Even though British Olympic medalist James Guy has been making strides in the 100m and 200m butterfly events as of late, the reigning world champion still considers the 200m freestyle his baby. Having won the world title in Kazan against the likes of powerhouse freestyler Sun Yang of China and versatile weapon Chad Le Clos of South Africa, Guy recognizes his battle to defend the 200m freestyle gold won’t be an easy one. But, it’s an opportunity for which the 21-year-old says he is ready.
“My aim is to do the best that I can and, with the great preparation I’ve had, I’m confident I can achieve that. I am the current World Champion in the 200m Freestyle and I will give my absolute everything in pursuit of my goals,” says Guy, who followed coach Jol Finck to the Bath National Centre earlier this year.
“There are no easy World Championships but this one is going to be especially tough with the likes of Sun Yang, Mack Horton, Chad le Clos and the US guys – it’s going to be interesting,” says Guy.
The 200m free event didn’t go quite as planned for Guy in Rio, as the Brit was forced to settle for 4th place and off the podium with his final time of 1:45.49. Slightly gutting was the fact that his 1:45.14 national record-setting gold performance from Kazan would have won Guy silver in Rio behind Sun Yang’s 1:44.65 winning mark.
However, since returning to the water after a post-Rio break, Guy has proven he’s a world-class contender on multiple fronts, landing on the podium around the world with a robust competition schedule that included stops at the Japan Open and along the Mare Nostrum Tour. At the former meet, Guy matched his personal best 200m fly time of 1:55.91, which earned him bronze in Tokyo. At the latter in Monaco, Guy won the 200m freestyle in a solid in-season time of 1:47.27.
Based on his in-pool performances, Guy says ahead of Budapest, “I’m really pleased with the way I’ve been going in terms of my racing this season,” said Guy. “I’m in a good place, I’ve been training really well and the performances have been where I want them to be. It’s all pointing towards doing a good job this summer.”
Look for SwimSwam’s official preview of the men’s 200m freestyle for the World Championships to be published shortly.
Quotes courtesy of British Swimming.
I think that James Guy is confident, but to the point that he is promising to much. I admit though that his butterfly has been improving alot! and that can certainly benefit his strenght in his freestyle events. I would say he gets on the podium.
Park is not in his prime? Didn’t he just swim a 144 or 145 low in season at the last Arena pro series?
145 low last year. His seasonal best this year was only 146.
1st Sung Yang 1:44.5
2nd Chad Le Clos 145/144.6
3rd Townley Haas 1:45.1
While I see Guy as likely to miss the top 5 as he is to get a medal – The confidence in a Yang/Park/Haas top 3 feels misplaced. It is the most likely outcome – But I wouldn’t bet on it.
I’d make Sun Yang & Taehwan Park favourites, personally. I dont see Haas dropping much more in such a short time, and that puts him well in reach of a bunch of other young swimmers. My real pick is Scott, whom I think will finish ahead of Guy – His 1.45.8 200fr was at the end of a meet where he’d swum 200fl ×2, 200im x2, 100fl x2 and 100fr x2 – Pretty tough for a 100/200 man from… Read more »
Yeah I’m also expecting good things from Scott. There was a comment a while back on why there hadn’t been any particularly fast 200 free times recently (only a handful of swims to break 1:45 over the last 2-3 years). One thought was that the last guy to swim 1:43 (Agnel) was also a 47 100 metre swimmer, and the theory was that to get back to those sorts of times you had to have more speed. Obviously Thorpe is a fairly sizeable exception to this, but I thought it was interesting. If true, then the likes of Scott and Haas may be the ones to watch out for in the future.
Scott certainly had some very large drops from… Read more »
Haas had a both a great Trials and Olympics last year, and for him, consistency is the name of the game. I think he’s a lock for somewhere near 1:45.0- his medal chances will depend on the speed of the people around him.
I think there will be a bunch of 1:44’s, but couldn’t guess the medal winners.
He is the world champion but Sun Yang is the Olympic medalist, beating Guy who didn’t even medal. And with Haas making improvements, I doubt Guy will even medal.
Looking to be a show down. I’m betting on Hass but honestly it could be anyone
Between Haas Park and Sun for me
Park?
Taw Hwan.
*Tae
I know, but he isn’t exactly in his prime.
I agree. Sun gold, Park silver, Haas bronze.
Guy and LeClos shouldn’t be counted out.