Liu Breaks 50-meter Backstroke World Record at Asian Games
Women's 50m backstroke gold medalist China's Liu Xiang, centre, stands with silver medalist China's Fu Yuanhui, left, and bronze medalist Japan's Natsumi Sakai on the podium during the swimming competition at the 18th Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia on Aug. 21, 2018. AP/Bernat Armangue
JAKARTA—Liu Xiang swam a world-record time of 26.98 seconds to win the women’s 50-meter backstroke gold medal on Tuesday night at the Asian Games.
The 21-year-old Liu, who prefers swimming the freestyle, became the first woman to break 27 seconds in the event, lowering the record of 27.06 set by fellow Chinese swimmer Zhao Jing at the world championships in Rome in 2009 before the contentious rubberized suits were banned.
