5. 200m Breaststroke Men's Semifinals

KIITAJIMA WR/OR

(1)
5 out of 8 swimmers from EACH of the groups opted for pants instead of the full body swimsuit. I took the liberty of observing KITAJIMA instead of cheering him on and he is indeed unique and different. KITAJIMA led from the beginning – a lead that he sustained till the end. He’s a beautiful swimmer with timely strokes. Like an artist at work, you’ll think he’s taking his time, enjoying his art, but actually whilst doing all that, he is actually first. There is absolutely no hint that he is rushing or desperately to win.

SNYDERS (NZL) knocked 2s off from the NZL-R just to get this far in the race. “That’s the kind of swim that makes you feel good” Also in the race is Frenchmen DUBOSCQ, another busy swimmer indeed; he won Bronze earlier with KITAJIMA at gold in the 100m Breaststrokes.

1.KITAJIMA (JPN) OR
2.SNYDERS (NZL)
3.BOSSINI (ITA)

(2)
1.BROWN (CAN)
2.RICKARD (AUS)
3.GYURTA (HUN)

BROWN knocked out 1s from his PB in this race to emerge tops; third place GYURTA won Silver in Athens. Also in the race is VERSFELD (RSA) who was the Commonwealth Champion in this event. The man who generated much controversy before the Olympics - SHANTHEU (USA) was in the race as well. He discovered that he had contracted cancer right before the games but go ahead with competing anyway.