At U.S. Nats, Winnington Is Changing Things Up After Rocky Trials (Video)

2019 U.S. NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

• July 31 – August 4, 2019
• Prelims 9:00 AM (Pacific)/Finals 5:00 PM (Pacific)
• Avery Aquatics Center
• Stanford, CA
• Meet Site
• Psych Sheet
• Omega Results

19-year-old Elijah Winnington took his first senior Australian National title this past April, winning the men’s 400m free in a lifetime best of 3:44.68. While competing at that same Aussie Swimming Championships meet, the Bond University star also put up a time of 1:46.91 to place 2nd in the 200m free.

But Winnington’s performances at the Aussie World Trials 2 months later were nothing short of baffling, with the teen mustering a time of 3:48.45 to finish out of World Championships qualification. The story was the same in the 200m free, where he punched the clock in 1:47.86 for 8th place.

Flash forward to yesterday in California, however, and while competing at the U.S. Nationals, Winnington busted out a 200m free winning time of 1:46.19. Splitting 51.83/54.36, Winnington held off the likes of Dean Farris and Maxime Rooney, along with runner-up Kieran Smith, all Americans racing on their home turf.

This morning, the Aussie put up the 2nd fastest 400m free time of the prelims field at U.S. Nats, clocking a morning effort of 3:49.63 to set himself up for a possible double. His swimming here is hinting that the freestyle ace is indeed back to form.

In the interview above, hear how Winnington breaks down his performances at Aussie Nationals, Aussie World Trials, as well as why he chose to compete at U.S. Nationals. The teen freestyle ace also reveals how he’s been incorporating some training and diet changes thees past few weeks.