Joshua Yong Hacks 3 Seconds Off 200 Breast PB To Become #5 Aussie Performer All-Time

2024 AUSTRALIAN OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Wednesday, April 17th – Saturday, April 20th
• Prelims at 10am local (8pm previous night ET), Finals at 6pm local (4am ET)
• Gold Coast Aquatic Centre, Queensland, Australia
• LCM (50m)
• Non-Olympic Qualifying Event
• Women’s Races to Watch/Men’s Races to Watch
• Meet Central
• Final Start List
• Day 1 Prelims Live Recap | Day 1 Finals Live Recap
• Day 2 Prelims Recap|Day 2 Finals Recap
• Live Results (also available via Meet Mobile: “2024 Australian Open Championships”)
• Australian Channel 9 Livestream / YouTube Livestream

Day two of the 2024 Australian Open Championshps brought about additional impressive performances.

For instance, Kaylee McKeown fired off a new Australian national record in the women’s 400m IM (4:28.22), Elizabeth Dekkers posted a new All Comers Record in the 200m fly (2:05.20) and 18-year-old Flynn Southam hit a new personal best in the men’s 200m free (1:46.11).

Near the end of the session, however, the men’s 200m breast saw a swim that we need to ensure doesn’t fly under the radar among the more high-profile achievements.

Behind winner Zac Stubblety-Cook who took gold in 2:07.50 and visiting Japanese ace Ippei Watanabe who captured silver in 2:07.62, 22-year-old Joshua Yong ripped the swim of his life to bag bronze.

Yong registered a mark of 2:08.54 to hack over 3 seconds off his previous best.

Entering these championships, 22-year-old Yong of UWA held a personal best of 2:11.69. That swim was performed nearly 2 years ago at the 2022 Australian Swimming Championships. That represented 1 of just 2 outings ever under the 2:12 barrier, with the other, 2:11.96, put up this past February at the Vic Open.

Flash forward to tonight, however, and Yong split 29.87/32.52/33.36/32.79 to find himself breaking the 2:11, 2:10 and 2:09 barriers all in one fell swoop.

All of a sudden Yong finds himself ranked 5th among all-time Australian performers in the event and 3rd among textile wearers.

All-Time Australian Men’s LCM 200 Breaststroke Performers

1. Zac Stubblety-Cook – 2:05.95, 2022
2. Matt Wilson – 2:06.67, 2019
3. Christian Sprenger – 2:07.31, 2009
4. Brenton Rickard – 2:07.89, 2009
5. Joshua Yong – 2:08.54, 2024

The Swimming Australia-mandated qualification time for the 2024 Paris Games sits at 2:09.50. If Yong can produce this same caliber of performance at the Trials in June, we may just see 2 Australian 200m breaststroke Olympians.