Draganja: WR 20.81 50m Freestyle
2008-04-11
Craig Lord
Duje Draganja, Olympic silver medallist, crushes 50m free world record at Manchester s/c worlds

Duje Draganja, Olympic silver medallist, crushed the 50m freestyle world record at the Manchester 2008 s/c worlds with a 20.81 blast. That beat the 20.93 mark set by Stefan Nystrand of Sweden in Berlin on Nov. 18, 2007.

Veteran Brit Mark Foster, 37, clocked 21.31sec, good enough for silver and a terrific time for a man of his age - but Draganja, from Croatia and coached by Mike Bottom at The Race Club in the US, was there to remind the former champion that times move on. he wore the LZR. Foster did not.

Born in Split, the 25-year-old, won the silver medal in the men's 50m free at Athens 2004 behind Race Club teammate Gary hall Jr (USA). A former NCAA record holder in the 100y, with 41.49 (from 2005), cut a controversial figure for a while in Croatia when he took a Qatari passport in return for a lucrative contract in August 2005. In February 2006, the sprinter changed his mind, recommitted himself to his country and has since raced only for Croatia in international waters.

In Manchester he was a class apart in the way that he raced, and in the way he came out of his turn and ploughed into a different pool on his way home to the wall. South African captain Gerhard Zandberg was just 0.02sec shy of Foster, with Ryan Lochte, a man who can fend off the pack over 200 and 400m medley here, and much else besides, hugely impressive in fourth, on a 21.44.