Mitch Larkin broke the Australian and Oceanic records in the men’s 100 backstroke in the semi-finals of the 2015 FINA World Aquatics Championships this evening. His time of 52.38 was the fastest time of the semis, giving him a swim that was .32 faster than the next-fastest competitor, France’s Camille Lacourt.
Larkin also had the fastest time in the preliminaries, and he may now be considered the favorite to win, although veterans like Lacourt, Matt Grevers and Ryosuke Irie,among others, may yet have something to say about that. Two years ago, Grevers won the gold in Barcelona with a 52.93. But, it’s looking like this year is going to be much faster. In 2013 it took a 53.81 to make the finals, and only one swimmers, Grevers, went under 53 in the semis.
This year, however, the qualifying time for finals jumped up to 53.39, which locked out American David Plummer, who finished ninth. Additionally, Lacourt and Grevers joined Larkin in going under 53. In our men’s 100 back preview, we postulated that seven men could break 53 in the final, and with seven of the eight finalists having just gone 53.1 in the semis, that’s not looking quite as far-fetched as some might have thought.
Larkin had previously broken the record in the prelims with a time of 52.50. There wasn’t a huge difference between the two swim, except that he was off the blocks .08 faster in the prelims. That aside, Larkin swam each 50 exactly .06 faster to set his new records.
The championship record could be in danger tomorrow, with Larkin only .19 off Aaron’s Peirsol’s mark of 52.19 set in 2009, and with several of the other finalists capable of challenging that time as well.