East Germany regains swimming crown
About the article
This is a digitised version of an article from The Cayman Compass's print archive. Occasionally, the digitisation process introduces transcription errors, or other problems.
See the article in its original context from August 1982.
Brought to you by
The women's match was a rout. East Germany collected 10 gold medals, seven silver and two bronze, with three world records to boot. The once-dominant United States could manage only two golds, three silver and six bronze.
The Americans came out on top in the men's events but took only six golds and lost a number of races they might have won. It was a far cry from the third championships in West Berlin in 1978, when the U.S. women won nine golds and the men 11.
The U.S. even met disappointment in the synchronised swimming, being upstaged by Canada. Only in diving were they supreme, capturing all four golds, a silver and a bronze. It's obviously been a very rough meet for us, U.S. head coach Mark Schubert told Reuters. 'I think we've learned a lot here. We've gained a lot experiencewise.'
The men's relay teams salvaged some American pride, setting world records in the 4 x 100 metres freestyle and medley races.
But overall the Americans disappointed with U.S. champions and world recordholders beaten, in the women's by East Germans and in the men's by a variety of individual swimmers.
Though many other teams were also disappointed by poor performances, the championships had plenty of memorable moments and seven world records fell.
Canada's Victor Davis removed one of the last outstanding marks from the 1976 Montreal Olympics in the 200 metres breaststroke. Davis, 18, swam 2:14.77 minutes to break the six-year-old time of Britain's David Wilkie of 2:15.11.
Even more dramatic was 15-year-old East German schoolgirl Cornelia Sirch, who chopped almost two seconds off the women's 200 metres backstroke record. Sirch came home on her own in 2:09.91 minutes, destroying the two-year-old record of 2:11.77.
Another East German, Petra Schenider, improved her own 400 metres individual medley mark by .19 seconds to 4:36.10.
But the race the Ecuadorean crowd will remember best was won by a South American. Backed from start to finish from the stands, 17-year-old Brazilian Ricardo Prado swam the race of his life to become the first swimmer from Latin America to win a world championship gold, and a new world record for the 400 metres individual medley was icing on the cake.
The diminutive Brazilian, who trains in California, won in 4:19.78, clipping .27 seconds off the record of his American friend and rival, Jesse Vassallo.
Such was the overall power of the East German women that a world record for their relay team was only fitting. They did it in the 4 x 100 metres medley clocking 4:05.88 compared with their own previous record of 4:06.67 set at the Moscow Olympics. The most spectacular sights of the championships were in the diving, where Californian Greg Louganis gave one of the most brilliant springboard performances ever seen,
Louganis, 22, from San Diego, scored the highest-ever marks in a world-class event, 752.67, a clear round ahead of the next-placed diver. His near-perfect control and composure had even experienced observers grasping for superlatives. Louganis also won the men's 10-metre platform with a less accomplished performance. But he did reach another landmark by earning the maximum possible marks for one of his dives the first diver to do so in a world or Olympic championship.
Large crowds also turned out to see the synchronised swimming, especially the team section. The artistry and coordination of the Canadian and second-place U.S. teams raised the discipline to new heights, in the opinion of most observers.
The United States were not the only team leaving Guayaquil disappointed. China could not match their brilliant standard set in recent diving events and left with only two bronze medals. Britain's medal hopes failed consistently and only Jackie Willmott's silver in the women's 800 metres freestyle saved the team from disgrace.
Even East Germany's Ute Geweniger had a setback. She was hoping to win more than the one gold she took in the 100 metres breaststroke.
Other teams did better than expected, particularly the Netherlands. Annemarie Verstappen collected a gold in the women's 200 metres freestyle and a silver in the 100 metres, and the relay team added a bronze. The press corps voted West German schoolboy Michael Gross the outstanding swimmer of the meet for his 200 metres freestyle and 200 metres butterfly golds.
No swimmer had cause for complaint about the facilities, which were widely praised. Guayaquil made a strenuous effort to welcome both teams and journalists, and the opening ceremony was a magnificent spectacle comparing favourably with those of more prestigious games.
But the stands were often half-full during the heats and the lack of passionate crowd support may have let slip away more than one beatable record.
