Liu sets world record; Sun and Ikee keep collecting gold

Sport

Liu sets world record; Sun and Ikee keep collecting gold

2018-08-21 23:47 Last Updated At：08-22 10:15

Liu Xiang set her first world record in an event she was only doing for a bit of fun.

The 21-year-old prefers freestyle sprinting so she was very surprised when she heard the public announcer at the Asian Games yelling out the two sweetest words that every international swimmer understands regardless of their language.

And when she turned around to check the electronic scoreboard she saw that it was her who had just broken the world record for the women's 50-meters backstroke.

She had powered down the pool in a slick 26.98 seconds to take 0.08 off the previous record of 27.06, which was set by China's Zhao Jing at the 2009 world championships in Rome when swimmers were aided by the now-banned buoyant suits.

"The 50-meter backstroke wasn't my major event, so I didn't expect anything from the race," Liu said. "My main focus is actually the 50 freestyle,"

"I think I was really concentrated on myself today. This was the key."

The 50 backstroke is not on the Olympic schedule and Liu still has the 50 freestyle to come Friday, so she planned to hold the celebrations for later.

"The bigger assignment coming up for me is the freestyle," she said. "After that I will celebrate with the team together. It's still kind of an achievement in swimming."

Liu also managed to do something else no other swimmer has managed so far at the Asian Games by taking the spotlight from her star teammate Sun Yang and Japanese teenager Rikako Ikee. Sun cruised to a dominant victory in the men's 400 freestyle in 3 minutes, 42.92 seconds, more than two and half seconds off his personal best but still 4.22 ahead of his nearest rival.

"My coach told me before the race tonight: 'You are the reigning world champion and reigning Olympic gold medalist, you need to prove again you are the best in this event,'" Sun said of his motivation. "That was his expectation."

He's now three-quarters of the way to an unprecedented four freestyle titles, having already won the 200 and 800. Only the 1,500 remains and as the reigning Asian games champion and world-record holder, it would be an upset for him to be beaten.

At age 26 and with three Olympic gold medals already, Sun shows no signs of slowing down. He is doing plenty of miles in training to keep up with the expectations of the more than one billion people in China.

"I'm training very, very hard for Tokyo 2020," he said.

Ikee picked up her fourth gold medal in Jakarta when she won the women's 100 butterfly in 56.30 but the 18-year-old blotted her perfect record when she collected silver in the 4x200-meter freestyle relay.

"It will be my motivation to win gold medals as much as I can by competing against Chinese swimmers, so I don't have much races left, but I will use all my strength that is left for this season," Ikee said. "Next Olympics will be held in Japan, so I will focus only on winning."

With three events to go, she remains on course to becoming the most successful athlete in any sport at a single Asian Games. Kosuke Hagino won seven medals at Incheon four years ago.

The Asian Games has awarded an MVP award since 1998. No woman has ever won the prize before but Ikee could be about to change all that.

Yu Hexin, the 2014 Youth Olympic champion, won the men's 50 freestyle in 22.11 as China edged 11-10 in front of Japan for gold medals in swimming in the first three days of competition.

Yuo Ohashi, the silver medalist at last world championships, won the women's 400 individual medley in 4:34.58. Yasuhiro Koseki, also a runner-up in Budapest last year, edged his Japan teammate Ippei Watanabe to win the men's 200 breaststroke in 2:07.81.

Trevor Lawrence finally looks like a generational quarterback and has the Jaguars surging

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Trevor Lawrence spun and rolled left to avoid pressure, squared his shoulders as much as possible with a defender in his face and heaved the ball 50 yards toward the sideline.

It looked like a potential throwaway.

It was actually a perfectly placed pass to Parker Washington, who was sprinting across the field.

Lawrence smiled and shrugged his shoulders toward Jacksonville’s bench — an acknowledgement that it was the second time in as many weeks he turned a busted play into a big gain — and moved on. There really wasn’t much else to say as the best performance of Lawrence’s five-year NFL career unfolded against the New York Jets.

Lawrence finished with 330 yards passing, five touchdowns and a career-high 136.7 passer rating. He also ran for 51 yards and a score. Three days later, Lawrence was named AFC offensive player of the week.

He has a shot at being the league's conference player of the month for December, especially if he continues to ascend when the surprising Jaguars (10-4) play at stingy Denver (12-2) on Sunday.

“I feel like I’m seeing it really well,” Lawrence said. “I think I’m throwing it well. Offensively, in general, it’s never about one guy. As an offense, we’re really synced up right now, especially in the passing game and protecting up front.

“We all have a lot of confidence in what we’re doing. It seems like we’ve got the ball rolling the last few weeks, so it feels good.”

Lawrence has thrown for at least 225 yards and two TDs in four consecutive weeks. He also has no turnovers in his last three games — Lawrence’s longest, mistake-free stretch since the Jaguars drafted him as the top pick in 2021.

There are reasons for his recent surge.

Coach Liam Coen tops the list. The play-caller and Lawrence have figured each other out, building a level of consistency and cohesion Lawrence rarely found as a rookie under coach Urban Meyer or in three years under Doug Pederson, who changed passing game coordinators and gave up play-calling duties after his first season in Jacksonville.

Coen has drawn rave reviews inside the team facility for his communication skills and his willingness to adjust — no moves bigger than trading for sure-handed receivers Jakobi Meyers and Tim Patrick, inserting backup left tackle Cole Van Lanen into the starting lineup and remaining committed to a ground game that helps keep Lawrence upright and healthy.

“As you’re building, you just have to make sure you’re doing right by the whole place and putting the best 11 out there,” Coen said. “Individual success is extremely important to us. You want every player to get what they truly deserve and earn. … But it has to come back to the team first.

“Ultimately, everything we’re trying to do is to do that. Put the team first, protect the team and give ourselves the best chance to go win on Sunday.”

The Jaguars have won five in a row and six of seven since their bye, the only loss being the biggest collapse in franchise history. They are averaging 34.2 points a game during the winning streak, with Lawrence getting — and deserving — much of the credit.

He finally looks like the generational quarterback the Jaguars thought they were getting nearly five years ago when the previously winless Jets beat the Los Angeles Rams and Cleveland in consecutive weeks late in the 2020 season to essentially hand the top draft pick to Jacksonville.

His mistakes are down, and he’s using his legs like never before. He ranks fifth in franchise history with 20 rushing scores, including a career-high six this season, and sits third in franchise history with 92 TD passes in 74 starts.

He passed David Garrard (89) last week and has Blake Bortles (103) and Mark Brunell (144) within reach considering Lawrence signed a five-year, $275 million contract with the Jaguars before the 2024 season.

He is currently tied for sixth in the NFL with 23 TD passes, two shy of his career best set in 2023. More importantly, the Jaguars have double-digit wins for the second time in 18 seasons and are on the verge of making the playoffs for just the fifth time this century.

“It all starts with him, and he’s doing a great job,” Meyers said. “Up or down, we’re going to rock with him regardless. So, wherever he goes, we’re going.”

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