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Rebecca Soni Wins Gold, Sets World Record in 200m Breaststroke

Rebecca Soni set a world record for the second consecutive day at the London Olympics

By Jonathan Lloyd

| Thursday, Aug 2, 2012 | Updated 1:12 PM PDT

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United States' Rebecca Soni reacts to her record-setting gold medal finish in the women's 200-meter breaststroke.

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USC swimmer Rebecca Soni finished off a whirlwind two days in the pool Thursday by setting a world record on her way to a gold medal in the women's 200m breaststroke at the London Olympics.

Soni finished with a time of 2:19.59, shattering the record she set Wednesday in the semifinals. Soni was never threatened in Thursday's final as she led Suzuki Satomi (silver), of Japan, and Efimova Iuliia (bronze) of Russia to the wall.

Soni finished with a world record time of 2:20.00, .12 of a second faster than the previous mark, in Wednesday's semifinal.

Soni, competing in her second Olympics, won the 200m breaststroke and placed second in the 100m breaststroke at the 2008 Olympics. She won gold in the 100m at the 2009 World Championships and silver in the 50m breaststroke, starting her path toward becoming the world's top breaststroke swimmer.

She won the 100m and 200m breaststroke at the 2011 World Championships.

Soni won three consecutive NCAA titles in the 200y breaststroke at USC.