Rebecca Soni wins gold and breaks record

London: American Rebecca Soni beat her own world record as she won gold in the women`s 200m breaststroke.

The 25-year-old clocked two minutes and 19.59 seconds to become the first swimmer to successfully defend an Olympic title at London 2012 and the first woman to break 2:20.00.

"I`ve been chasing that for years, that was for my old coach Tom who told me I was going to go that fast," she said.

Japan`s Satomi Suzuki took silver while Russia`s Iuliia Efimova finished third.

On breaking the historic mark, Soni added: "I kept it to myself as a secret goal, but that was for Tom. He believed in me more than any coach I`ve known, but as a young kid he was someone I looked up to and he kept pushing me."

Soni trailed South Africa`s Suzaan van Biljon after 50m, but she broke free of the field down the second 50m and kept world-record pace throughout to beat Suzuki by 1.13 seconds and claim her second medal of London 2012 after her silver in the women`s 100m breaststroke.

BDST: 1521 HRS, August 3, 2012
Edited by
Chanchal Ghosh, Newsroom Editor