2017 British Swimming C’ships Day 1 Prelims: Untouchable Peaty 58.56

2017 BRITISH SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Tuesday, April 18th – Sunday, April 23rd
• Ponds Forge International Sports Centre, Sheffield
• LCM
• Qualifying Times Analysis (for this meet)
• Qualifying Times Analysis (for 2017 World Championships GBR squad)
• Meet Site
• Psych Sheets
• Live Stream
• Live Results

MEN’S 400 FREESTYLE – PRELIM

• FINA A – 3:48.15
• British 1st place standard – 3:43.84
• British consideration standard – 3:47.16
• Top 8:
  1. Stephen Milne – 3:47.85
  2. Max Litchfield – 3:48.38
  3. Timothy Shuttleworth – 3:49.19
  4. Nicholas Grainger – 3:49.76
  5. James Guy – 3:49.96
  6. Jay Lelliott – 3:50.10
  7. Daniel Jervis – 3:51.61
  8. Samuel Budd – 3:52.55

The usual suspects made it safely to tonight’s final in the men’s 400m freestyle, with 6 of tonight’s top 8 swimmers having raced in this same heated event last year. 200m freestyle world champion James Guy took this event last year in a remarkable 3:43.84, ultimately finishing in 2nd place to China’s Sun Yang in Kazan. This year the 21-year-old scored 4th seeded position heading into tonight with a solid 3:49.96 to represent the 4th athlete under the 3:50 threshold.

Perth City’s Stpehen Milne holds the pole position, having clocked the only sub-3:48 time of the session, followed by Sheffield’s Max Litchfield, who notched the next fastest in 3:48.38. Milne’s personal best is the 3:46.00 he raced in Rio for 13th overall, while Litchfield has only been beneath the 3:49 barrier once.

Per British selection criteria for the 2017 World Championships the first place swimmer must secure a mark of 3:43.84 for automatic qualification, or at the very least 3:47.16 to be discretionarily selected.

WOMEN’S 200 FREESTYLE – PRELIM

• FINA A – 1:58.68
• British 1st place standard – 1:55.25
• British consideration standard – 1:57.21
• Top 8:
  1. Eleanor Faulkner – 1:59.59
  2. Kathryn Greenslade – 1:59.70
  3. Lucy Hope – 1:59.90
  4. Jessica Jackson – 2:00.50
  5. Jazmin Carlin – 2:00.99
  6. Freya Anderson – 2:01.02
  7. Georgia Coates – 2:01.28
  8. Camilla Hattersley – 2:01.70

Last year saw 4 women scored sub-2-minute times in the morning, while this year we have just 3, led by Commonwealth Games bronze medalist Eleanor Faulkner. Faulkner notched a time of 1:59.59 to secure lane 4 for tonight and will be battling other 2016 Olympians including Rio silver medalist Jazmin Carlin and mid-distance swimmer Camilla Hattersley of the City of Glasgow. Carlin nabbed the 5th seed in 2:00.99, with Hattersley sneaking into the final at 2:01.70.

With the British consideration standard resting at a stiff 1:57.21, several swimmers, such as newly-minted 16-year-old 50m butterfly national age group holder Freya Anderson, will need to produce the swims of their lives come finals to have a shot of making the squad in this event.

Remember, not just the first 2 slots are at stake, but potential relay positions as well.

MEN’S 100 BREASTSTROKE – PRELIM

• FINA A – 1:00.35
• British 1st place standard – 59.01
• British consideration standard – 1:00.15
• Top 8:
  1. Adam Peaty – 58.56 *Automatic
  2. Ross Murdoch – 1:00.13 *Consideration
  3. Craig Benson – 1:00.16
  4. Charlie Attwood – 1:00.39
  5. Andrew Willis – 1:00.95
  6. James Wilby – 1:00.96
  7. Lawrence Palmer – 1:01.66
  8. David Murphy – 1:01.79

Olympic champion and world record holder Adam Peaty just makes it look too easy. The 22-year-old 100m breaststroke ace collected the first automatic qualification time of the meet, touching in a super swift 58.56 to easily take the top seed by well over a second. Just his prelim time would have scored the silver medal at the 2016 Olympic Games, checking in as the 11th fastest performance of all time.

For this season, Peaty just topped his own earlier world #1 time of 58.86 nabbed at the Arena Pro Swim in Indianapolis last month. He remains one of just 2 swimmers to have delved into 58-point territory.

Not to be overlooked, however, is the fact that the breaststroking hot spot that is Great Britain also produced 5 solid 1:00-point swims this morning, led by 2014 Commonwealth Games Champion and 2016 European Champion Ross Murdoch‘s 1:00.13. His University of Stirling teammate and two-time Olympian Craig Benson finished just behind in 1:00.16 to set up a huge duel for 2nd place in tonight’s final.

WOMEN’S 400 IM – PRELIM

• FINA A – 4:43.06
• British 1st place standard – 4:34.08
• British consideration standard – 4:37.67
• Top 8:
  1. Hannah Miley – 4:38.64
  2. Rosie Rudin – 4:39.81
  3. Abbie Wood – 4:41.13
  4. Aimee Willmott – 4:41.12
  5. Constantine Dean – 4:48.33
  6. Emily Siebrecht – 4:49.21
  7. Lucy McKenzie – 4:49.64
  8. Orla Adams – 4:50.21

Aberdeen Performance is the only squad with more than one swimmer making the women’s 400m IM final, with the 1st and 8th seeded athletes representing the club. Rio’s 4th place finisher Hannah Miley set herself apart from the field with the only 4:38 mark of the morning, while last year’s 5th place performer in this event at the 2016 edition fo the meet, Rosie Rudin, touched right behind in 4:39.81.

Now in the senior ranks, Rudin was the 2015 World Junior Champion in this event, earning a personal best of 4:39.01 to top the field in Singapore. As such, this morning’s outing was less than a second off of that result, giving the teen hope she can crack off at least the British consideration standard of 4:37.67 this evening.

Last year’s runner-up and 2016 Olympian Aimee Willmott is ready to rumble, lurking as the 4th seed in 4:41.12. Willmott finished 7th overall in Rio with a mark of 4:35.04

The remainder of the field will keep things close through the 3rd and 4th seeds, but then swimmers drop off into the 4:48 and slower range.

MEN’S 50 BACKSTROKE – PRELIM

• FINA A – 25.29
• British 1st place standard – N/A
• British consideration standard – N/A
• Top 8:
  1. Joe Elwood – 25.54
  2. Luke Greenbank – 25.86
  3. Christopher Walker-Hebborn – 25.88
  4. Charlie Boldison – 25.91
  5. Daniel Cross – 26.11
  6. Henry Chesterman – 26.23
  7. Nicholas Pyle – 26.30

Although not an Olympic event, the 50s of non-freestyle strokes are indeed contested at World Championships, with British swimmers able to race the events if they have already notched roster spots in Olympic disciplines.  Nevertheless, athletes can use the spash n’ dash races as warm-up swims for their primary events, throwing down some one-lap speed to kick-off their Budapest-qualifying campaigns.

Loughborough secured the top 2 seeds in the form of Joe Elwood and Luke Greenbank, who touched in tiems of 25.54 and 25.86, respectively. 2016 Olympic silver medalist in the men’s 4x100m medley relay, Chris Walker-Hebborn is also in the mix with a solid 25.88, followed by Stirling’s Charlie Boldison‘s time of 25.91

WOMEN’S 50 BREASTSTROKE – PRELIM

• FINA A – 31.22
• British 1st place standard – N/A
• British consideration standard – N/A
• Top 8:
  1. Sarah Vasey – 30.57
  2. Imogen Clark – 30.71
  3. Corrie Scott – 31.35
  4. Jocelyn Ulyett – 31.50
  5. Beth Atchison – 31.78
  6. Kara Hanlon – 31.88
  7. Molly Renshaw – 31.97
  8. Kathryn Johnstone – 32.18

The women of Loughborough University snagged 5 of the top 8 seeds, with Edinburgh nabbing the other 3 lanes. Teammates Sarah Vasey and Imogen Clark packed a 1-2 punch, roaring down their lanes with the only sub-31 times of the morning. Vasey notched 30.57 to Clark’s 30.71, both collecting personal bests in the process. Both women also dipped under the FINA A standard, as perspective for how quick they were this morning.

Scotland’s national record holder Corrie Scott enters tonight’s final as the 3rd fastest swimmer with a morning swim of 31.35, within a second of her own personal best of 30.64.