Coughlin cleans up at Janet Evans

LOS ANGELES – Natalie Coughlin won the 100-meter backstroke with the second-fastest time in the world Sunday on the final night of the Janet Evans Invitational.

Coughlin touched the wall in 1 minutes, 19 seconds – .01 seconds off the time she swam in last month’s Santa Clara Invitational. She swam the final 50 meters in 31.04 – nearly a second faster than her competitors.

“I’m happy with that time,” she said. “I love the 100 back.”

Coughlin, who won five medals at the 2004 Athens Olympics, also won the 100 and 200 freestyles at the four-day meet, a tuneup for next month’s U.S. Summer Nationals in Irvine.

Olympian Larsen Jensen and Tamas Kerkekjarto of Hungary also earned their third victories of the meet.

Jensen followed up wins in the 400 and 800 freestyles by capturing the 1,500 free in 15:17.75.

Kerekjarto won the 200 individual medley in 2:03.61 to go with his wins in the 200 butterfly and 400 IM.

Lyndon Ferns of South Africa won the men’s 100 butterfly in 52.59, lowering Michael Phelps’ meet record of 53.44 set in 2002.

Samantha Vanden Berge won the women’s 1,500 in 16:44.54.

Jessica Hardy, the American record holder and world silver medalist last year, won the 100 breaststroke in 1:07.32. Olympian Tara Kirk was second. Wang Qun, a 15-year-old from China, was third.

Erin Reilly won the 100 butterfly in 1:00.10 over Chinese Olympian Xu Yanwei.

Other winners were Chris Ash in the men’s 100 breaststroke; Peter Marshall in the 100 backstroke; and two-time Olympian Yiting Siow of Malaysia in the 200 IM.