California Golden Bears Athletics
Silver Medal for Lauren Boyle in 1500m Free
KAZAN, Russia – Cal alum Lauren Boyle captured a silver medal in the 1500-meter freestyle Tuesday at the FINA World Championships, lowering her New Zealand national record to 15:40.14.
Boyle, who swam for the Bears from 2007-10, was runner-up in her race to American Katie Ladecky, who set a world record at the distance in 15:25.48. Boyle held the second position the final 800 meters and finished a comfortable seven seconds ahead of Boglarka Kapas, the bronze medalist from Hungary. Boyle’s time makes her the No. 3 all-time performer in the 1500 free behind only Ladecky and Denmark’s Lotte Friis.
In other racing involved Cal swimmers, Missy Franklin placed fifth in the 100 backstroke final with a time of 59.40, while incoming freshman Kathleen Baker was eighth in 59.99. Franklin came back a few minutes later to post the second-fastest time in the 200 free semifinals when she finished in 1:56.37. Recent graduate Camille Cheng, competing for Hong Kong, was 32rd in the 200 free heats in 2:00.96.
For the Golden Bear men, Tom Shields was the only American to reach the final of the 200 butterfly when he snared the eighth position with his time of 1:55.75. In addition, Martti Aljand of Estonia was 43rd in the 50 breaststroke heats (28.74).
For complete results, visit kazan2015.com.
