Swimming: Thompson feat

(First Edition)

THE world-record holder, Jenny Thompson, competing with a broken arm held together with a titanium plate, won the 100metre freestyle on Sunday at the US national championships.

Thompson, 21, won in 55.50 seconds, capping a remarkable comeback since she broke her left arm in a freak water-slide accident during a college fraternity party at Stanford University in May.

Thompson underwent surgery on 3 June. She had more than 100 stitches and a plate and seven screws put in her arm, and has a six-inch scar on her forearm. She missed only 10 days' training. 'The doctors told me before the surgery I always had next year and I told them I didn't, that I wanted this year,' Thompson said. 'This win means more to me than breaking the world record.'

Thompson's 100m record of 54.48sec still stands.

Meanwhile, Seth van Neerden, 26, tied Milton Diebel's US record by winning the 100m breaststroke in 1:01.40, the world's fastest time this year, Allison Wagner, 17, won the 400m individual medley in 4:40.27 and Chad Carvin won the 200m freestyle in 1:49.19.