Beijing Olympic Games

Updated: 2008-08-14 11:08:28

Kitajima competes. (Photo credit: Fei Maohua/Xinhua)

(BEIJING, August 14) — World and defending Olympic champion Kitajima Kosuke of Japan led all the way to take gold in the Men’s 200m Breaststroke at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in an Olympic record 2:07.64.

Thursday’s Olympic title was Kitajima’s second from the National Aquatics Center after he took the 100m Breaststroke title on Monday in world record time and matched his 2004 Athens Olympic Games performance of gold in both Breaststroke events.

Australia’s Brenton Rickard, who was sluggish in the heats, came out strongly to stay with Kitajima in second for the entire race, touching for the silver medal and an Oceania Record in a time of 2:08.88.

The man who took bronze in the 100m Breaststroke on Monday, Hugues Duboscq of France, took bronze again finishing 0.06 seconds behind Rickard of 2:08.94

Kitajima’s title defense was made somewhat easier in July when his long-time rival in the breaststroke events, American Brenden Hansen surprisingly failed to qualify for the 200m Breaststroke at the US Olympic Swimming Trials.

Kitajima, who qualified fastest for the final, was 0.14 seconds under world record at the 100m. He extended this and at the flip was 0.19 seconds under the world record but tired in the last 50m.

Kitajima Kosuke celebrates. (Photo credit: Chen Kai/Xinhua)
Kitajima Kosuke poses with the gold medal. (Photo credit: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)