BANGKOK, Aug 9: Switzerland's Flavia Rigamonti turned her World Championships silver into gold at the World University Games pool on Thursday, setting a games record in the process.

Rigamonti, who finished second to American Kate Ziegler over 1,500 metres at the world championships in Melbourne in March, easily outdistanced the field at the Thamassat University Aquatic Centre to win the 800 in eight minutes, 25.59 seconds.

That was more than nine seconds quicker than Italy's Federica Pellegrini (8:34.97).

“I didn't know what to expect, I knew that Federica was a fast swimmer,” said Rigamonti. “I was just trying to pace myself.”

Rigamonti said she had changed her training schedule this year.

“I've been concentrating on quality workouts, doing a lot more running and yoga,” she said.

Elsewhere on the first day of medal events at the games, South Korea picked up three golds in its official martial art of Taekwondo while China won the women's 20-kilometre walk.

Hyun Kyoung-hwa won gold in the women's over-72kg class and Jung Sun-young in the under-72kg. Countryman Heo Jung-young took the men's over-84kg division.

Iran's Yousef Karami won the gold medal in the men's under-84kg, preventing a South Korean sweep of the four finals in the sport on Thursday.

In an early swimming final, Japan's Ryusuke Sakata, who competes often on the World Cup short-course circuit, won the men's 200-metre butterfly in the 50-metre pool.

China's Jiang Quiyan won the first gold medal when she successfully defended the 20-kilometre walk title she won at Izmir, Turkey, in 2005.

Jiang set the University Games record of 1 hour, 33.13 seconds in Turkey, and finished more than two minutes slower on Thursday but still took the gold in 1:35.22.

Olimpiada Ivanova of Russia holds the world record in the event, 1:25.41, set at the world championships in Helsinki, Finland, in August 2005.

The race started at 6:30am due to the hot, humid conditions. On the course in Ayutthaya province outside Bangkok, Lidia Mongelli of Italy took the silver in a time of 1:37.23 and Sniazhana Yurchanka of Belarus won bronze, just three seconds behind Mongelli.

It was the first event on the five-day athletics programme that ends on Aug 14, with the featured 100-metre races on Saturday.—AP