SYDNEY, March 29: There’s an old saying in swimming that records are meant to be broken but medals last forever. It is a mantra the clutch of swimmers who have set world records this month should bear in mind.

Fifteen world records have been set in Olympic events this year including 12 in the last two weeks, six at the European championships in the Netherlands and another six at the Australian Olympic trials in Sydney.

With the US yet to hold their trials, more world marks are likely to tumble before the Beijing Olympics, yet none of these record-breaking swimmers will be guaranteed gold in August.

At the last five Olympics, dating back 20 years, more than half the swimmers who set world records in the months leading up to the Games did not win their events.

Six different swimmers set records before Seoul in 1988 but only one, American Janet Evans (800 metres freestyle), went on to win gold.

Poland’s Artur Wojdat broke Michael Gross’s 400 freestyle record but could only manage third place in the Olympic final behind East Germany’s Uwe Dassler while China’s 50 freestyle record holder Yang Wenji settled for second behind another East German Kristin Otto.

Russia’s Igor Poliansky and American David Berkoff broke the 100 backstroke mark three times each in 1988, when the now outlawed submarine start was allowed, but it was Japan’s Daichi Suzuki who reached the wall first in the Olympic final.

Canadian Allison Higson’s joy at cracking the 200 breaststroke mark was soured when she finished seventh at Seoul.

Three swimmers set records leading up to Barcelona in 1992 and only one managed to win the event at the Olympics.Australia’s Kieren Perkins broke the 400 and 1500 freestyle records less than four months before Barcelona. He slashed nearly five seconds off his record to win the 1500 gold but had to settle for silver behind Russia’s Evgeny Sadovyi in the 400 after both went under the old record.

American Jenny Thompson was the favourite to win the 100 freestyle after eclipsing Otto’s record at Indianapolis a few months earlier, becoming the first non-East German to hold the mark for 20 years.However, Thompson’s efforts counted for little when she was beaten for the Olympic gold by China’s Yong Zhuang.

Anita Hall smashed the 200 breaststroke record twice in the same day at Indianapolis but could manage only third in Barcelona behind 14-year-old Japanese Kyoko Iwasaki, who remains the youngest Olympic swimming champion yet.

Penny Heyns was the only swimmer to set a record in the months leading up to the 1996 Olympics and the South African duly won the breaststroke double in Atlanta.

Of the six swimmers who set records before the Sydney Olympics, three went on to win gold medals in their events.Inge de Bruijn of the Netherlands was the standout. She broke records in 50 and 100 freestyle and 100 butterfly before the Games and won all three golds in Sydney.

American Tom Malchow also struck gold in Sydney after breaking the 200 butterfly mark at the US trials but there were mixed fortunes for the other record breakers.

Australia’s Ian Thorpe won the 400 freestyle but was beaten by Dutchman Pieter van den Hoogenband in the 200 final even though he had broken the record twice in the same pool a few months earlier.—Reuters