Grant Hackett sets up world title treble

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BARCELONA: Olympic champion Grant Hackett asserted just enough authority in the men’s 1500 metres freestyle heats Saturday to set the fastest time and point the way towards a third consecutive world title.

Hackett, who won the 800 freestyle Friday, eased through the first 1200 metres but then stepped up the pace, accelerating away from 800 bronze medallist Igor Chervinskiy of Ukraine to qualify fastest for Sunday’s final in 15 minutes 08.79 seconds. The 23-year-old Australian freestyler, 1500 world champion in 1998 and 2001, has won Barcelona gold in the 800 and 4×200 freestyle relay, silver in the 400 and bronze in the 200.

Britain’s Graeme Smith, the 1996 Olympic 1500 bronze medallist and silver medallist behind Hackett at the 2001 worlds, was runaway winner of his heat in 15:12.74 after finishing out of the medals in fourth place in the 800 final. Erik Vendt was third-fastest overall, winning his heat in 15:13.41 from Britain’s David Davies (15:13.93) but fellow American Larsen Jensen, Friday’s 800 silver medallist, cut it fine, finishing well behind Smith, though closing the gap, and qualifying seventh on aggregate in 15:15.63.

British boost: On a good morning for Britain, Alison Sheppard and Zoe Baker set the pace in the heats of their respective one-length sprint events. Commonwealth champion Sheppard won her 50 freestyle heat in 25.16 and world record holder Baker led the way into the evening’s semi-finals of the 50 breaststroke. In the freestyle sprint, Olympic and defending world champion Inge de Bruijn, swimming well within herself with the 50 butterfly final coming up in the evening session, won the final heat in 25.26, 0.01 seconds ahead of American Jenny Thompson, who regained her 100 butterfly crown on Monday and was also facing the 50 butterfly final later.

Australian newcomer Alice Mills won her heat in 25.32 from Sweden’s Olympic and world silver medallist Therese Alshammar, while newly crowned 100 freestyle champion Hanna-Maria Seppala of Finland contented herself with third place in her heat behind Sheppard and Marleen Veldhuis of the Netherlands.

Title quest: Baker, who set a world record 30.57 in the semi-finals on her way to winning the Commonwealth title in Manchester last year, clocked 31.10 in the 50 breaststroke, comfortably the fastest time, as she began her bid to match fellow British Commonwealth champion James Gibson, who won the men’s 50 breaststroke world title Wednesday. Defending champion Luo Xuejuan of China, who retained her 100 breaststroke title on Tuesday, won her heat in 31.49, third-fastest overall behind Baker and Australia’s Brooke Hanson, who took the final heat in 31.24.

European champion Thomas Rupprath, 2001 world silver medallist, led the way into the semi-finals of the men’s 50 backstroke, posting a championship record 25.19 to win the final heat ahead of fellow German Steffen Driesen (25.48). American defending champion Randall Bal, disqualified in the 100 backstroke heats for swimming more than the permitted 15 metres under water at the start, won his heat in 25.53 from 2001 bronze medallist Matt Welsh of Australia (25.60).