The United States isn’t the only country lining up for some fast Championship swimming this month. Across the Atlantic in Britain, The British Universities & College Sports Long Course Championships are happening this weekend in Sheffield.
Rebecca Adlington kicked off the meet on Friday evening with a hammer of an 800 free to win the race in 8:22.35. This is the second straight year that she’s thrown-down at this meet (she was 8:23 last year), and the result was spectacular. That’s the best time in the world this year by over 5 seconds, and is probably close to fast enough to win at least silver in London.
She’s oddly fast in-season for a distance swimmer (much like we see from Sun Yang on the men’s side), but now one would expect her to step back into some big training, on only a short rest for British Trials. It’s going to take a heck of a time to beat her at the Olympics from the likes of Lotte Friis and Kate Ziegler.
Later in the session, the relay quartet of Fran Halsall, Amy Smith, Emma Wilkins, and Caitlin McClatchey posted a 3:38.49 in the 400 free relay. That’s a second faster than the British squad was at Worlds, and by anything I can find is the fastest club-relay ever swum (clearing a 2009 race by the Chinese Zhejiang squad at 3:38.65).
Shanghai swam 3:35.81 in the Chinese Games where Zhejiang swam 3:38.65
Huge swim from Adlington.
However, I disagree that 8:22 is close to fast enough to win silver in London.
Last year Friis won silver in 8:18, and there’s big possibility that the likes of Sutton, Goldman, Ziegler, Shao and Belmonte will also go faster than 8:22 in London.
Though I’d love to see Adlington win 800 and break Evans 8:16
Loughborough female 400 free relay quartet of Halsall, Smith, Wilkins & Mcclatchey just blasted a 3.38.49! Over a second quicker than GB at world….By my watch Halsall split 53.3….Unofficial
WOW! That’s blazing. I think that’s the fastest club relay ever swum.