2024 British Olympic Trials: Day 1 Finals Live Recap

2024 Aquatics GB Swimming CHAMPIONSHIPS (OLYMPIC TRIALS)

• Tuesday, April 2nd – Sunday, April 7th
• Prelims at 10 am local (5 am EDT), Finals at 7 pm local (2 pm EDT)
• London Aquatics Centre
• LCM (50m)
• British Swimming Olympic Selection Policy
• Meet Central
• SwimSwam Preview
• Entries
• Results
• Livestream: Channel 4 Youtube coverage

Heat Sheet

Order of Events

• Men’s 400 Freestyle
• Womens 200 Butterfly
• Women’s 200 Freestyle
• Men’s 100 Breast

Welcome, friends. The first finals session of the Aquatics GB Swimming Championships 2024 is nigh upon us. This is the first chance for pool swimmers to qualify for the Olympics, which will be held just across the Channel in Paris. This morning’s session saw some speedy times put up, but only one swimmer’s time was under the stiff Nomination Standard. As a reminder, the organizing body has set both a self-imposed roster cap of 30 and created their own Nomination Standards, so finishing 1st or 2nd is no guarantee of making the team.

Looking in a great position to make the team, however, is Adam Peaty. The man, the myth, the legend, has had a rough go of it after winning the gold medal in Tokyo, as he has dealt with numerous personal issues and mental health problems. This morning, however, he posted a speedy 58.53 in the heats, faster than his bronze medal-winning performance at the Doha World Championships (59.10). Three other swimmers had times under 1:00 in the event as Gregory Butler (1:00.29) leads James Wilby (1:00.38) and Archie Goodburn (1:00.44) in the hunt for that 2nd spot, but whoever is expected to place 2nd still needs to clip the standard of 59.45 to have a chance to qualify.

The 400 free sees 2021 Olympian Kieran Bird looking to book his ticket as he sits as the top seed along with Bath PC teammate Luke Turley. Bird swam a 3:51.54 this morning to safely qualify but will need to drop a good amount to get under the 3:45.54 standard.

The Women’s 200 fly saw a composed swim by the University of Stirling’s Keanna Macinnes as she posted a 2:08.66 this morning. The standard is just .7 away, but the Scot will have to hold off 2024 World Champion Laura Stephens, who swam 2:10.50 this morning but in February was 2:07.35

The Women’s 200 free sees more than individual qualification on the line, as competitors will look to not only get under the qualification standard but also will look for the top four swimmers to nip under the self-imposed 4×200 free relay standard of 7:51.89. Leading the way, in the absence of Freya Anderson, are Abbie Wood (1:58.49), Lucy Hope (1:58.98), Freya Colbert (1:59.61) and Medi Harris (1:59.98). This quartet in Doha combined to swim 7:50.90 en route to winning the silver medal, so if they are all on form should dip under, but it’ll be close.

This meet also serves as the qualification meet for the Para-Olympics, so scattered throughout the meet will be para-events. These events will be swum as Multi-Class, meaning that each heat will have a range of differing classifications swimming together, so the order of finish is not as important as the time.

Men’s 400 Freestyle – Finals

• World Record: 3:40.07 – Paul Biederman, Germany (2009)
• British Record: 3:43.75 – James Guy (2015)
• 2021 Champion: Kieran Bird – 3:46.00
• Nomination Standard: 3:45.43
• OLY A/B Standards: 3:46.78/3:47.91

Top 8:

1.  Kieran Bird (Bath PC) – 3:45.63
2.  Luke Turley (Bath PC) – 3:48.93
3. Tyler Melbourne-Smith (Lboro Uni) – 3:50.45
4. Alexander Sargeant (Millfield) – 3:50.98
5. Reece Grady (Stockport Mo) – 3:52.81
6. Luke Hornsey (Edinburgh Uni) – 3:53.30
7. Harry Wynne-Jones (Co Milton Keynes) – 3:55.10
8. Arthur Logan (Edinburgh) – 4:00.25

Kieran Bird led the field at the 200, hitting the wall in 1:50.79  , but was pushed by his teammate Luke Turley, who was just behind at 1:51.62. At the 300, Bird was 2:48.33, falling just off the pace but started to ramp it up, going to his legs on the last 100. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough, as he fell just shy of the Nomination Standard of 3:45.43, ultimately hitting the wall in 3:45.63. If it is any consolation, Bird’s time was a new personal best, and he still may make the team if there are any open roster spots, there are clauses in the selection policy that allow for discretionary selections to the team. Bird’s time ranks him just outside of the World’s top ten, as he sits in 11th.

Turley touched 2nd in 3:48.93, a little off his personal best of 3:48.31 but a marked improvement upon his 3:51.95 from the Fukuoka World Championships.

Women’s 200 Butterfly – Finals

• World Record: 2:01.81 – Liu Zige, China (2009)
• British Record: 2:04.83 – Ellen Grandy (2009)
• 2021 Champion: Alys Thomas – 2:08.09
• Nomination Standard: 2:07.96
• OLY A/B Standards: 2:08.43/2:09.07

Top 8:

1. Keanna Macinnes (Uni of Stirling) – 2:07.24
2. Laura Stephens (L’borough PC) – 2:07.37
3. Emily Large (Millfield) – 2:09.02
4. Shannon Stott (Co Sheffield) – 2:11.87
5. Lucy Grieve (Uni of Stirling) – 2:12.67
6. Ciara Schlosshan (Edinburgh Uni) – 2:12.70
7. Ekaterina Price (Bath Uni) – 2:13.38
8. Lucy Fox (Wycombe Dist) – 2:13.62

This morning’s prelims set up this final to be a barn burner, and it certainly did not disappoint. 2024 Doha World Champion Laura Stephens did not hold back this morning, taking the first 100 out in a speedy 1:00.17.  Stephens looked to be surging after the first 100, but it was top seed Keanna Macinnes who used a strong back 100 of 1:05.38 (and a last 50 of 32.72) to close the gap and ultimately nab the win and the ticket to Paris in 2:07.24. Macinnes’s time not only stands as a new personal best but also as a new Scottish Record, as she dips under her own time of 2:08.05. With that swim, Macinnes catapults herself into the Top Ten in the world, sitting in 8th.

Stephens, who led for about 199 meters of the race, had to settle for the silver medal in 2:07.37, just .13 back. If it is any consolation, it wasn’t a bad swim, as her time was just .02 slower than her Doha time, and like Macinnes, she was under the Aquatics GB self-imposed Nomination Standard of 2:07.96 but will have to wait until the end of the meet to see if her swim earns her a ticket.

Women’s 200 Freestyle – Finals

• World Record: 1:52.85 – Mollie O’Callaghan, Australia (2023)
• British Record: 1:55.54 – Joanne Jackson (2009)
• 2021 Champion: Freya Anderson – 1:56.80
• Nomination Standard: 1:56.85
• 4×200 Free Standard: 7:51.89
• OLY A/B Standards: 1:57.26/1:57.85

Top 8:

1. Freya Colbert (L’borough PC) – 1:56.22
2. Abbie Wood (L’borough PC) – 1:56.62
3. Medi Harris (L’borough PC) – 1:58.10
4. Lucy Hope (Uni of Stirling) – 1:58.81
5. Leah Schlosshan (Co Leeds) – 1:58.94
6. Holly Hibbott (Bath PC) – 1:59.82
7. Jemima Hill (Bath Univ) – 2:00.32
8. Erin Little (Mt Kelly) – 2:01.66

In the face of a stiff nominating standard of 1:56.85, the eight swimmers in the event had a tough task ahead of them, but not impossible as two swimmers dipped under the standard. Freya Colbert, fresh off of a 400 IM World Championships gold medal, took the top spot in 1:56.22 ahead of the 1:56.62 swam by training partner Abbie Wood.

Colbert lead from start to finish, flipping at the 100 in 56.80 to lead Wood by .68, but Wood, a 2021 Olympian, closed in 29.17 to make it a close finish. While Wood’s time is under the nomination standard, she must wait to see if she gets a chance to swim it individually. However, the cumulative time put up by the pair and by the 3rd and 4th place finishers Medi Harris (1:58.10) and Lucy Hope (1:58.81) adds up to 7:49.75, well under the standard of 7:51.89, meaning the relay will swim in Paris, as confirmed on the live stream.

The Para-Paris final was a thrilling affair with the top three swimmers all separated by just .20, with S14 swimmer Poppy Maskill taking the win in 2:09.05. Three other swimmers swam nominating times in the S14 as did Suzanna Hext in the S5 category. The Paralympics allows for three swimmers per individual medal event but the Team size is limited to 32 swimmers, 20 of which are allocated to female athletes, so no swimmer has yet qualified as all results need to be taken into account before the team can be announced.

Men’s 100 Breaststroke – Finals

• World Record: 56.88 – Adam Peaty, Great Britain (2019)
• British Record: 56.88 – Adam Peaty (2019)
• 2021 Champion: Adam Peaty – 57.39
• Nomination Standard: 59.45
• OLY A/B Standards: 59.49/59.79

Top 8:

1. Adam Peaty (L’borough PC) – 57.94
2. James Wilby (L’borough PC) – 59.47
3. Archie Goodburn (Edinburgh Uni) – 1:00.03
4. Gregory Butler (L’borough PC) – 1:00.46
5. Max Morgan (Reed’s SC) – 1:00.83
6. Rory Dickson (Uni of Stirling) – 1:01.28
7. Filip Nowacki (Tigers Jersey) 1:01.46
8. Pravin Mahendrakumar (Winchester) – 1:02.58

All eyes were naturally drawn to Adam Peaty as the two time defending Olympic Gold Medalist walked out to the blocks. Already having dipped under the qualifying standard this morning, Peaty’s only goal this evening was to touch the wall first and join Macinnes and Colbert with individual berths to the Olympics. Well, goal accomplished.

Peaty ripped a 26.80 on the first 50 to hit the wall in 57.94 to lower his season best from 58.53 (his morning swim. Peaty won the bronze medal in Doha in 59.10, and his time tonight shows a great improvement over the intervening two months.

Peaty’s time is the fastest swum in this calender year, but he still trails Qin Haiyang’s 57.69 from the 2023 World Aquatics Swimming World Cup Berlin leg.

James Wilby, also swimming for Loughborough PC, placed second in a 59.47, a heart wrenching .02 off of the nomination standard of 59.45. Wilby, who won silver in Tokyo as part of the prelims of the men’s 4×100 Medley, will have to either qualify in a different event or hope that his performance is fast enough to be considered for selection by the Perfomance Director and Aquatics GB head coach.

7th Place finisher Filip Nowacki tied his prelims swim of 1:01.46 eauallying the British Age Group record for 16-year-olds. The previous record was held by Elliot Woodburn at 1:01.98. Nowacki, who is from the Isle of Jersey, also appears to have lowered his own Jersey record in the event.