Ye blazes into semi-finals of 200 meters medley

 LONDON, July 30 (Xinhua) -- China's Ye Shiwen showed that her world record display in the women's 400 meters medley¹ was no flash in the pan when she clocked the fastest time in the heats for the 200 meters event on Monday morning.

The 16-year-old was over a second and a half ahead of the second fastest qualifier as she once again showed her power in the breaststroke and freestyle.

Ye finished ahead of Zimbabwe's Kirsty Coventry and American swimmer Caitlin Leverenz while another Chinese swimmer Li Jiaxing also got through to the last 16.

"I am very satisfied and a little bit surprised by my result," commented Ye after her race.

Elsewhere, Michael Phelps took a small step towards convincing doubters that he is still capable of winning medals in the London Olympics, when he cruised into the semi-finals of the men's 200 meters butterfly on Monday morning.

The American followed his excellent swim in the second leg of the men's 4 x 100 meters freestyle relay final on Sunday with a comfortable swim to qualify for the semi-finals with the fifth fastest time.

Austrian Dinko Juric qualified² with the fastest time, while two Chinese swimmers Wu Peng and Chen Yin, who both swam in the same heat, both made it through to the last 16.

Chen will be optimistic of taking a medal after finishing fourth in the World Championships in Shanghai last year, while Juric will hope to improve on his World Championship display, after clocking the fastest time in the heats before failing to get near the medal positions.

"It's a bit like it was in Shanghai where I finished first in the heats," said Juric, who added that he had felt comfortable in the race and strong in the closing stages.

Italy's Federica Pellegrini showed she was in the mood after missing out in a medal in the women's 400 meters freestyle on Sunday when the heats of the women's 200 meters freestyle got under way.

The world record holder³ clocked the fastest time in the heats and was followed into the semis by American duo, Alison Schmitt and Missy Franklin.

"All my bitterness (at finishing fifth on Sunday) finished there. I knew I gave everything I had and I can't bang my head against a wall," said Pellegrini.

"I am finding the motivation in myself without waiting for my body's reactions. I am just trying to go strong from start to finish,"she added.

Sunday's 400 meters gold medallist, Camille Muffat qualified down in twelfth place, perhaps not surprising following her triumph on Sunday.

"I didn't sleep very well last night. I wanted to sleep, but obviously I was very excited and I kept checking my medal,"said the French woman.

Meanwhile China's Wang Shijia scraped into the last 16 with the 14th fastest time.

1 medley   

n.混合

参考例句：

• Today's sports meeting doesn't seem to include medley relay swimming.现在的运动会好象还没有混合接力泳这个比赛项目。
• China won the Men's 200 metres Individual Medley.中国赢得了男子200米个人混合泳比赛。

2 qualified   

adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的

参考例句：

• He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
• We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。

3 holder   

n.持有者，占有者；(台，架等)支持物

参考例句：

• The holder of the office of chairman is reponsible for arranging meetings.担任主席职位的人负责安排会议。
• That runner is the holder of the world record for the hundred-yard dash.那位运动员是一百码赛跑世界纪录的保持者。