REBECCA SONI IS GOLDEN AT SHORT COURSE WORLDS

Olympic gold medalist Rebcca Soni (Plainsboro, N.J.) won gold Saturday on day four of the FINA Short Course World Championships in Dubai. Team USA earned a total of three medals on the penultimate night of competition, including Soni’s gold in the 100m breast, a silver medal in the women’s 4x100m free relay and a bronze medal for Ariana Kukors (Auburn, Wash.) in the 200m IM.

Soni won her second World Championship gold medal with her win in the 100m breast. She took the lead from the start of the race and held on for the win with a strong finish. Her time of 1:03.98 earned her both the championship and American record in the event. Second place went to Leisel Jones of Australia in 1:04.26 while China’s Liping Ji was third in 1:04.79.

The women’s 4x100m free relay turned in a strong performance to earn the silver medal with a time of 3:29.34, a new American record. The team of Natalie Coughlin (Vallejo, Calif.), Katie Hoff (Towson, Md.), Jessica Hardy (Long Beach, Calif.) and Dana Vollmer (Granbury, Texas) was in the lead after the first 100 meters, however, they were unable to hold off the Netherlands, which won gold in championship-record time of 3:28.54. China earned bronze in 3:29.81.

Ariana Kukors (Auburn, Wash.) added to her medal haul in Dubai with a bronze medal in the 200m IM. Kukors set the American record with her time of 2:06.09, more than a second better than her previous personal best. Spain’s Mireia Belmonte Garcia won gold and set a championship record in 2:05.73 while China’s Ye Shiwen earned the silver in 2:05.94. Melissa Franklin (Centennial), swimming in her second event of the night, tied for sixth in 2:08.38.

Nick Thoman (Cincinnati, Ohio) placed fifth in the final of the men’s 50m back with a time of 23.28. Russia’s Stanislav Donets won the gold and set a championship record in 22.93. China’s Xiaolei Sun and Spain’s Aschwin Wildeboer Faber tied for silver in 23.13 and France’s Camille LaCourt won bronze in 23.16.

The final of the men’s 50m fly did not feature an American swimmer. Venezuela’s Albert Subirats broke the championship record in 22.68 to win the gold. Ukraine’s Andrii Govorov won silver in 22.43 and Germany’s Steffen Deibler picked up the bronze in 22.44.

In the men’s semifinal of the 100m IM, Ryan Lochte (Daytona Beach, Fla.) just missed the world record with his time of 50.81. He set the American and championship record with his swim, but was .05 away from the world mark. Tyler Clary (Riverside, Calif.) finished 16th with a time of 53.99.

Both American swimmers in the semifinals of the women’s 100m fly advanced to Sunday’s final. Christine Magnuson (Tinley Park, Ill.) was the third-place qualifier with a time of 56.55 and Vollmer secured the eighth spot in the final with a time of 57.00.

In other semifinals action, Nathan Adrian (Bremerton, Wash.) squeaked into the men’s final of the 50m free as the eighth-place qualifier with a time of 46.99. Garrett Weber-Gale (Milwaukee, Wis.) was 10th with a time of 47.08 and did not advance to the final. In the women’s 50m free, Jessica Hardy (Long Beach, Calif.) was the lone American to advance to the final. She qualified fifth with a time of 24.17. Amanda Weir (Lawrenceville, Ga.) finished 12th with a time of 24.53.

Mike Alexandrov (Champaign, Ill.) moved on to the final of the men’s 50 breast with a time of 26.48. He is seeded fifth in the final. Mark Gangloff (Akron, Ohio) finished 12th in 26.83. In the semifinals of the women’s 50m back, Franklin finished 14th in 27.49 and did not advance to the final.

Team USA leads the medal count with 18 total medals (8 gold, 4 silver and 6 bronze). Competition concludes Sunday with the preliminary heats beginning at 10 a.m. local time and the finals starting at 7 p.m. local time. For full results and more information on the 10th FINA Short Course World Championships, visit this link. You can also follow the action LIVE on USA Swimming’s Twitter page (@USA_Swimming).