DUBAI: Spain's Mireia Belmonte Garcia matched American star Ryan Lochte with her third gold medal at the Short-Course World Swimming Championships Saturday. The 20-year-old Catalan swimmer clocked a championship-record 2 minutes, 5.73 seconds in the 200-meter individual medley, adding to her back-to-back titles in the 200 butterfly and 400 IM on opening night Wednesday. Belmonte Garcia finished 0.21 seconds in front of Ye Shiwen of China, and 0.36 ahead of Ariana Kukors of the United States, who edged Australia's Stephanie Rice for the title in this event at last year's long-course worlds in Rome. Rice, who swept the 200 and 400 IM title at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, recently had shoulder surgery and is skipping this meet, as is medley expert Kirsty Coventry of Zimbabwe. Belmonte Garcia also took silver in the 800 freestyle Thursday behind Spanish teammate Erika Garcia Villaecija and she's planning to finish the meet with the 200 breaststroke Sunday. Lochte won all three of his opening events – two in world record times – and led the 100 IM semifinals in 50.81 seconds, just 0.05 off Peter Mankoc's world record set last year. On Sunday, Lochte will swim two individual events plus the 400 medley relay. Sprinting standout Cesar Cielo was 0.13 ahead of world record pace midway through his 100 freestyle semifinal heat, but then appeared to let up slightly. Still, the Brazilian led in a championship-record 46.01. Fabien Gilot of France qualified second, 0.10 behind, with Matthew Abood of Australia third, 0.60 back, and Olympic champion Alain Bernard in fourth, 0.70 out. Another American, Rebecca Soni, beat Australian rival Leisel Jones again in the 100 breaststroke. Soni was just one hundredth of a second in front of Jones at 50 mark but accelerated in the second half of the race, touching in a championship-record 1:03.98. Jones finished 0.28 seconds behind and Ji Liping of China was third, 0.81 back. Soni and Jones split the 100 and 200 titles at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, but Soni beat Jones over both distances at the Pan Pacific Championships. There were also championship records in the men's 50 backstroke, with Stanislav Donets of Russia clocking 22.93, and the 50 butterfly, with Albert Subirats of Venezuela timing 22.40. Led by sprinting standouts Frederike Heemskerk and Ranomi Kromowidjojo, the Netherlands won the women's 400 free relay in 3:28.54, 0.80 ahead of the United States and 1.27 in front of China.
