Abbie Wood Breaks 5-Year-Old British Record in Women’s 200 IM

2020 INTERNATIONAL SWIMMING LEAGUE – MATCH 6

• Sunday, November 1st: 6-8pm CET/11-1pm U.S. Central
• Monday, November 2nd: 4-6pm CET/9-11am U.S. Central
• Duna Arena – Budapest, Hungary
• Short Course Meters (SCM) format
• ISL Technical Handbook
• 2020 ISL Scoring Format
• 2020 ISL Prize Money and Bonuses
• How To Watch
• Omega Results 
• Start Lists Day 1
• Teams: Energy Standard/Aqua Centurions/New York Breakers/Toronto Titans

Abbie Wood, one of many swimmers having a breakout in the 2020 International Swimming League season, has cracked the British Record in the women’s 200 IM. Her 2:04.77 on Sunday swimming for the New York Breakers broke the old record of 2:05.13 done by Siobhan-Marie O’Connor in 2015.

• Women’s 200 IM results

That old record-setting swim by O’Connor was done when she was at the peak of her career. While she was only 19 at the time, that year she took silver at the World Championships in the 200 IM in long course.

Now Wood, who turned 21 earlier this year, has snatched away that record. She’s now the 3rd-fastest European ever in the event, and if she dropped 2 more tenths that would land her among the top 9 performers in history.

Her previous best time was a 2:05.36 done at last week’s meet; her best time coming into the season was 2:07.13.

Splits Comparison

Improvements in the breaststroke leg of this race have really been the difference-maker for Wood as she’s risen to the elite international ranks. She’s always been a very good butterflier, and always had the endurance to finish the race well on freestyle, but her breaststroke improvements have lifted her to the next level. This is unexpected to some degree, because breaststroke is her best event individually, but when her long course best went from 2:12 to 2:11, it was actually her breaststroke that saw the biggest drop.

Wood picked up her first ISL win last week in the 400 IM after placing 2nd in 4 separate races through her team’s first two meets. The British Record in the 400 IM is 4:23.14, and Wood has a best time in that event of 4:28.19.

In long course, Wood’s best 200 IM of 2:11.65 was done last April at Great Britain’s World Championship Trials, though that didn’t meet the country’s lofty standards for qualification for the team.

She broke out on fire early this season, going 2:11.77 in February and 2:11.78 at separate long course meets before the coronavirus pandemic wound up shutting down swimming across the country.

Those early-season swims, combined with her ISL performances, should give the British coaches the motivation to select Wood for the Tokyo Olympic Team, swimming alongside O’Connor, who placed 7th at last year’s World Championships.