Adelaide (AFP)
Australian Olympic champion Zack Staplety-Cook broke the world record for the 200m breaststroke during his country’s swimming championships, preparing in the best way for the world championships and the Commonwealth Games.
From the start, the 23-year-old Cook seemed on his way to breaking the record set by Russian Anthony Chubkov in 2019 of 2:06.12 minutes, and kept this pace until the end, recording 2:05.95 minutes.
“All I was trying to do was swim fast, I didn’t think I’d be that fast, honestly, I can’t believe it happened but I’m very happy with it,” he said after his achievement in Adelaide.
“Last year I did my best and got the result I wanted (he won gold in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics), but this year the pressure is much lighter and that’s nice, I’m happy.”
Staplety-Cook grabbed the spotlight last summer at the Tokyo Aquariums when he set a new Olympic record of 2:06.38 d. On his way to winning the gold in front of the Dutch Arno Kamenga.
The Australian will be a candidate to repeat the achievement next month in the world championships in Budapest, and at the Commonwealth Games in July in Birmingham, but the main goal is “Paris (2024 Olympics), and I will enjoy everything that happens between now and then.”