Zubero Breaks Backstroke Record

Martin Zubero, who holds dual Spanish and U.S. citizenship, set a world record in the 200-meter backstroke Saturday at the Alabama Long Course Invitational swim meet in Tuscaloosa.

Zubero swam the 200 meters in 1 minute 56.57 seconds during the preliminaries, breaking the record of 1:57.30 he set Aug. 13 at the Phillips 66 National Championships at Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.

“It was a totally different situation from when I set the record in August,” said

Zubero is a member of the Florida Aquatics Swimming Team.

“I basically had to do the swim by myself. I was the only person that was really peaked for this meet.

“I pretty much knew that I could break the record again, I just didn’t know by how much.”