WORLD SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS : Fast Food, Record Time for Barrowman

Mike Barrowman has lowered his world record again and paid off a debt that had been weighing him down for more than two years.

A junk-food junkie intent on atoning for his poor showing in the 1988 Olympics, Barrowman lowered the mark in the men’s 200-meter breaststroke to 2 minutes 11.23 seconds at the World Swimming Championships Friday night.

It was a wire-to-wire victory, with Barrowman leading the fastest field in the history of the event. And the Potomac, Md., champion attributed it to his coach, willpower and fast food.

Barrowman felt listless after setting a meet record of 2:13.82 in the morning heats, so he went to a nearby fast-food restaurant for an energy boost. He came away refreshed and a soon-to-be world champion.

Barrowman, 22 and from the University of Michigan, won one of two gold medals for the United States as swimming resumed after a rest day.

The men’s 400-meter freestyle relay team of Tom Jager, Brent Lang, Doug Gjertsen and Matt Biondi won in a meet-record 3:17.15. Biondi, the 100 freestyle gold medalist and world record-holder at the distance, swam a 48.27-second anchor leg, the sixth-fastest in history. He holds the top eight relay-leg times.

Germany finished second in the relay in 3:18.88 and won its first individual gold medal, Joerg Hoffmann taking the men’s 400 freestyle in a meet-record 3:48.04.

Hoffmann, the 1989 European 1,500-freestyle champion for East Germany, said the same old feeling came over him when he stood on the victory stand and was saluted by the West German anthem, now the national anthem of a united nation.

“There is no difference, winning for East Germany or a united Germany,” he said.

China turned in its most impressive performance of the championships with a 1-2 finish in the women’s 100 butterfly from Qian Hong, who won in 59.68 seconds over Wang Xiaohong.