Brittany Elmslie and Bronte Barratt went head to head in the women’s 200 freestyle, which was one of the most exciting races on the final evening of the Victorian Open Championships.
Going into the final 50 meters Elmslie had a lead of 71 one-hundredths of a second, a lead she was able to hold despite a fast charging Barratt. Elmslie took the event in a time of 1:57.44 followed by Barratt who finished in a time of 1:57.57.
This was a strong showing for both women considering that Elmslie’s best in 2014 was a 1:56.79 while Barratt’s season’s best was a 1:56.61. Both women joined forces with Emma McKeon and Alicia Coutts last summer winning the 4 x 200 freestyle gold at the Commonwealth Games.
Jessica Hansen was able to complete the sweep of the women’s breaststroke events winning the 50 in a time of 32.46. She was followed by Philippa Cochran who posted a 32.92 and Libby Forbes who recorded a 32.96.
With James Magnussen missing from the men’s 50 freestyle Luke Percy collected in a time of 22.68. Percy out touched Tomasso D’Orsogna by 12 one-hundredths of a second. D’Orsogna collected the silver in a time of 22.80 followed by Daniel Hunter who finished in a time of 23.03.
Mitch Larkin collected his third gold of the competition taking the men’s 100 backstroke in a time of 54.31. Ashley Delaney finished second in a time of 54.92 followed by Joshua Beaver who touched in a time of 55.02.
14 year old Molly Batchelor took the women’s 1500 freestyle with relative ease finishing in a time of 17:20.39. Sophie Caldwell finished 13 seconds behind posting a time of 17:33.81. She was followed by Stefannie Gillespie who recorded a 17:35.08.
Jayden Hadler won the men’s 100 butterfly in a time of 52.99 followed by Tommaso D’Orsogna who finished in a time of 53.29. Chris Wright picked up the bronze touching in a time of 54.17.
Barratt collected her second silver in the women’s 200 IM finishing behind Kotuku Ngawati who won the event in a time of 2:14.52. Barratt posted a time of 2:16.19 followed by Holly Brettle who posted a 2:16.36.
Travis Mahoney took the men’s 400 IM in a time of 4:23.41 followed by Mitchell Donaldson who recorded a 4:26.66. Kazimir Boskovic finished third in a time of 4:27.26.
Jordan White led the women’s 200 butterfly from start to finish taking the event in a time of 2:13.21. She was followed by Nicole Mee who posted a 2:14.65 and Katie Goldman who recorded a 2:16.40.
The men’s 200 breaststroke ended up being the most exciting race of the evening. Justin Treloar went into the evening looking to sweep the men’s breaststroke event, but there were three other men determined not to let that happen. Justin Woolley eventually took the event in a time of 2:19.68 followed closely by Bryce Skea who posted a 2:19.88 and Chie Yin Lione Khoo who recorded a 2:19.94. Treloar finished fourth in a time of 2:20.02.
Hayley Baker won the women’s 50 backstroke in a time of 29.55 followed by Mikaela Cornelissen who touched in a time of 29.64. Shani Burleigh finished third in a time of 30.12.
In the final individual event of the evening Shane Asbury took the men’s 1500 freestyle in a time of 16:00.97. He was followed by Evangelos Tsirapidis who posted a 16:19.74 and Daniel McConnell who hit the wall in a time of 16:42.97.
Full results can be found here.