Edinburgh Day 3: Peaty Untouchable Once Again In 58.78

2018 EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL SWIM MEET

• Incorporates the 2018 British National Championships
• Royal Commonwealth Pool, Edinburgh
• March 1st – 4th
• LCM
• Meet Site
• Psych Sheets
• SwimSwam Meet Preview
• Results

Day 1 Recap/Day 2 Recap

The 2017 European Junior Champion, Tom Dean, got day 3 off to a quick start with a monster personal best in the 200m IM. Holding off big boys Tim Shuttleworth, Xavier Castelli, Joe Litchfield and Dan Wallace, 17-year-old Dean fired off a new career fastest effort of 1:59.88 for the gold, representing the first time he’s been sub-2 minutes in the event.

Dean’s time of 2:01.02 that won in Netanya last year marked the British national age group for 17-year-olds, so tonight’s outing lowered that significant record. Cardiff’s Castelli was next in line, albeit more than a second back in 2:02.23, while Loughborough’s Shuttleworth notched 2:03.61 for 3rd in the race.

Of his phenomenal performance, Dean stated, “It’s amazing – I’m over the moon.

“I knew I had to get my stroke up on the backstroke and then just carry the momentum through for the first of the race.”

For a point of reference, Dean’s 1:59.88 time tonight would check-in as the 7th fastest 17-18 year old ever in the event among the top U.S. age groupers.

Stockport Metro’s Holly Hibbott claimed her 2nd British national title in as many days, adding a 400m freestyle gold to her 800m free from earlier in the meet. Hibbott touched behind visiting Spaniard Mireia Belmonte’s time of 4:09.08, but Commonwealth Games-bound Hibbott was the first Brit at the wall in a mark of 4:11.86.

Both women fall short of the top 10 times in the world, but Hibbott was pleased with her swim nonetheless.

“I’m really pleased with that swim,” said Hibbott. “It’s hard to race fast when training is tough so I’m pleased.

“I’ve been fine-tuning everything I’ve done so far this year so when I come to the big meets I can race faster.”

In Edinburgh it was also another day, another sub-minute 100m breaststroke victory for world record holder Adam Peaty, as the 23-year-old casually threw down a time of 58.78 for the gold tonight. That clinched the win over the newly-minted 200m breaststroke British national champion James Wilby of Loughborough, who finished at 1:00.05 for silver. Stirling’s Ross Murdoch rounded out the top 3 with a time of 1:01.26.

Peaty now rockets to the top of the world rankings, a familiar spot for the virtually untouchable Olympic and world champion. His mark also casually checks-in as the 25th-fastest performance of all-time, still 5 weeks out from the Commonwealth Games.

Additional Winners on the Day:

• Lizzie Simmonds clinched her 2nd national title this meet, earning the 100m backstroke win in 1:00.65.
• Visiting German swimmer Christian Diener took the overall top time in the men’s 200m backstroke in 1:59.36, but Brodie Williams of Millfield was the first Brit home for a national title in 2:00.29.
• Spain’s Jessica Vall was first at the wall in 2:24.92 in the women’s 200m breaststroke, but once-national record holders Chloe Tutton and Molly Renshaw were right behind in marks of 2:25.69 and 2:26.11, respectively.
• Edinburgh’s own David Cumberlidge snagged the splash n’ dash title, stopping the clock at 22.28 to beat the field by over half a second.
• The women’s 50m butterfly saw Cardiff’s Harriet Jones fired off the only sub-27 second time of the field, touching in 26.99 for the win.
• Jay Lelliott became a two-time national champion, adding tonight’s 800m freestyle gold (7:57.31) to his 400m freestyle from day 1.