Swim: Huegill says he's on track for world record and 50 grand

AAP General News (Australia)
08-31-2001
Swim: Huegill says he's on track for world record and 50 grand

By Janelle Miles and Ainsley Pavey

BRISBANE, Aug 31 AAP - Geoff Huegill tonight issued a warning he's on track to break
the world 50m butterfly record at the Goodwill Games, as the Australian men's swimming
team demolished the European All-Stars.

Huegill touched in 23.63s to win the event at Brisbane's Chandler Aquatic Centre, just
0.19s adrift of his world record (23.44) set in a semi-final at last month's World Championships
in Japan.

The world champion then made a public plea to the Australian men's head coach Doug
Frost to pull him out of the medley relay against the World All-stars on Sunday to give
him a shot at the world record.

Goodwill Games organisers have posted $US50,000 ($A94,000) in bonus prizemoney for
world records during the swimming, but despite the presence of Ian Thorpe and Grant Hackett,
Huegill's the only swimmer who's come close.

Huegill, who has been suffering from a head cold during the week, had to swim the medley
relay tonight, just four events before his 50m swim, making a shot at the world record
unlikely.

"Obviously the best time to strike would be if I don't have a race just before it,"

the 22-year-old Olympic bronze medallist said.

"Hopefully one meet the coaches will let me drop the relay and see how we go. I'll
sit down with the coaches and check out where we are standing and hopefully, I'll have
a lash at it.

"Every time I jump in to do that race I want to come away with a personal best and
there's no better time to do it with a 50-grand bonus at the end of the pool.

"What other reason do you need to go out and give your best?"

Huegill has only two more chances to break the record - on Sunday against the World
All-stars team and on Monday in the gold medal round.

His swim tonight betters the Goodwill Games record of 23.79s he set on the opening
night of competition against the Americans.

The Queenslander should at least pick up $US4,000 ($A7,500) at meet's end - $US1,000
($A1,900) for establishing a new games record and $US3,000 ($A5,650) as the dominant 50m
butterfly swimmer during the competition.

Huegill helped Australia to a crushing 113-35 point victory over the European contingent
tonight to guarantee the locals a place in the gold medal round and a shot at $US100,000
($A190,000) in prizemoney for the dominant men's team.

But the contest between the Australians and the Europeans turned into something of
a farce with the much anticipated rematch between Ian Thorpe and Pieter van den Hoogenband
in the 200m freestyle failing to materialise.

The world and Olympic champions did line up against each other as the anchors in their
respective team's medley relays but it was hardly the eyeball to eyeball competition the
swimmers and spectators are used to.

Matt Welsh, Regan Harrison and Huegill gave Thorpe such a lead going into the freestyle
leg that van den Hoogenband would have had to strain his eyes to see the Sydney swimmer's
size 17 feet ahead of him.

In the men's 100m breaststroke, the Europeans handed Australia eight points, failing
to field a swimmer in the event.

Commonwealth Games champion Simon Cowley won the "race" in 1m02.16s from Sydney teenager
Jim Piper, who cruised to the wall in 1:15.38 to save energy for the 200m later in the
night.

Piper, swimming on his first major Australian team, won the 200m in 2:13.36 to add
to his victory against the Americans on Wednesday night.

Grant Hackett set a Goodwill Games record of 3:47.34 to win the 400m freestyle and
Michael Klim defied the pain in his injured ankle to clock a new games mark of 52.51 in
the 100m butterfly.

Klim will have surgery after the games to remove floating bones - the legacy of a basketball
accident two months ago.

AAP jhm/sp

KEYWORD: GOOD SWIM NIGHTLEAD

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