with a backstroke split of 32.31 and was almost two seconds ahead of the field at the midway point. A 39.45 breaststroke split brought Smith back into the mix, but Derivaux stayed strong enough on the closing freestyle to pick up her latest gold medal.
In her earlier wins, Derivaux clocked 2:06.99 in the 200 backstroke and she went 2:07.57 in the 200 butterfly. Derivaux still has the 100 butterfly on her schedule, and that event will be her final opportunity to land a berth to next summer’s Pan Pacific Championships. Derivaux will need to be faster than 57.34 to punch her ticket to the competition in Southern California.
