Men's 100 Meter Breaststroke

Brendan Hanson has just one chance to exhile his demons in Beijing. If you don't know what I'm talking about, this is one of the big rivalries in the pool. Kosuke Kitajima of Japan and Brendan take turns owning the World Records in Breastroke. In 2004 Hansen broke Kitajima's WR at trials. One thing to note is that these men tend to break the WR when they aren't racing each other, since they are focused on racing the clock. Despite breaking both the 100 & 200 WRs at trials, Hansen was unable to defeat Kitajima in Athens. Neither men set a WR at that games. Hansen failed to qualify in the 200 Breast this year, and didn't put up a great time in the 100 at trials. The hope is that he really will be peaking during the games.

Mark Gangloff will be joining Hansen from the USA. If Hansen and Kitajima approach the WR time (currently held by Hansen at 59.13), they should be way ahead of Gangloff and the rest of the field. Daniel Gyurta from Hungary is more of a threat in the 200. The bronze medalist from Athens, Frenchmen Hugues Duboscq could make it interesting in the final, especially if Hansen is falling off his time. European Champion Alexander Dale Oen of Norway has put up 53.76 and will also be a contender for a podium position.


Hansen in the center pulling out of the dive

There is a significant rule change in the breaststroke since Athens, and you might call it the "Kitajima Rule" due to the controversy he sparked with his turns. Take a look at the second video on this page and watch Kitajima (closest to the camera) as he comes off the wall and does his pull out. As he pulls his arms to his side he does a minor dolphin kick. This probably should have been a disqualification. People were talking in Athens and in the 200 which was swum later in the week Kosuke's legs were still off the walls. This is a difficult rule to enforce fairly, it's hard for the officials to see an infraction under the water like that. The rule has been changed to allow breaststrokers one dolphin like motion underwater during the pullout.

Medal Predictions:

Video:

Hansen wins gold at Worlds in Melbourne

Kosuke Kitajima's dolphin kick off the wall in Athens

 

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