July 6, 2009
BELGRADE, Serbia -- Pat Schirk had a successful Sunday at the 2009 World University Games in his first event, the 100m backstroke. The Nittany Lion alum qualified out of the preliminary and semifinal stages of the event finishing eighth in today's finals in Belgrade, Serbia.
Schirk capped his 100m backstroke competition with a time of 55.31, the fastest of his three races in the event during the games. Nevertheless, Schirk swam to eighth place, same as he was seeded for the finals as Ryosuke Irie of Japan won the event in a games-record time of 52.60.
Hitting the wall second in heat five of the preliminary round, Schirk made up valuable ground on his fellow competitors after making the turn in fifth place, out of qualifying position. Schirk swam 27.37 through the first 50m but returned in 28.18, fastest of anyone in the heat, for a total time of 55.55, just 0.50 behind heat winner Helge Meeuw of Germany.
In the semifinals, Schirk again found himself on the outside looking in, starting his first 50m in 27.45 and in last place. A strong finish had the American out of Pennsylvania finish in a time of 55.33, completing the final 50m in 27.88, for a fourth-place finish and the last qualifying spot for the finals.
Schirk edged out Vitaly Borisov by 0.17 to claim the last spot, while Irie broke the WUG record in the event for the first time with a winning time of 52.87, besting Meeuw's mark of 53.85 set in 2007 in Bangkok, Thailand. Irie was just 0.49 off the world record set last week by Aschwin Wildeboer Faber of Spain.
The finals for the event are slated for Monday night in Belgrade, which will be around 12:30 on the East Coast.
On Thursday, July 9, Schirk tackles his second event of the Games, swimming the 200m backstroke in the morning. The semifinals are set for that evening and the finals for Friday, July 10.
For continuous coverage of Schirk's accomplishments in Belgrade, check in at www.GoPSUsports.com/sports/m-swim.
--NITTANY LIONS--