Marcin Cieslak of Poland broke his own national record in the men’s 200m IM Thursday night in order to finish sixth in the final with a time of 1:58.14.
Cieslak, one of the four swimmers who have a past or present affiliation with the Florida Gators in the final, touched in for a best time by 0.06 seconds. Cieslak had never been under 1:59 before in his career prior to these championships.
In order to make finals Cieslak had to break his four-year-old national record in semis. He did so with a 1:58.20.
Prior to that swim, his Polish national record stood at 1:59.77 from the 2011 World Championships. In Shanghai at 2011 worlds, Cieslak made the semifinals with his newly established record but failed to match it and wasn’t able to move up to finals.
Cieslak’s 2015 record setting splits
- 50m – 25.48 (25.48)
- 100m – 55.80 (30.32)
- 150m – 1:29.72 (33.92)
- 200m – 1:58.14 (28.42)
Cieslak turned in seventh after the butterfly tying with Sweden’s Simon Sjodin. After the backstroke leg Cieslak was once again passed, turning in eighth overall.
With a sturdy breaststroke leg, Cieslak managed to move up to sixth where he stayed for the remainder of the race to clock in his best international showing to date.
The time is promising for Cieslak as he heads towards the 2016 Olympic Games. There, he’ll be one of the top swimmers on the Polish national team along with butterfly specialist Konrad Czerniak.