African multiple medalist Jason Dunford began his world swimming championships (25m) campaign reaching the 100m Butterfly semi-finals on wednesday at the Sinan Erdem Arena in Istanbul, Turkey.
Dunford had earlier qualified 10th in 51.14 seconds from the heats of the 11th FINA world short course championships after ranking fourth in his round won by American superstar Ryan Lochte in 50.16.
Banking on his post Olympics credentials, that included two medal (silver, bronze) picks in the competitive 100 fly at the FINA World cup, Dunford started off very strongly and went head to head with Spanish Rafael Munuz (23.26)by the halfway mark which he covered in 23.29.
Dunford lost pace in the final two laps to finish sixth in 51.08. Dutch Joeri Verlinden won the first semi final in 50.43, 0.29 seconds slower than American Thomas Shields winner of the other semi in 50.14.
Competition for the men’s 100m butterfly gold medal on Thursday should be intense in the absence of the defending champion and world record holder Evgeny Korotyshkin.
Dunford 's next swim will be the 50m fly on Friday
Next up for Dunford will be the 50m fly qualifying rounds on Friday. “I am looking forward to a great championships. In my post-Olympics I have tried to swim without pressure and just enjoy the ride,” Dunford told Sportsnewsarena.com from Istanbul.
“I am not going into the meet promising a medal but am just looking to put together some good swims which will hopefully help me achieve satisfying results.”
Unlike in the buildup to London, his preparations for his fourth world championships appearance have been precisely biased on his strong events.
“My training has been good, with less volume compared to pre-London but more specificity. “
Besides his main swims in the 100 and dash fly, the Kenyan torpedo could compete in the freestyle and Individual Medley.
“I am also entered in the 100m free and 100IM to take a shot at our national records but this will depend on how I perform in the butterflys’,”he added.
Evelyn Watta
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