Barrowman Misses Lowering 200 Breaststroke Mark by .02

Mike Barrowman says the length of his fingernail, about half an inch, kept him from another swimming record.

Barrowman missed breaking his own world mark by two-hundredths of a second in the 200-meter breaststroke Wednesday at the U.S. Swimming Long Course Nationals. His time was 2 minutes 11.55 seconds, compared with 13 days ago, when he reset his old record, swimming a 2:11.53 in winning the Goodwill Games gold medal.

“Half an inch over 200 meters kind of gets you a little upset,” Barrowman said. “If I had just touched a little bit faster . . . but don’t get me wrong. I’m as pleased as can be with the win.”

Defending champion and American record-holder Tracey McFarlane was unable to compete in the 200 breaststroke because she was hospitalized with a severe form of flu.

Tori DeSilvia, 16, won her first national title, but McFarlane still earned a place on the world championship team based on the time she swam at the Goodwill Games.

Chrissy Ahmann-Leighton, a junior at Arizona, also picked up her first national title in winning the 100 butterfly.