BRITISH OLYMPIC SELECTION TRIALS
- Wednesday 14 April – Sunday 18 April
- Heats 10am / Finals 7pm local time
- London Aquatics Center
- British Swimming Olympic Selection Policy
- Main selection for the Olympic Games
- Entries
- Results
- Day 1 Prelims Recap / Day 1 Finals Recap
Duncan Scott swam to victory in the men’s 200 IM at the 2021 British Olympic Selection Trials with a 1:55.90 to establish a new British record in the event. Scott became the first British man to get under 1:56 in the event, improving upon Max Litchfield‘s 1:56.64 from World Championships in 2017.
Litchfield set the mark in the prelims of the event back at 2017 Worlds and went on to take fourth place in the event in the finals with a 1:56.86. Scott and Litchfield had nearly identical splits in their respective national record-breaking swims with the exception of the breaststroke leg on which Scott out-split Litchfield by 0.56 seconds.
Comparative Splits
| Butterfly | Backstroke | Breaststroke | Freestyle | Total | |
| Scott 2021 NR | 25.38 | 29.01 | 33.67 | 27.84 | 1:55.90 |
| Litchfield 2017 NR | 25.40 | 29.14 | 34.23 | 27.87 | 1:56.64 |
Scott’s 1:55.90 was enough to shave 0.75 seconds off his previous PB in the event of 1:56.65 which he swam at 2019 British Swimming Championships. Scott had only swum two sub-1:57 swims before in his life in the form of his 1:56.65 PB and a 1:56.91 at the 2019 World Championships. Scott previously held the Scottish record in the event meaning that he’s now lowered both the British and Scottish records to a 1:55.90.
In the final at 2021 British Trials, Scott’s national record-breaking swim was followed by Joe Litchfield‘s 1:57.74 for silver and former British record holder Max Litchfield with a 1:58.43 for bronze. Since both Scott and Joe Litchfield were under Britain’s Olympic selection cut of 1:58.32, they are likely to have secured a spot on the Olympic squad this summer.
The swim is an improvement upon Scott’s prelim swim and previous season-best of 1:57.77 which was, at the time, good enough for 8th in the world this season. His 1:55.90 British record, however, propels him to the #1 spot globally as the only swimmer to crack 1:56 this year.
2020-2021 LCM Men 200 IM
Shun
1:55.00
| 2 | Michael Andrew | USA | 1:55.26 | 06/17 |
| 3 | Duncan Scott | GBR | 1:55.28 | 07/30 |
| 4 | Jeremy Desplanches | SUI | 1:56.17 | 05/19 |
| 5 | Daiya Seto | JPN | 1:56.22 | 07/30 |
Scott’s 1:55.90 secures his spot as history’s 11th fastest performer in the event, surpassing Wang Shun’s mark of 1:56.16 from back in 2017.
Duncan Scott will be back in action later in the week as he’s entered to race three more events at the meet in the form of the 100 freestyle, 200 freestyle in which he is seeded first heading into prelims (47.87 / 1:44.91), along with the 100 butterfly where he is seeded third (52.25).
Tracy Caulkins…best all around female swimmer in history.
What an outstanding swim by Scott! A shame it falls short of the British Olympic qualifying standard of 1:53.99, but I have my hopes he’ll be selected by their committee anyway, he deserves it!
WOW. That is absolutely flying. Duncan Scott is gonna be great for years to come. Tokyo is gonna be exciting in all events.
I believe he becomes the third swimmer to go under 1:45 in the 200 free and under 1:56 in the 200 IM. Good company
So three swimmers under 1:56 and under 1:45 in the 200 IM and 200 free (Phelps, Lochte, Scott)
Which three swimmers have been under 4:12 in the 400 IM and under 3:44 in the 400 free?
I believe it is Rosolino, Mellouli and Hagino.
Erik Vendt, I don’t believe Rosolino makes the cut
Duncan is so ridiculously talented, imagine what he’ll be capable of when he grows up. His 100 free at the World’s relay was epic
Don’t let SS’s old photo fool you. 6′ 3″ and 23 years old.
It’s a running joke because he still looks so boyish
Great swim from Scott, puts him firmly in the conversation for Tokyo.
One thing I noticed. While his splits here were very similar to M. Litchfield’s previous British record, breaststroke aside, they are quite different from what Scott himself split when he went 1:56:65 in 2019. His splits there were 24.95, 30.61, 32.85, 28.24, so fairly significant differences across all four splits.
Still room for improvement then?
In 2019, Scott’s Bk-Br was to his feet. So both splits are inaccurate…
Yeah this seems a good explanation, don’t think Scott’s backstroke was that slow (or his breast that quick! Only Kalisz does 32s lol).
That was impressive!
hot take: Scott will be the Olympic champion in the 200 IM but not the 200 free.
With Rapsys and Matsumoto the bronze medal is gonna be insanely hard to get
IMO it’s s pretty soft event with at least half a dozen guys who could win and a bunch more you might call legit medal contenders
I just want to see someone go 1:43…
Haven’t we all I think someone has it in them at Tokyo
I want to see someone go 1:41. How long do I have to wait? 🥱
Probably 20 years
sun yang will be champion in 200 free