Heading into the meet James Magnussen hoped that everyone would go back to focusing on the pool and not on the controversy that has happened out of the pool since the Olympics, “I think it’s really important for us as a swimming community, and absolutely myself in particular, to focus on the swimming now and put the results on the board and let people focus on the positives,” Magnussen told Fox News before the meet began.
He went a long way in doing that this evening winning the 100 freestyle in a time of 47.53, which is the fastest time done in the world this year, beating Vladimir Morozov’s 47.93 by four tenths of a second.
Magnussen – 22.80/24.73 (47.53)
Morozov – 22.58/25.35 (47.93)
The time also ties his silver medaling win time in London.
Magnussen (London, 2012) – 22.83/24.70 (47.53)
“To do that time is pretty good,” Magnussen told News.com.au.
“It was good tonight to do it under a bit of pressure from the other guys. That’s a good indication of where I am at.”
“I think I could have gone quicker but I wasn’t quite feeling 100 per cent tonight. I still have a bit of work to do to get it back up to where it was at the Olympics.”
Magnussen also discussed how he has changed his approach and attitude since London, ”
“I started to believe my own press a bit, started to think I was ‘The Missile’ than just myself,” Magnussen said.
“I am trying to be relaxed and humble, not beating my chest, trying to be the Alpha male of the team – it was actually harder for me to put on that act (before London) than being myself.
“So I feel really comfortable with how I am conducting myself around the pool and my teammates – hopefully people are taking note of that.”
Coming second was 18 year old Cameron McEvoy, who when considering his age may have had a swim that is just as impressive as Magnussen’s. McEvoy posted a time of 48.07, which is the third fastest time done in the world this year,breaks the Australian Age Group Record of 48.41, which was set by Tommaso D’Orsogna in 2011 and makes him the fifth fastest Australian of all time in the event.
He was followed by James Roberts who posted a time of 48.37 to finish third with Matt Targett finishing fourth in a time of 48.58.
Cate Campbell won the women’s 100 freestyle semi-final in incredible fashion. Campbell posted a time of 52.83, which beats the world’s best of 53.47 that she put up in the preliminaries and is 17 one-hundreths of a second faster than the 53.00 that Ranomi Kromowidjojo went last summer in London to win the Olympic gold.
Campbell (Adelaide, 2013) – 25.12/27.71 (52.83)
Kromowidjojo (London, 2012) – 25.76/27.24 (53.00)
Campbell, who had to pull out of the 100 freestyle in London due to illness, thinks he Olympic experience may have helped her, “I think I have improved (since London),” Campbell told the Herald Sun.
“What happened in London was amazing and then devastating but I’ve put the past behind me and I’ve really worked on moving forward,changing things up and it really motivated me.”
“You never know, in hindsight it might have been a good thing.”
“I think my facial reaction told the story, a picture speaks a thousand words,” Campbell said.”I was very surprised, but pleased as well. I’ve really put in a lot of hard work with my coach Simon (Cusack) and I really credit my improvement to him.
The younger Campbell sister, Bronte, was the second fastest qualifier for tomorrow night’s final recording a time of 53.72, which is the fourth fastest time in the world this year.
200 freestyle bronze medalist Emma McKeon qualified in third posting a time of 54.23.
The men’s 200 IM saw showdown between Daniel Tranter and Kenneth To. To had a lead of almost half a second over Tranter at the half way point. Tranter than used his strength in the breaststroke to take the lead and extended that lead by even more in the last 50 of freestyle.
Tranter won the event in a time of 1:57.55. To finished second in a time of 1:58.72 with Justin James finishing third in a time of 1:59.80.
In the women’s 200 butterfly final Madelin Groves recorded a time of 2:09.39 to win the event. Her time was one one-hundredth of a second over the FINA A time standard of 2:09.38. Samantha Hamil finished second in a time of 2:10.35 with Nicole Mee finishing third in a time of 2:10.71.
Emily Seebohm won the women’s 50 backstroke in a time of 28.18. She was followed by Alicia Coutts who finished second posting a time of 28..34 with Madison Wilson finishing third recording a time of 28.64.
Taylor McKeown took the top spot heading into the 200 breaststroke final posting a time of 2:27.23. Sally Foster qualified second finishing a time of 2:27.94 with Jenna Strauch qualifying third in a time 2:28.79.
In the men’s 200 breaststroke semi-final Lennard Bremer qualified first in a time of 2:13.82 followed by Jeremy Meyer who posted a time of 2:14.77 and Nicholas Schafer who finished in a time of 2:15.90.
Matson Lawson was the top qualifier in the men’s 200 backstroke posting a time of 1:57.29. Ashley Delany qualified second in a time of 1:58.52 followed by Mitch Larkin who recorded a time of 1:59.88.
Taylor Corry (S14) continued to have an impressive meet winning the women’s multi-class 50 backstroke in a time of 31.92, which beats the 32.64 she posted last year to win the national championship.
Michael Anderson (S10) took the men’s multi-class 50 backstroke in a time of 28.71.
Full results can be found here
I’m a huge fan of nathan adrian, but this goes to show that if james stays away from the wild behavior he did before london then he is undoubtly the fastest 100 freer in the world and nobody can compete with him at his best. Can’t wait for the 46.7 (only .4 faster than march 12) he’ll drop this summer, and just wish we could’ve seen him in yards, a mid 40 in the 100 and a 1:30 in the 200 sounds about right based on how he splits his 100 and the surprising 1:47 200 free he just dropped without a full taper. Predict this summer, James 1st 46.7 Nathan 2nd 47.4 Vladdy 3rd 47.5(but leading at the 50… Read more »
whoaaa… you are ahead of yourself
No way Magnussen is going to swim 46.7
47.00 is yes feasible, 46.7 is downright not probable.
Also, don’t think Morozov will swim 47.5, unless you believe in Swimswam’s time conversion tool which converts Vlad’s 40.76 SCY to 46.84 LCM…. LOL indeed!
Dear aswimfan, are you Australian? Just to know. Because your knowledges about Australian swimming are impressive.
Bobo,
I am not australian, but I lived in Australia for 5 years.
Perhaps not 46.7 but the WR is very doable if his body AND mind show up on the day of finals, a drop of .2 from last year isn’t asking him to move mountains
Campbell has always reminded me of Alexander Popov, the female version.
She’s tall, and her stroke is always smooth, even in 50 free when she swam 24
If she improves her start and underwater, she can really take 50 free to a new level, and may even break 50 WR.
I’m a bit more suspect of her 100 free, despite swimming so fast now and then. I think she sometimes overthink her 100 and tried to hold back the first 50 – where her greatest strength lies- only to swim slower 100 than she should have.
Nonetheless, I think we could see the first textile 23 this week from Campbell
I agree.And anyone note how slow was Campbell RT?0.82 is terrible… what a damage she can do with 0.62 start…if she improves a bit she will be opening the 100’s in 24.9 without damage to her coming home speed.Amazing!
The state of mind of the others is gonna be in a hell…
Watching Cate in the semis was unbelievable. Coutts, McKeon and Kukla all beat her off the blocks, but after that it was like watching an age group race where one athlete had developed earlier than the field.
She also breathed coming into the wall. With a quicker start and a better finish, she’ll be unstoppable.
For me it starts to seem like you must be at least 1.75 m (5 ft 9in) tall to succeed in women´s sprint events. From this point of view, things are looking good for 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) tall Campbell. With that body and a good looking technique, she possess all the qualities needed to replace Steffen´s suit records with new textile best times.
Is Campbell’s time a world textile best?
She looked awesome in the water
Kromowidjojo has a 52.75 from last year. I feel like the women’s 100 free at the Olympics had a slow start for everyone I think she could have gone faster there. I am so excited to see how she does in July.
Yeah.. that start of women 100 free final was a bit slow which benefited 200 free leaning swimmers like Tang Yi. Schlanger confirmed after the swim that she swam slower than her semis because of her slower start,
Btw, I agree Campbell looks great. I felt like Kromowidjojo was kind of in a league her own, but a Campbell/Kromowidjojo showdown is shaping up to be just as exciting as Maggie/Adrian.
you have to remember most of the members of our USA relays swam in college in the US. That being said, college swimming heavily depends on relays. The US knows how to get up and bust a fat nut for relays.
Thanks for the imagery.
I think you are all making a grave mistake when you don’t put Great Britain up there as a medal contender, yes we may not have a great history with relays but surely our time is now? Right? Lol jokes just kidding we are terrible
Well said. Britain goes 3rd, US slides to 7th
Hahaha, I’m Canadian. You lost Adlington and we lost Hayden. You want to bet which country will get more than one medal at the WC? We can start the great GB/Canada swimming rivalry…as soon as it warms up outside.
We have Michael Jamieson, Fran Halsall, Hannah Miley and maybe Robbie Renwick that will medal plus a few more ‘dark horses’. Canada have…Ryan Cochrane. I think we have won already!!
And Tancock
It’s crazy to think that already well before Worlds, we have two times posted that would have beaten the winning Olympic time for London:
Steffen Deibler in the 100 fly at 51.19 (Phelps went 51.22 to win gold)
Cate Campbell in the 100 free at 52.83 (Kromowidjojo went 53.00 to win gold)
Yes, but it’s one thing to swim fast alone and well ahead of the others at home, and it’s another thing to repeat that time in a world final or in an olympic final with 2 fast rounds before, with all the pressure and against swimmers of your level. It’s the difference between good swimmers and champions.
Exactly. Which is why I don’t understand how people continue to downplay Nathan Adrian’s Olympic performances while considering Magnussen to be the hotshot of the 100 free.
Adrian beat Magnussen two-for-two in Olympic finals head-to-head.
You’re right. Nathan Adrian is olympic champion and he deserves this title.
Objectively speaking as an American: Yes, the Phelps’ retirement will have an impact on the relay, though not to the same magnitude as impact on the 4x2free relay. However, its not just Phelps, its also Jones (who wont be there), Grevers (his marriage and race times this year make his 47.5 split from last year unrealistic, and a final relay spot optimistic) and Lochte (given his post Olympic engagements, its likewise unreasonable to expect him to improve from his London splits, although he has swum closer to his ’12 times than Grevers has).
Nathan Adrian has also admitted to more sparse training sessions compared to preOlympics, and although he has swum 48.11 in season, this may reflect the fact… Read more »
Very good analizing aspects here John . I also don’t see who can step up to strenghten than Us relay ….I can’t beleive with what M Phelps has done for swimming that there aren’t more very good sprint swimmers in the Usa !!!!! where are they ? where is Feigen even ? we didn’t hear much of him either . I still hope there will be unexpected surprises for the Us trials … I really hope some guys can surprise the whole field on 100 and 200 free .
Does anyone have the times from each team? Also considering something better than trials (Cielo did not swim.. Leveux can go better than 49 for real.. thigs like that)
Forget Amaury Leveaux. I believe the French team will be William Meynard, Fabien Gilot, Jérémy Stravius and Yannick Agnel. And if you analyze and make predictions based only on the times of the French championships, you will be very surprised this summer! And FOR THE MOMENT, for me it’s still Australia and France on the same line ahead of Russia and USA just behind.
Nice analysis john26!
Good analyses, John26!
However, USA has that X factor where they always perform above expectation in relays in a major championships. So we’ll see.
Australian girls are the big favorites for the 4X100 free relay but we knew that before this meet. Australian boys are co-favorites with France but we knew that before this meet. Very impressed by Cate Campbell. To swim under 53 is always a huge performance. She’s now the co-favorite for the 100 free in Barcelona with Ranomi Kromowidjojo. And about James Magnussen nothing new. He’s the co-favorite with Nathan Adrian for the 100 free but we knew that before this meet. In conclusion, we can say the Australian sprint goes very very very well.
Aussie sprinting is well and alive, the men’s distance swimmers are coming back to life. Things look good for Australia in the future.