Groves and McEvoy Add Second Individual Event to Their Schedule in Rio

2016 HANCOCK PROSPECTING AUSTRALIAN CHAMPIONSHIPS (AUSTRALIAN OLYMPIC TRIALS)

• Thursday April 7th-Thursday April 14th
• SA Aquatic and Leisure Centre – Adelaide
• Prelims – 11 am local (9:30 pm EDT previous evening); Finals – 7:45 pm local (6:15 am EDT)
• Australian Olympic Qualifying Criteria
• Psych Sheets
• Program of Events
• Live stream
• Live results

Cameron McEvoy provided the most exciting performance of the Australian Championships so far. McEvoy won the men’s 100 freestyle by almost a second hitting the wall in a time of 47.04. His time bettered the Australian and Commonwealth mark of 47.05 set by Eamon Sullivan in 2008. McEvoy’s time is the fastest ever done in a textile suit and is only 13 one-hundredths of a second away from Cesar Cielo‘s world record of 46.91.

17 year old Kyle Chalmers finished second in a time of 48.03, beating the junior world record of 48.25 set by Matheus Santana in 2014. James Roberts finished third in a time of 48.32.

All three men were under the Olympic qualifying standard of 48.49. McEvoy and Chalmers will swim the individual event in Rio while Roberts will swim on the 4 x 100 freestyle relay team.

James Magussen (48.68), Matthew Abood (48.89) and Will Stockwell (48.96) will also all head to Rio as part of the 4 x 100 freestyle relay team.

Madeline Groves earned a berth onto the Olympic team on Friday when she finished second in the women’s 100 butterfly posting a time of 57.08 almost a second faster than the Olympic qualifying time of 58.05. On Monday evening Groves added the 200 butterfly to her schedule of events in Rio winning the event in a time of 2:05.47 well under the Olympic qualifying time of 2:07.69. Over the last two years she has gained a good deal of experience racing on the international stage, swimming this event at both the 2014 Commonwealth Games and Pan Pacific Championships as well as the 2015 World Championships.

Brianna Throssell also qualified for Rio in the women’s 200 butterfly finishing second in a time of 2:06.58. Throssell, who swam the event in Kazan, took two one-hundredths of a second her lifetime best of 2:06.60.

The men’s 200 breaststroke was also an event where athletes could earn a ticket to Rio, but the closest anyone came to the Olympic qualifying time of 2:09.64 was Matthew Wilson who won the event in a time of 2:09.90. Although the 17 year old did not make the Olympic team he was only 16 one-hundredths of a second away from Anton Chupkov‘s junior world record of 2:09.64.