Mireia Belmonte becomes first woman under 2:00 in 200 fly with Doha’s first WR

It didn’t take long for the first world record to fall at the Short Course World Championships in Doha, Qatar. Four events in to the first night of finals, Spain’s Mireia Belmonte Garcia became the first woman to crack the two-minute barrier in the 200 fly.

Most of the pre-meet hype was about Katinka Hosszu, as it often is, and the 200 fly was Hosszu’s first chance to defend a gold medal. But Belmonte was the swimmer who came through with the fireworks, blasting to a 1:59.61 to take more than a full second off the previous mark.

This swim is impressive for a number of reasons. Belmonte had an insane back half to erase nearly a full second lead held by Hosszu at the 100-mark, and Hosszu is a great closer herself. Belmonte went out in 58.24 but closed with a 1:01.37, the best back half in the field by well over two full seconds.

Belmonte’s swim also takes off a record from 2009, back when full-body suits were still legal. The old mark was held by China’s Liu Zige, and was one of the more daunting “super-suit” records still on the books. Here’s a quick split comparison between the old and new records:

• Belmonte (2014): 27.75/30.49/30.72/30.65 = 1:59.61
• Zige (2009): 27.35/31.06/30.88/31.49 = 2:00.78

That time for Belmonte will also stand up as the new meet record (old was Hosszu’s 2:02.20 from 2012) and the new European record (old was Belmonte’s 2:01.52 from last year’s European Short Course Championships).

All-in-all, this is a huge swim, one of the biggest of the year so far and an incredibly exciting start to what’s looking like a great World Championship meet.