Richland swimmer Bratton wins gold at World University Games

Former Richland High School swimmer Lisa Bratton has a lovely golden prize to cherish from the World University Games in Gwangju, South Korea.

The incoming Texas A&M sophomore won the women’s 200-meter backstroke final Sunday at the Nambu University International Aquatics Center.

Bratton surged in the second half of the race, taking the lead with about 35 meters to go, and touched the wall in a career-best time of 2 minutes, 9.31 seconds.

The gold was Bratton’s first medal in international competition.

“I don’t think it gets any better,” Bratton told USA Swimming. “With a best time to go with it, I couldn’t be any happier.”

Bratton’s time is the 11th best in the world this year and second among Americans.

Simona Baumrtova of the Czech Republic took silver with a time of 2:10.53, and Japan’s Yuka Kawayoke (2:11.60) snagged the bronze.

Bratton’s next competition will be the Phillips 66 National Championships from Aug. 6-10 in San Antonio.

To watch Bratton’s winning race, go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4dlzq2Cs3o.

This story was originally published July 5, 2015 at 10:34 AM with the headline "Richland swimmer Bratton wins gold at World University Games."