Graham Croker
Sydney University Sports Scholarship holder Matt Jaukovic finished his 2008 FINA/ARENA Short Course Swimming World Cup campaign with a silver medal in the men’s 100m butterfly.
Arch rival Evgeny Korotyshkin of Russia won the event in 49.74, ahead of Jaukovic (50.70) and Nikolay Skvortsov of Russia in 50.98.
The second placing resulted in Jaukovic finishing seventh overall in the men’s World Cup events with a total of 62 points.
The economics-law student will return home from the seven-leg competition with $22,000.00 following wins in the 50m butterfly in Sydney, where he broke the world record, Singapore, Moscow, Stockholm and Berlin, and 100m butterfly wins in Sydney, Singapore and Moscow.
Jaukovic, 22, came close to his world record when he won the 50m butterfly on the opening night of the Berlin meet on Saturday. He clocked 22.58s, just 0.08 outside the world mark he set last month, to edge out Johannes Dietrich of Germany (22.88) and Korotyshkin (22.93).
Born in Montenegro in 1985, Jaukovic came to Australia three years ago to study at the University of Sydney and train under the watchful eye of the University’s head swimming coach Steve Alderman.
Jaukovic, who swam for his native country as a junior before coming to study in Sydney, said his ultimate goal is to represent Australia at the Olympic Games.
South Africa’s Cameron van der Burgh landed the $US100,000 overall World Cup men’s first prize from Americans Peter Marshall ($US50,000) and Randall Bal ($US30,000). Van der Burgh set world records in the 50m and 100m breaststroke among his 10 wins during the competition.
The overall World Cup female first prize of $US100,000 was won by Australian Marieke Guehrer, a University of Melbourne student, who also set a new world mark of 24.99 in the 50m butterfly at the final event in Berlin.
