Coughlin breaks American record...

(Long Beach, CA) - Natalie Coughlin broke her own American and U.S. Open record in the 200-yard freestyle Sunday night at the 2007 Toyota Southern California Grand Prix of Swimming, turning in a time of 1:41.66. It was the first of two wins for the five-time Olympic medalist Sunday.

Coughlin?s performance in the 200y free shattered the previous mark she set in 2002 (1:42.65) by almost a full second. She outdistanced the rest of the field by about five seconds, ahead of fellow Olympians Kaitlin Sandeno of Club Wolverine (1:46.61) and Margaret Hoelzer of Auburn Aquatics (1:47.89).

For SMSC, Rachael Wahl swam in the 400 IM Final, placing fifth in 4:30. Shortly after that, Wahl joined SMSC teammates Meghan Zimmer, Erica Brannon and Lora Lougee to an exciting 800 Free Relay finish. Lougee, the anchor, dropped two seconds off her best to tag out North Coast Aquatics relay.

The competition continues through Monday.