The hot streak continues for Australia’s Minna Atherton at the 2015 Junior World Championships. The 15-year-old broke yet another junior world record, going 27.92 out of semifinals in the 50 back.
That’s the second time today Atherton has broken this particular world record. She was 28.00 in prelims, taking almost two tenths off the record set by New Zealand’s Gabrielle Fa’Amausili back in 2013.
Now Atherton takes the record under 28 seconds for the first time, and still has another shot at lowering it in tomorrow night’s final.
She’s also only about half a second off of the overall Australian national 50 back record, currently held by Emily Seebohm at 27.47.
Atherton has been all but unbeatable in Singapore thus far. She won the 100 back on day 2, tying the junior world record and smashing the meet record multiple times. One day later, she took the 200 back with another meet record. Now she’s added back-to-back meet records in the 50 as she draws near to becoming the meet’s first full-stroke sweep.
Atherton will compete for the gold medal tomorrow and should be the leadoff leg on Australia’s medley relay on Sunday, the final day of competition.
That would give Atherton shots at 5 total medals, four of them gold. She already has golds in both backstrokes and silver in the mixed medley relay.