After failing to live up to the hype in Sunday’s 200 free, Australian superstar came back to grab a win in the men’s 100 free in 48.63, which left him well ahead of the competition. This is a big mid-season improvement for him after last year, where he was putting up 49-mids between Championship meets (though, he didn’t swim much between Pan Pacs and February’s NSW State Championship meet). Next year, he should be afforded the advantage of making the Olympic Team without having to use a full taper swim in this 100 (though, with the meet’s early timing, it might be safer to fully taper anyways).
This race was very tight between he and breakout Cameron McEvoy, with Magnussen holding only a .01 second lead at the turn, but he put on the afterburners on the way home to win easily as McEvoy faded to 3rd in 49.19. Matt Targett toook 2nd in 49.15.
Finishing 4th in this race was another strong young sprinter for the Dolphins: Kenneth To in 49.81. The comebacker Michael Klim took 7th in prelims in 50.44, but because of meet rules failed to final (only 3 non-Queenslanders are allowed to final). Korea’s Tae Hwan Park was 5th in the prelims in 50.21, which also failed to final. Continuing a set of great all-around swims for the McEvoy family was a 6th-place finish from older-brother Hayden in 51.10.
In the women’s version of the race, 19-year old Cate Campbell won in 53.82, which is by far the fastest that she has gone in textile. That swim moves her to 9th in the world this year, and as the 2nd-fastest Australian. Just behind her is a hot -rising name in Australian women’s sprinting Melanie Schlanger in 53.85, which cuts four-tenths off of her career-best. She trains with the McEvoys at Southport, a team that is having a very strong meet. That also puts her in the world’s top 10, meaning that the Australians will end the season with more swimmers in the world’s top 10 (three) than any other country, including the Dutch and the Americans.
Campbell and Schlanger, despite very similar finishing times swam very different races. Campbell took the race out well (25.78 to Schlanger’s 26.53), and though she was chased down on the back-half, she had enough to get into the wall first.Yolane Kukla tacked on her first individual medal with a 55.22 for 3rd.
Emily Seebohm took 6th in 55.56, which is extremely exciting. Not because it’s fast, rather it’s further indication that her killer 100 back time from Monday (59.3) was done on little rest, and puts her right into the thick of the competition for Olympic gold next year.
Libby Trickett was 11th in the prelims at 56.11 and failed to final. She was half-a-second faster the last time she swam this race in long course, though that was a tapered June swim at the Australian relay qualifying meet.
Seebohm continued to be on fire in the backstrokes as she added a Tuesday win in the 200 in 2:10.59. That’s the best time of her season, though it’s a season where illness and injury kept her from getting the event versatility in that she would normally see. The swim is still a full second slower than what she did at this same meet last year.
Australia continues to have some depth weaknesses in the backstroke events, as was evidenced by this race (though it is not representative of Australia as a whole). The winner of the 200 back was Canadian Matt Hawes who recently moved to train at the University of Sydney with Bobby Folan (who formerly worked with Aaron Peirsol at Texas. The time for the 25-year old was 1:59.29, which shows significant progress. It’s easily his best time since moving to Australia after the World Championships after an adjustment period, and is almost as fast as he was in Shanghai.
In 2nd was teenager Josh Beaver in 2:00.04. Beaver is one of a few strong young Australian men’s backstrokers who just need time to grow before they’ll be ready to stop the leaks.
Another race was won by an ex-pat on Tuesday, as Britain’s Ellen Gandy took the women’s 200 fly in 2:09.13. She is a contender for an Olympic medal, as is Jessicah Schipper (2:10.48) who was 2nd in this race.
Behind them was Amy Smith, not to be confused with the British sprinter, who first made her breakout at this meet three years ago when she upset Schipper. Smith touched here in 2:11.65
In the men’s 200 fly, Chris Wright took a win in 1:57.94, which is his best time of what has been a very slow year for him.
Finishing up the senior schedule was the Olympic distance events. Katie Goldman foreshadowed a great swim here with a strong 400, and that fruition came true with her win in 8:24.71, which is again her best time of the season. That moves her into 7th in the world, and she had to be happy with that swim at the mid-season mark. The only time that she’s been faster was an 8:22 at the 2010 Pan Pac Trials, which built some buzz around her. She now seems to be coming back around to that high water mark just in time for the Olympics.
Jessica Ashwood took 2nd in 8:31.21, and open-water swimmer Melissa Gorman was 3rd in 8:33.07. Kylie Palmer, who is one of the best in the world in the 200 and the 400, drops off pretty quickly in the 800, and here she finished 5th in 8:45.69.
In the men’s 1500, which is nervously watched by those in Australia who are yearning for the next Aussie distance star to pop up, it was the South Korean Tae Hwan Park who took his 2nd win of th emeet in 15:17.37. Wally Eggleton took 2nd in 15:23.45.
Thomas Fraser-Holmes was 5th in 15:29.27, and Robert Hurley was 6th in 15:35.30.
Swimming Queensland has finally started posting results on their website. See full meet results here.
Magnussen’s time was great. Klim’s time also. Too bad he didn’t get to swim finals. He seems to be on the right track for his comeback…
On a somewhat related note, Cielo just swam a 48.52, in very heavy training at the Brazilian Open.
Not sure if I’d consider Mel Schlanger new name… she was on the olympic team for beijing and swam the 4×200 in the morning and possibly the 4×100 FR as well…