Lauren Boyle short course world record stands - stuff.co.nz
The Kiwi swim star set a new world-best short-course (25-metre pool) time of 15 minutes 22.68 seconds for the event in Wellington in August.
But the mark appeared in danger of being ruled out as the Kilbirnie Pool - used for the Wellington Winter Short-Course Championships - was believed to be too shallow at one end.
Regulations from governing body Fina require a minimum depth of 1.35 metres for times to be made official. There were complaints the depth was only 1.2m in the shallow end when Boyle competed and that there was a current present.
However, it appears Fina's technical committee have now ratified Boyle's time, publishing it on their website as a current record after previously categorising it as "pending Fina approval".
The time surpassed the previous record set by Boyle's training partner, Mireia Belmonte Garcia of Spain, who swam 15:26.95 last November at the Spanish Short Course Championships.
Boyle, 26, has been New Zealand's standout swimmer in recent years. She won gold and silver at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in July in the women's 400m and 800m freestyle events respectively.
The following month, she won three medals at the top-class Pan Pacific meet on Australia's Gold Coast, finishing behind US teen sensation Katie Ledecky each time in the 400m, 800m and 1500m freestyle finals. Ledecky holds the long course world records in the 400m, 800m and 1500m women's freestyle events.
Original story from Stuff.co.nz
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