COLUMBIA, Missouri, Feb 18, 2008 - Zimbabwe's Kirsty Coventry won the women's 200m medley with an African record of 2min 10.08sec on Monday as the Missouri Grand Prix long course swimming meeting concluded. Olympic gold medallist Coventry, who broke a 16-year-old world record in winning the 200m backstroke on Saturday, defeated American Katie Hoff (2:10.23) in the 200m IM. Coventry also won the 100m backstroke as American Natalie Coughlin scratched from the final one day after shattering her own world record in the heats. Coughlin's preliminary time on Sunday of 59.21 sliced more than two-tenths of a second off her own previous world record of 59.44. With Coughlin out, Coventry came within three-hundredths of Coughlin's previous world mark with a winning time of 59.47 - underscoring her status as the second-fastest swimmer in the event. Haley McGregory was second in 1:00.22. Superstar Michael Phelps, building for a potentially historic showing at the Beijing Olympics in August, won the 100m butterfly in an impressive 51.52sec, with world record-holder Ian Crocker second in 52.00. But Phelps couldn't get past world record-holder Aaron Peirsol, who out-dueled his illustrious US teammate to win the 100m backstroke in 53.56 to Phelps's 53.70. Erik Vendt sliced almost 10 seconds off his personal best to win the 1,500m freestyle in 14:47.59. Vendt became the second-fastest American in the event, behind Larsen Jensen, and eclipsed the US Open mark of 14:48.34 set by Australian distance great Grant Hackett in 2003. In other finals on the last day of the meeting, which is using the same morning finals, evening heats format that will be used at the Beijing Games, world-record holder Brendan Hansen won the men's 100m breaststroke in a quick 1:00.85, with Mark Gangloff second in 1:01.24. Hoff posted the fastest time in the world this year of 8:27.32 in winning the women's 800m freestyle, and Brazil's Thiago Pereira won the men's 200m medley in 2:00.24.
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