Swimming Australia has released the start lists for their 2011 National Championship meet that starts April 1st in Sydney. There were a number of interesting entries, but among the most significant is Leisel Jones’ absence from the 200 breaststroke field. Jones was the silver medalist at both the 2004 and 2008 Olympic Games in this event, and also held the World Record twice. The longest of these periods lasted for over 3 years from 2005 to 2008.
This year, Jones will instead focus on the 50 and 100 breaststroke at Nationals, which also serve as trials for this summer’s World Championships in Shanghai. It will be interesting to see if she adds it back to her schedule for London, where there is no 50 breaststroke option. She has looked very sharp early this season in the shorter distances (31.2/1:06.6), but has not competed in the 200 this year. She will be facing stiff competition domestically in the breaststrokes from a deep Australian breaststroke group, including Sarah Katsoulis. It was unlikely that Jones was going to beat American Rebecca Soni in this event (Soni had the best time in the world last season by almost 3 seconds), but this really solidifies her stranglehold on the distance.
There were a few other notable entries on the start lists. Eamon Sullivan, who in January found out that he had fractured his heel in a training accident in Mexico, is entered in the 50 and the 100 freestyles. The story was always that he would be able to compete in Sydney, but we’ll have to keep an eye on what sort of condition he will be in. Beijing triple gold medalist Stephanie Rice underwent shoulder surgery in the fall, and seems to be back on track for her recovery. She is entered in a full slate of 6 events, including her signature IM’s, though there’s no guarantee that she’ll actually compete in all 6.