Kitajima misses out, Hansen marks comeback

LONDON (Reuters) - Japanese Olympic champion Kosuke Kitajima failed in his bid to win a third breaststroke double, coming fifth in a 100 meters race that broke a world record and saw U.S. arch-rival Brendan Hansen mark his own comeback by squeezing onto the podium.

Kitajima, hugely popular in Japan, won the 100-200 breaststroke double at both Athens and Beijing Olympics, after finishing a close fourth in Sydney in the 100 as a 17-year-old.

But, doubt-ridden and aching in the days leading up to the London race, he was left behind in Sunday's final, as South Africa's Cameron Van der Burgh, Australia's Christian Sprenger and Hansen took gold, silver and bronze respectively.

"It was a really tough race. I needed to break the world record to win and to be honest I didn't have it in me," he said after the race, through a translator.

"When I was asked if I could swim 58.4 today, it was impossible... My personal best is 58.9 seconds, so I am disappointed not to reach the time."

A time of 58.9 would have put Kitajima on the podium, ahead of both Sprenger, who swam 58.93, and Hansen, at 59.49.

"I have enjoyed the comeback process until now... I still have a chance in the 200. It is going to be a high-level race, I have to think about the 200 more seriously."

Hugely popular in Japan, with nearly 100,000 twitter followers tracking his moves, Kitajima fought injury after his Athens triumph to repeat his double in Beijing, then flirted with retirement.

He is no longer the brash youngster whose whoops of delight echoed around the pool in Athens and has struggled with injury. He has made no secret of how painful the process of Olympic training is for him at 29, in a sport dominated by younger men.

"He's been there, done that and so it is one of those things. He may not have the most fire underneath him, because he's already done it twice," Hansen said.

"He swam a great race tonight. It was probably one of the most talented fields I have ever swam in and I don't think it takes away from anything he has done."

Hansen himself, who has traded records and titles with Kitajima for a decade, quit swimming after Beijing, taking up triathlons instead.

But he made a comeback as London approached, determined to win his first individual gold and marked a return to the podium on Sunday with what he said was the Olympic medal that meant the most to him.

"Back about eight months ago in the U.S., there were about 15 or 20 athletes targeting a comeback and I am the only one here."

(Editing by Greg Stutchbury)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/kitajima-misses-hansen-marks-comeback-231506397--spt.html

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