The American team in the Mixed 4×50 freestyle relay won gold and set a new world record at the world championship meet Saturday in Qatar. From left, Josh Schneider, Matt Grevers, Avon’s Madison Kennedy and Abbey Weitzel. (Clive Rose photo for Getty Images, courtesy of FINA)
DOHA, Qatar, Dec. 6 – Avon’s Madison Kennedy is a world champion.
Kennedy and her U.S. teammates won a gold medal at the FINA World Swimming Championships (25m) on Saturday capturing the Mixed 4×50 freestyle relay in world record time.
Kennedy, Abbey Weitzeil, Josh Schneider and Matt Grevers won gold in a world record time of 1:28.57, pulling away from Russia and Brazil on the fourth and final leg.
The Americans were third heading into the final leg of the race but Weitzeil swam her leg of the race in 23.25 seconds – the fastest of any woman in the final to lead the Americans to the victory. The U.S. had Josh Schneider and Matt Grevers swim first before Kennedy swam on the third leg.
Kennedy swam a time of 23.63 seconds and cut the lead by the Russians to just 0.15 of a second before Weitzel leaped into the water.
“Anchoring a relay for Team USA is really exciting. When it was my turn, it was just time for me to do my part,” Weitzeil said. “The team did its part and I just went for it and it came out great. Setting a world record was really awesome.”
Russia was second in the race in 1:29.13, 0.56 of a second off the pace while Brazil won the bronze medal in 1:29.17, 0.60 behind the Americans. The U.S. broke the world record of 1:28.57 that was held by Russia and set in December 2013.
It was the first gold medal for Kennedy in the world championships, who won a silver medal on Friday with the U.S. 4×100 freestyle relay team also with Weitzeil. Amy Bilquist and Natalie Coughlin swam in the preliminary round on the 4×50 relay team on Saturday morning for the U.S. while Kennedy and Weitzel swam in the individual 50 meter freestyle races.
Kennedy had two outstanding swims in the women’s 50 meter freestyle Saturday, qualifying for Sunday’s final.
Kennedy had the second fastest time of the day after the preliminary round with a time of 24.07 seconds in the field of 130 swimmers. In the semifinals, Kennedy won her heat and earned a spot in the final with a time of 23.96 seconds. She beat Australia’s Bronte Campbell by 0.05 of a second.
Kennedy will be the No. 2 seed in the final behind world record holder Ranomi Krumowidjojo of the Netherlands, who swam a 23.43 time in the semifinals. Kennedy is the lone American in the eight-woman final.
The 12th annual FINA World Championship meet is a short course world championship meet, which is held in a 25 meter pool. The short course world championship meets are held every two years. The Olympics are long course meets, which are held in 50 meter pools. Next year’s world championship meet will be a long course meet.
The finals begin at 6 p.m. in Qatar, which is 10 a.m. on the East Coast.