2022 Australian Trials: Day 2 Prelims Live Recap

2022 AUSTRALIAN SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Wednesday, May 18 – Sunday, May 22, 2022
• SA Aquatic and Leisure Centre, Oaklands Park, South Australia
• LCM (50m)
• Meet Central
• Entry List
• Live Results
• Live Stream (Amazon Prime)
• World Championships Qualifying Criteria

Follow along below for a live recap and analysis of the day 2 prelims session at the 2022 Australian World Champs Trials. On the docket today in the women’s 100 fly, the men’s 50 fly, the women’s 50 breast, the men’s 200 freestyle, the women’s 400 IM, women’s 50 backstroke, and the men’s 200 breaststroke.

Women 100 Fly Prelims

• World Record: 55.48 – Sarah Sjostrom (2016)
• World Junior Record: 56.46 – Penny Oleksiak (2016)
• Australian Record: 55.72 – Emma McKeon (2021)
• Commonwealth Record: 55.59 – Maggie MacNeil (2021)
• FINA ‘A’ Cut: 58.33

Top 8:

1. Brianna Throssell – 58.25
2. Alexandria Perkins – 58.69
3. Gemma Cooney – 59.15
4. Elizabeth Dekkers – 59.34
5. Lily Price – 59.44
6. Brittany Castelluzzo – 59.56
7. Laura Taylor – 59.85
8. Rebecca St Vincent – 1:00.02

In the first heat of the night, Brianna Throssell put up the fastest time with a 58.25 to undercut the FINA A cut right away. Throssell raced this event for Australia at the Tokyo Olympics and wound up placing 12th in semis with a 57.59. We’ll see if she can get down towards her lifetime best of 57.02 during finals. She swam that PB at the 2019 World Championships.

Throssell’s training partner Alexandria Perkins was the victor of heat 2, dipping under 59 seconds with a 58.69. Her PB in this event is slightly faster than this swim and sits at a 58.61. That means it will take a PB during finals for her to get under the FINA A.

In heat 3, Gemma Cooney was the only one under a minute when she won the heat with a 59.15 to beat her entry time of 59.59.

Those winners of the first three heats mark the top 3 swimmers from the heats. Elizabeth Dekkers was 4th overall with a 59.34, while Lily Price (59.44), Brittany Castelluzzo (59.56), and Laura Taylor (59.85) each got under a minute as well.

3rd seed Abbey Webb was disqualified from this event, having entered with a 59.09 behind Perkins’ 58.61.

Men 50 Fly Prelims

• World Record: 22.27 – Andriy Govorov (2018)
• World Junior Record: 23.05 – Andrei Minakov (2020)
• Australian Record: 22.73 – Matt Targett (2009)
• Commonwealth Record: 22.73 – Matt Targett (2009)

Top 8:

1. Kyle Chalmers – 23.42
2. Isaac Cooper – 23.75
3. Ben Armbruster – 23.76
4. William Yang – 23.78
5. Cody Simpson – 23.79
6. Lewis Burras* – 23.88
7. Grayson Bell – 23.92
8. Joseph Jackson / James Bayliss – 24.20

After finishing second in the men’s 100 butterfly on day 1 of the meet, Olympic champion Kyle Chalmers was the quickest man in the heats of the 50 butterfly. He put up a 23.42 to slightly beat his entry time of 23.48. 100 fly champion Matthew Temple didn’t race this event.

Isaac Cooper was around 0.3 slower than Chalmers with a 23.74 to jump up from his 8th place seed of 24.17. Behind Cooper, a group of 6 men swam between 23.76 and 23.92. Ben Armbruster was the #3 man here with a 23.76, which is also an improvement on his 11th placed seed of 24.28.

Among the others were presumptive World Championships qualifiers in the 100 butterfly, Cody Simpson, and the 50 freestyle, Grayson Bell. Additionally, William Yang and Lewis Burras got into the top 7 with a 23.78 and 23.88, respectively.

There was a tie here for 8th place between Jospeh Jackson and James Bayliss who both hit a 24.20, but they will both advance into the A final as Lewis Burras of England isn’t eligible for the A final.

Women 50 Breast Prelims

• World Record: 29.30 – Benedetta Pilato (2021)
• World Junior Record: 29.30 – Benedetta Pilato (2021)
• Australian Record: 30.16 – Sarah Katsoulis (2009)
• Commonwealth Record: 29.72 – Lara van Niekerk (2022)

Top 8:

1. Chelsea Hodges – 30.22
2. Jenna Strauch – 31.14
3. Mikayla Smith – 31.55
4. Abbey Harkin – 31.62
5. Mia O’Leary – 31.68
6. Talara-Jade Dixon – 31.77
7. Felicity Chan – 31.91
8. Matilda Smith – 31.93

After placing third in the 100 breaststroke on day 1 and missing the World Championships team, Chelsea Hodges put up the top time of the prelims in the 50 breaststroke. She hit a 30.22 in the event to get within 0.06 seconds of the Australian record held by Sarah Katsoulis.

This swim for Hodges is just off her best time of 30.17. While Hodges will advance into the final in first place, the 50 breaststroke is not a qualification event for the World Championships.

100 breaststroke qualifiers Jenna Strauch and Abbey Harkin went 2-4 in the 50 breaststroke heats with a 31.14 and 31.62, respectively. Mikayla Smith got into the top 3 with her swim of 31.55 after placing 7th overall in the 100 breast.

Men 200 Free Prelims

• World Record: 1:42.00 – Paul Biedermann (2009)
• World Junior Record: 1:44.62 – Hwang Sun-woo (2021)
• Australian Record: 1:44.06 – Ian Thorpe (2001)
• Commonwealth Record: 1:44.06 – Ian Thorpe (2001)
• FINA ‘A’ Cut: 1:47.06

Top 8:

1. Zac Incerti – 1:46.84
2. Flynn Southam – 1:47.39
3. Charlie Hawke – 1:47.56
4. Elijah Winnington – 1:47.60
5. Mack Horton – 1:47.80
6. Samuel Short – 1:47.85
7. Matthew Temple – 1:48.30
8. Kai Taylor – 1:48.40

Charlie Hawke delivered an outside smoke performance in the first heat of the men’s 200 freestyle when he posted the heat-winning time of 1:47.56 from lane 8. That was a solid drop from his PB of 1:50.44 and was enough to out-touch Elijah Winnington‘s 1:47.60.

Two more men got under 1:48 in the heat in the form of 400 freestyle runner-up Mack Horton (1:47.80) and the man who Horton narrowly beat out in the 400 freestyle, Samuel Short (1:47.85).

In heat 2, 16-year-old Flynn Southam overtook the #1 position with a 1:47.39. His morning swim here is a bit slower than the 1:46.77 swim that he unleashed earlier this year. No one else in that heat cracked 1:48, but James Koch finished second to Southam with a 1:48.86.

It wasn’t until heat 3 that we saw our first 1:46 in the field, but Zac Incerti powered to a 1:46.84 to crack the FINA A cut and get into first place. Incerti has been as fast as a 1:46.18 before but has only been under 1:47 3 times in his career.

Interestingly, Incerti has swum a 1:46.18, 1:46.64, and 1:46.89 (and now a 1:46.84), but has never swum a 1:47 in his career. His 5th-best time is a 1:48.49 from 2021. Incerti won a bronze medal at Tokyo 2020 in the 4×200 free relay, splitting a 1:45.75 for Australia.

Women 400 IM Prelims

• World Record: 4:26.36 – Katinka Hosszu (2016)
• World Junior Record: 4:36.71 – Mio Narita (2022)
• Australian Record: 4:29.45 – Stephanie Rice (2008)
• Commonwealth Record: 4:29.12 – Summer McIntosh (2022)
• FINA ‘A’ Cut: 4:43.06

Top 9:

1. Kaylee McKeown – 4:42.40
2. Jenna Forrester – 4:43.02
3. Mya Rasmussen* – 4:43.07
4. Kiah Melverton – 4:45.49
5. Ella Ramsey – 4:46.32
6. Kayla Hardy – 4:46.80
7. Francesca Fitzhenry – 4:50.12
8. Madeline Snell – 4:51.13
9. Emilie Muir – 4:51.35

Kaylee McKeown had a seemingly relaxed performance in the first heat of the women’s 400 IM, delivering a 4:42.40 to place first in her heat. She was under the FINA A cut, which bodes well for her upcoming finals efforts.

Mya Rasmussen of New Zealand was second in the first heat with a 4:43.07 but won’t swim the A final as she’s not Australian.

The winner of heat 2, Jenna Forrester was a few seconds slower than her entry time of 4:39.46 with a 4:43.02 which will be enough to get her into the A final. World Championships gold medalist in the 4×200 freestyle relay Kiah Melverton placed second in heat 2 with a 4:45.49.

Ella Ramsey and Kayla Hardy put up a pair of 4:46s, which gets them into the final. It’ll take a drop, however, for them to have a shot at getting into the top 2 and under the FINA A. Outside of the top 6, no one cracked 4:50 and Francesca Fitzhenry was 7th with her 4:50.12. Considering that Rasmussen is ineligible, the 9th-fastest woman, Emilie Muir, will get into the final with her 4:51.35.

Women 50 Back Prelims

• World Record: 26.98 – Liu Xiang (2018)
• World Junior Record: 27.49 – Minna Atherton (2016)
• Australian Record: 27.16 – Kaylee McKeown (2021)
• Commonwealth Record: 27.16 – Kaylee McKeown (2021)

Top 8:

1. Mollie O’Callaghan – 27.80
2. Bronte Job – 27.86
3. Madi Wilson – 28.25
4. Hannah Fredericks – 28.59
5. Holly Barratt – 28.66
6. Minna Atherton – 28.71
7. Alyssa Burgess – 28.88
8. Layla Day – 29.04

100 freestyle champion Mollie O’Callaghan showed her backstroke strength here in the 50 back prelims, delivering a 27.80 to make herself the top seed heading into finals. She’s been as quick as 27.75 before back in 2020. While the 50 backstroke isn’t a World Championships qualifying event, O’Callaghan could be nominated to race this event at World considering that she’s already qualified in the 100 freestyle.

O’Callaghan will also race the 100 backstroke later on in the week and is the 2nd overall seed to Olympic champion Kaylee McKeown with a 58.86.

Bronte Job was the only other woman under 28 seconds in this event and, like O’Callaghan, holds a PB of 27.75. Madi Wilson qualified for Worlds in the 4×100 freestyle and has placed third overall here into the final with a 28.25.

Behind 4th place, Hannah Fredericks, and 5th place Holly Barratt, world junior record holder Minna Atherton was more than a second off her best time of 27.49 with a 28.71.

Men 200 Breast Prelims

• World Record: 2:06.12 – Anton Chupkov (2019)
• World Junior Record: 2:09.39 – Qin Haiyang (2017)
• Australian Record: 2:06.28 – Zac Stubblety-Cook (2021)
• Commonwealth Record: 2:06.28 – Zac Stubblety-Cook (2021)
• FINA ‘A’ Cut: 2:10.32

Top 8:

1. Zac Stubblety-Cook – 2:10.14
2. Joshua Yong – 2:11.69
3. Matt Wilson – 2:12.07
4. Adam Selwood – 2:13.09
5. Angus Menzies – 2:14.25
6. David Schlicht – 2:14.92
7. Alex Milligan – 2:15.36
8. Cooper van der Laan – 2:15.57

The heavy favorite to win this event is reigning Olympic champion Zac Stubblety Cook who swam an Australian record-breaking swim of 2:06.28 to win this event in Tokyo. Stubblety-Cook hasn’t raced a lot this season but announced himself as a medal contender yet this year when he swam a 2:08.22 in April.

Stubblety-Cook was off his PB and season-best, but he didn’t need a best time to get into the final and will have the potential for improvement during the final. Joshua Yong was entered with a 2:14.18 and got down to a 2:11.69 to make the second seed heading into the final behind Yong.

In order to get onto the team, Yong will need to get down to the FINA A cut of 2:10.32 and will need to hold off 3rd seed and former world record holder Matt Wilson. Wilson swam a 2:06.67 back in 2017 to crack the world record, which Anton Chupkov broke later that day.