SWIMMING : East German Upsets Biondi, Jager
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SANTA CLARA, Calif. — East Germany’s Nils Rudolph upset Americans Matt Biondi and Tom Jager in the men’s 50-meter freestyle final Saturday at the Santa Clara International swim meet.
Rudolph swam the distance in a meet-record 23 seconds to edge Biondi, of Castro Valley, Calif., who finished in 23.23. World record-holder Jager, of Tijeras, N.M., and the Santa Clara Swim Club, whose best time in the event is 21.81, was third in 23.25.
“I got a good start,” said Rudolph, ranked fifth in the world in the 50-meter freestyle. “And it’s a great feeling to beat these guys. I never thought of it before.”
Janet Evans of Placentia and Stanford, a triple gold medalist in the 1988 Olympic Games, defeated Heike Friedrich of East Germany in the women’s 400-meter freestyle. Evans’ time of 4:11.15 broke Mitzi Kremer’s meet record of 4:13.37.
The meet concludes today.
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