Reported by Loretta Race.
2017 AUSTRALIAN SHORT COURSE CHAMPIONSHIPS
- Thursday, October 26th – Saturday, October 28th
- SA Aquatic & Leisure Centre, Oaklands Park, South Australia
- SCM
- Heats 11am local (9pm night before EST)/Finals 7pm local (5am EST)
- Meet Site
- Psych Sheets
- SwimSwam Meet Preview
- Day 1 Prelims Recap
- Live Stream (Dolphins FB)
- Live results
Day 1 of the 2017 Australian Short Course Championships brought the heat, even with the 3-day competition not serving as a selection meet for the green and gold. As reported, Cate Campbell set the stage early on with a new World Record in the women’s 100m freestyle, cracking off an other-worldly time of 50.25 to eclipse Sarah Sjostrom’s (SWE) effort of 50.58 from just this past August.
C1, as Cate is known, is coming off a hiatus of sorts in that, although she competed at the Aussie Nationals in April, the 25-year-old opted out of making herself available for the World Championships. The mental and physical rest appeared to do the Commercial swimmer good, as she made her way back to racing across a few stops of this year’s World Cup series, followed up by the fastest 100 short course free ever clocked by a female here in Adelaide.
Runner-up in tonight’s 100m free was sister Bronte Campbell, the two-time World Champion at the 2015 edition of the Long Course World Championships. Against C1, C2 produced a silver medal-garnering effort of 52.01, followed by Olympic teammate and Budapest stand-out Emma McKeon‘s mark of 52.25 for bronze.
Also in the race was up-and-coming 18-year-old Shayna Jack, who made her Senior World Championships debut in Budapest. Jack finished 4th tonight in a new personal best mark of 53.45.
The men’s 100m freestyle wasn’t quite as speedy record-breaking-wise, but was still a significant race nonetheless. A bearded 2016 Olympic champion Kyle Chalmers was back at it after having taken time out to tend to his SVT heart issue, which meant missing the World Championships.
After quietly returning to competition locally this past July, Chalmers claimed the 100m free national title tonight in a solid time of 47.72, although well-off his personal best of 46.12.
Splitting 22.80/24.92, Chalmers led a trio of Marion Swimming Club podium-makers, as teammates Andrew Aboodand Travis Mahoney finished right behind in respective marks of 48.06 and 48.17. Of note, textile world record holder in the event, Cameron McEvoy, and two-time World Champion and Olympic silver medalist in the event, James Magnussen, are not racing in the meet.
The Marion gang also raced on the men’s 4x100m freestyle relay where they, along with Grant Muller, collectively clocked a winning time of 3:16.85. Splits included 50.32 for Muller, 48.04 for Mahoney, 48.47 for Abood and 49.52 for Chalmers, who most likely shut it down as the squad won the race by over 2 seconds.
I can’t believe Kyle Chalmers said the Commonwealth Games is the pinnacle before the Tokyo Olympics arrive! Australian swimmers need to get real. Yes, the Commonwealth Games is a traditional event but in the overall scheme of things it’s kinda Mickey Mouse. The Aussie coaches should start drumming it into their swimmers that the next big meet they should be focusing on is the the Pan Pacs later this year and then the 2019 World Champtionships before the holy grail of the 2020 Olympics.
Amen brother !! Yes; you MAY see some fast times swum. You MAY actually see some competitive races …. but not that many. You may even see a WR swum but the depth of the fields is such that the best swimmers will be able to get away with loafing through the rounds; try that nonsense at Worlds & Olympics and you’re watching the final from the bleachers !
Statements like Chalmers really do have you wondering just what planet some of these swimmers are living on. Sadly almost all AUS elite coaches are products of the highly insular AUS system and may lack the perspective to administer the much needed reality check.
There is one means of delivering the… Read more »
How dare he compare himself to Calaeb
Agreed. His nunchuck skills, bow hunting skills and computer hacking skills pale in comparison to Dressel’s. How dare he indeed.
Vote for Pedro!
Dressel also has a INSANE tempo. His arms just don’t slow down.
And he maintains it — and his speed — breathing every stroke cycle in the 100 until the last 20 m or so when he no-breaths it.
All these Aussies are so focused on their commonwealth performance however I think winning at pan pacs would be a much harder and more impressive feat. The USA competing makes a huge difference.
It’s been a tradition for Australia’s athletes since the 1930s. Despite what we may think, for most ‘normal’ Australians it’s the most important competition outside the Olympic Games.
I would say the World championship has surpassed the Comm games, unless the Comm games is at home, which it is.
I said for normal Aussies lol 😉
It may’ve had that profile back in the 80’s and even into the early 90’s but the public “care factor” has vastly diminished as has the appetite for Olympics sports in general. Bad publicity, not just for swimming, has undoubtedly played its part but the general appetite for “circuses” just isnt there as the general public see areas of key infrastructure as far higher priorities for public sector $$$$
Melbourne in 2006 was probably the last hurrah for GC in this regard but its rather OTT/high expense approach to hosting may indeed have proven fatal to the entire concept.
There will be support and interest in the city/region that it being held (SE Qld) but other than absolute die… Read more »
They’re hosting the next Commonwealth games. That’s a good reason to focus on those for the time being.
Man he is JACKED
And articulate and poised. Hard to believe he’s so young.