Kristy Coventry breaks women's 100m backstroke world record

Kirsty Coventry of Zimbabwe has set a world record in the 100-meter backstroke semifinals during the swimming competitions in the National Aquatics Center at the Beijing 2008 Olympics in Beijing, on Monday, August 11, 2008.



Coventry rewrote the world record in the women's 100m Backstroke with a time of 58.77 in heat 2 of the semifinal at the Water Cube on Monday, surpassing the Olympic record breaking time she set only the day before in the preliminary round. Former world record holder Natalie Coughlin of the United States of America came in first in heat 1 in 59.43.