Watch The Best Races of the 2011 World Swimming Championships

Here's is my rundown of the best races so far from Shanghai:

1. Men's 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay

This relay proved once again that when it comes to drama, no event does it better than the Men's 4 x 100 Free relay.




2. Women's 200m IM

The most anticipated event on the women's schedule did not disappoint. An Allstar line-up gave us an Allstar race.




3. Men's 200m Freestyle

The times might not have been as fast as some expected, but as a spectacle for racing it did not disappoint.



4. Women's 4 x 100m Freesyle Relay

A great duel between the USA and Holland, with a final leg for the ages.




5. Women's 100m Backstroke

A tremendous race, and you can't get any closer on the finish...




6. Men's 100m Backstroke

.... well, it turns out you can get closer than 0.01 at the finish.




7. Men's 100m Breaststroke

This race makes the list for poignancy alone. Referring to the atrocities in his antive Norway, Alexander Dale Oen said after the race "I just tried to use what happened back home as fuel and tried to think we just need to push forward. We just need to let everyday life come back. We can't let this guy ruin the future for us".




8. Women's 100m Butterfly Semi Final

The second semi final is the one to watch (starts at 8:55). Dana Vollmer proves that even some of 'untouchable' world records are not out of reach, taking down Inge De Bruijn's iconic 56.61 textile record from 2000 in the process.