Guehrer Wins Gold in Rome
3 August 2009; Rod Warnecke

Second year Arts student Marieke Guehrer is the 2009 FINA 50 metre Butterfly World Champion.

The University of Melbourne Sport Scholarship holder overcame the two fastest women in the world to snatch the Gold medal in a time of 25.48 seconds in Rome yesterday. Having seen the world record fall twice in the previous days’ semi-finals, Guehrer thought she had no chance of climbing the dais and hearing the Australian National anthem.

However, a near-perfect race by Guehrer saw her touch the wall in first place, ahead of China's Zhou Yafei who snatched the Silver medal (25.57sec) and Norway's Ingval Snildal (25.58sec) who took the Bronze. Marleen Veldhuis (Netherlands) and Therese Alshammar (Sweeden) who broke the world record in successive races in the semi-finals, failed to claim a medal.

While she is the reigning short-course world record holder for the 50m Butterfly, Guehrer’s victory in the long-course version of the event is still yet to register with the swimmer immediately after the race.

"I still can't believe it. I had to look at the scoreboard a couple of times for it to register," she said.

"It's such a mental race, because there's eight girls out there within half a second. They are still faster than I did tonight. I think that's why I am so surprised."

Guehrer’s Gold medal for the butterfly will no doubt take pride of place in her ever-expanding trophy cabinet, and will sit alongside her Bronze medal, which she won earlier in the World Championships as part of Australia’s 4 x 100m Freestyle relay team.

What’s next for Melbourne University’s Madame Butterfly? Probably a well-deserved rest before hitting the books for semester two, and then representing the University at the 2009 Australian University Games on the Gold Coast in the mid-semester break.

Guehrer accepts her 2008 Lazer-Law Medal from Alf Lazer in April this year.

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For further information, contact:
Rod Warnecke, Sport Development Manager
Mob: 0403 199 700
Fax: +613 8344 5583
Email: rod.warnecke@unimelb.edu.au