2019 SWIM WALES WINTER NATIONAL SC CHAMPIONSHIPS
- Friday, November 28th – Sunday, December 1st
- Wales National Pool
- SCM
- Results
2018 was a huge year for 29-year-old Welsh veteran Alys Thomas, as the Swansea swimmer topped the women’s 200m fly podium at the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast, Australia.
She followed that performance up with 2 bronze medal-worthy performances in Glasgow at the 2018 European Championships, securing 3rd place in the 200m fly, as well as on the medley relay.
Although Thomas didn’t medal at the World Championships this year in Gwangju, Korea, the Briton did make the 200m fly final, placing 5th in the stacked field.
Flash forward to this weekend’s National Short Course Championships, and NY Breakers team member Thomas was back to form, firing off a quartet of podium-topping performances to make her presence known at Wales National Pool.
Thomas first produced a new lifetime best in the 200m freestyle, topping the podium in a time of 1:56.75. Representing just 1 of 2 swimmers to get under the 2:00 mark in the final, Thomas split 27.58/29.58/30.01/29.58 to ultimately hit the wall in her first outing ever under the 1:58 threshold.
Entering this weekend’s meet, Thomas’ SCM 200 free PB rested at the 1:58.23 registered way back in 2009. However, her 1:56.75 tonight now checks her in among the top 25 performers ever across Great Britain and the 2nd fastest Welsh swimmer all-time.
Thomas also topped the 100m free podium at these Welsh Championships, punching a time of 55.42 to edge out 17-year-old Elena Morgan by just .21. Morgan also finished with the silver in the aforementioned 200m free in a time of 1:59.42.
Thomas’ final 2 victims were her bread-and-butter fly events, with the Commonwealth champion clocking 2:06.79 in the 200m and 57.41 in the 100m distance.
In the former, her time this weekend represents the 4th fastest of her career, not terribly off her 2:05.65 from 4 years ago. In the sprint, Thomas’ PB rests at the 56.81 set in 2016, however, her 57.41 time here represents her 2nd fastest behind that result.
Additional winners over the weekend include Daniel Jones of Swansea, with the 23-year-old clinching the 100m free gold in a time of 48.35. He also reaped the top prize in the 50m fly, logging 23.65.
City of Cardiff’s Xavier Castelli got it done in the men’s backstroke races, doubling up on the 100m and 200m with ease. His time of 1:55.23 in the 200m gave him an almost 4-second advantage over the field, while his 52.61 time in the 100m back was also dominant.
17-year-old Swim Gwynedd athlete Medi Harris swept the women’s backstroke events, putting up solid performances of 28.05 in the 50m, 59.91 in the 100m and 2:12.91 in the 200m back. For the European Junior Championships finalist, Harris’ 100m back time here at this meet marks a new lifetime best, representing the teen’s first time ever under the minute barrier.