Balandin's mother watched in tears as he paraded with his gold medal around the poolside. This is history, the first swimming medal for Kazakhstan, and I'm very glad I wrote it." Japan's Yasuhiro Koseki had seized control of the race from the outset, leading until the 150-metre mark and well under world record pace before he tied up over the final lap. In swimming finals, the fastest qualifiers take the central lanes four and five, and a win in the outside lane is a rarity. Balandin learned of Rahimov's gold only after winning his own, saying he had been "a bit cut off from the world" for the previous hour.

Source: bd News24 August 11, 2016 02:03 UTC