After swimming a 53.3 in the 100 meter free on Friday at the Australian elite Time Trial meet, one might expect that revived 21-year old Aussie sprinter Cate Campbell would be satisfied with her weekend.
Instead, she went out and cracked off a 52.89 on Saturday afternoon that is just .06 off of her season best, and after an illness-plagued 2012 season, this progression from Friday to Saturday, simulating the World Championships, gives her great hope headed into Barcelona at the end of July. Including the two this weekend, she now has the five fastest 100 meter freestyles in the world this year.
Sprinters were the name of the weekend, as her sister Bronte Campbell was 2nd in that race in a solid 54.35, and Emma McKeon remained hot with a 55.06.
James Magnussen took on one more 100 free, and put up a 48.11 after a 48.12 in the Saturday morning session.
Most of the Australian men’s 400 free relay was in this meet, with James Roberts placing 2nd in 49.55 and Tommaso D’orsogna 3rd in 50.40.
D’Orsogna, who proved to be a more-than-adequate relay swimmer at the Olympics, and though he’s not usually great in-season, this time was still a little bit off target.
In other swims of the evening, Ellen Gandy swam a 58.89 in the 100 fly (with no Coutts in either race on Saturday), which is a vast improvement over the 1:00 she swam on Friday evening.
Jaydn Hadler topped the men’s 100 fly in 53.44, just out-touching D’Orsogna who was 53.57. D’Orsogna took his race out very fast, but the younger Hadler patiently took this race back at about 75 meters.
18-year old Hugo Morris was 3rd in nearly a lifetime best of 53.70.
Kylie Palmer swam a 1:58.43 in the 200 free, and Cameron McEvoy took the men’s race in 1:47.57, which is the 4th time this year that he was better than his 2012 best.
A pair of 1:08’s went on the board in the women’s 100 breaststroke, led by Samantha Marshall in 1:08.26 and followed by Leiston Pickett in 1:08.58.
Brenton Rickard continue to have just a so-so weekend, compared at least to what we’ve seen from a lot of the World Championship team, with a 1:01.68 in the men’s breaststroke event.
Meagen Nay bettered her morning swim with a 2:08.66 in the women’s 200 backstroke. Mitch Larkin did the same with a 1:58.35 in the men’s race, a second better than he was in the early session.
Kenneth To was within a second of his lifetime best with a 1:59.86, including a very good closing 28.28 freestyle split.
Ashley Delaney was 55.24 in the 100 back and Ben Treffers was just behind in 55.28; the two were in a dead-heat throughout.
Rising star Thomas Fraser-Holmes swam a 1:59.75 in the 200 fly; that’s a lifetime best for him in this event that is not one of his primaries, but is one of the strong legs of his IM races.
At the end of the session came the men’s and women’s 800 frees. A pair of 20-year olds on the women’s side in Jessica Ashwood (8:31.52) and Katie Goldman (8:33.98) had solid, though not earth-shaking, swims. In the men’s race, 18-year old Jordan Harrison swam a 7:54.34 ahead of Mack Horton’s 7:59.37.
Would be intriguing to see what C. Campbell is capable of doing in 200m free.
My guess is she would not be good in 200 free.
Cate Campbell is pure sprinter through and through, even more so than Magnussen. She is molded in the same vein as Dara Torres and Therese Alshammar.
Much like Dara Torres (who broke 50 WR at the age of 15), Campbell made her first international success in 50, winning japan open at the age of 15, beating Libby Trickett with 24.48
I believe Cate Campbell with more rest is able to swim under 52.50 in Barcelona. She will have to handle the pressure to be the big favorite and it’s new for her but if she reacts well to that, anything is possible.