Vlad Morozov Breaks 100 IM World Record Again in Berlin

FINA WORLD CUP – BERLIN

• Tuesday, August 30 – Wednesday, August 31, 2016
• Berlin, Germany – Schwimm- und Sprunghalle im Europa-Sportpark
• Short Course – 25 m
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For the second consecutive weekend, Russia’s Vladamir Morozov has broken the world record in the 100 IM in the FINA World Cup series.  Last weekend in Chartres, France, Morozov shaved 0.06 from the world record (previously) held by Germany’s Markus Deibler and blew away the rest of the field by over a second.  This evening in Berlin, Morozov lowered the mark by another 0.3 to clock a 50.30, finishing just over a full second ahead of silver-medalist Hiromasa Fujimori of Japan (51.33).  Germany’s own Philip Heintz took bronze in a 51.81, well ahead of Team USA’s Michael Andrew who took 4th with a 53.80.

Now having broken the world record twice in this event in the same World Cup circuit, Morozov takes an even more commanding lead, as world records are awarded with a $10,000 bonus, earning Morozov a cool $11,500 for a quick 50.30 seconds of work (1st-place finishes are worth $1,500).  Having also won the 100 freestyle in Berlin, Morozov’s individual earnings for the second meet on the circuit sit at $13,000, with the 50 freestyle yet to come tomorrow.

This coming weekend Morozov will swim on home turf in Moscow, where he will be the undisputed favorite should he swim the 100 IM again.  If Morozov comes away as the men’s leader through these first three stops on the World Cup tour, he will earn another $50,000 for the first three meet “cluster” of the nine-meet circuit.

Morozov’s splits tonight in Berlin compared to last weekend in Chartres, as well as his previous best time from 2014 and Deibler’s previous world record, also established in 2014, are below:

Splits Comparison:

Morozov’s first 50 was much faster than previously, and his second 50 was almost identical to his swim last weekend in France.  With a 0.63 reaction time Morozov was the first off the blocks, leading the race from start to finish in every way possible.  Fujimori’s second 50 meters was almost as fast as Morozov’s (27.66), though his front-end speed through the fly and the back were not nearly enough to match Morozov.

The next stop on the FINA World Cup circuit will be in Moscow, Russia, September 3rd and 4th, and will cap off the first three-meet cluster of the World Cup.