Hocking wins double gold in Berlin

Swimming Australia
Published: Nov 1, 2010 09:44:14 AM Updated: Nov 13, 2012 11:45:10 AM

 

Pan Pacific Championships bronze medallist Belinda Hocking has won two gold medals and one silver medal at the FINA Arena World Cup in Berlin over the weekend, missing out on the backstroke treble by less than half a second.

 

The 20-year-old originally from Wangaratta but now based at the AIS in Canberra won the 50m backstroke in 26.99 from Russian Anastasia Zueva (27.41) and Brazilian Fabiolia Molina (27.50), and then went on to take out her favoured event the 200m backstroke in 2:03.99. 

 

A bronze medallist in the same event in Irvine in California at the Pan Pacs, and having just missed out on a medal in Delhi in the 200m, Hocking split the short course race in 1:00.06 before coming home strongly against Daryna Zevina from the Ukraine (2:04.57) and Julia Smit from the US in 2:05.11.

 

In the 100m backstroke, the event she came second to Emily Seebohm in at the Australian Short Course Championships in July this year, Hocking finished in 58.23 behind Femke Heemskerk from the Netherlands in 57.72.

 

Hocking’s AIS teammate Angie Bainbridge picked up Australia’s only other gold medal of the two-day meet winning the women’s 400m freestyle in 4:02.82, but it was her 200m freestyle which turned heads in Australian swimming circles.

 

The 21-year-old from Hunter swam the second fastest 200m freestyle short course ever by an Australian to win bronze in 1:54.28, with only Libby Trickett swimming faster when she stopped in the clock in 1:53.29 in November 2005.

 

Breaststroker Sally Foster won a silver medal in the women’s 100m in a time of 1:06.11 and finished fourth in in the 50m breaststroke in 30.75.

 

While, with only two Australia men taking part in the meet, Craig Calder picked up silver in the 200m breaststroke in a time 2:07.55, and Matthew Abood from Sydney University finished sixth in the men’s 50m freestyle in 21.53 behind gold medallist and world record holder Roland Schoeman in 21.01. Abood was seventh in the 100m free in 47.87.

 

The team of six will next compete in the Stockholm leg of the FINA Arena Swimming World Cup from November 6-7 this weekend.

In this article: Belinda Hocking, Sally Foster, Merinda Dingjan, Craig Calder, Angie Bainbridge, Matthew Abood,