An explosive rivalry in the pool and a warm friendship outside

Dubai Rebecca Soni of the United States and Australian Leisel Jones share a special chemistry, in or out of the pool.

"Inside the pool we are the most bitter competitors, while outside it we are just good friends. We have been racing against each other for the past few years now and this is one thing that I am really enjoying all the time," Jones told the media after ending with the silver behind her American rival in the women's 100-metres breaststroke at the 10th Fina World Swimming Championships.

"In Australia we have a lot of swimmers who are up to a high level, but once I am in a competition against Rebecca I know where I stand on the international stage. And then once we are out of the pool we are good friends once again," Jones said.

Fast and furious

Saturday's 110-metre breast-stroke was fast and furious with each matching the other, though Soni held a slight edge following a reaction time of 0.72 from the start to finishing the race in a new championships record of 1:03.98.

"I definitely saw Leisel next to me. We have competed against each other several times before, but have never kept a record of who is leading head to head at the moment," the American champion said.

"In the locker room we try to talk to each other as much as possible so as to distract the other and take some of the stress away."

The rivalry between the two goes back a couple of years to when Soni won her gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, edging out Jones in the 200-metre breast-stroke. But Jones turned the tables on Soni to win the 100m breaststroke in Beijing and was also part of the 4x100m medley relay team that beat the United States, including Soni, to gold.

In August this year, the American was winning again against her Australian friend in the 100-metre and 200-metre events at the Pan-Pacific Championships held in Irvine, California.

So going into these championships in Dubai was something very special for Soni, who was last month named US Swimming's Female Athlete of the Year for the second year running.

"It's a very good rivalry and I really respect Leisel and I think she respects me so that's always a good thing," Soni remarked.