Magnussen, Rice, Leisel, Klim, Return of Monk Mark Headlines for NSW State Championships

For the past 6 weeks, Australia has worked its way through a series of Open State Championship meets (which could more accurately be compared to USA Swimming’s Grand Prix Series). The buildup has been to this weekend’s New South Wales meet, held in the Sydney Olympic Park, which will be the biggest of them all.

A large number of Australia’s stars are out for this meet, which will provide a level of depth that we didn’t see at the other state championships. Magnussen, Rickard, Jones, Rice, Seebohm, Huegill and Klim will all be in attendance.

Full entry lists available here.

There will be a few names not present, especially on the women’s side. The latest entries show no sign of Alicia Coutts, Kylie Palmer, or the sisters Campbell. Ian Thorpe will also sit this one out: preferring to focus on training after a tough few weeks of travel. I was really looking forward to seeing what the Campbells had to give, but perhaps the biggest disappointment is no encore performance from Blair Evans after smoking the IM races in Adelaide to massive lifetime bests. She probably needs the time to stay home and train, though, as a big shift in her event schedule seems to be imminent.

Here’s a few headlines to watch, both for those with general international interest as well as those who closely follow the Australian sport, beginning with the biggest gun in Australia’s warchest….

1. Magnussen Hopes to Repeat South Australia Performance – After making very public complaints about the Adelaide pool that will host the 2012 Australian Olympic Trials, Magnussen didn’t have any troubles rocking it to the tune of a 48.05 in the 100 free. Now, back in his preferred Sydney Olympic pool, he has told the media that despite still being in heavy training, he hopes to repeat (or better) that previous performance. He’s again entered in the 50, 100, and 200 freestyles, just as he was at the last meet. The hope this time will be that he’ll swim all three (he scratched the 200 in Adelaide) in the comfort of his home pool.

2. Leisel Jones on Path to Scratch 200 – Leisel Jones, who has found a new home training with the likes of Stephanie Rice, is only entered in the 50 and 100 breaststrokes in New South Wales. This is significant, as it’s the same schedule that she swam at last year’s World Championships, and the same schedule that she swam at her last meet in Queensland in December (where she entered the 200 and scratched it). That’s too much of a “hint” to ignore. It would be safe to presume that Jones will swim only one individual race at the London Olympics: the 100 breaststroke.

The “why” is a bit confusing – she’s the 3rd fastest swimmer ever in the 200, and still the fastest ever in textile from a swim done back in 2006. Despite, she hasn’t been better than 2:23 since Beijing, and that’s certainly not going to chase down American Rebecca Soni. The hope seems to be that Jones will put all of her focus on the 100 (where she’s had more success very recently) and hope to pull the monumental upset there. It’s certainly where Soni’s more vulnerable out of the two races.

3. Sarah Katsoulis, Leiston Pickett Breaking Out – As Leisel Jones (though only 26-years old) seems to be hinting at the final chapter of her long career, the even elder, 27-year old Sarah Katsoulis seems to just now hitting her stride. She’s already done a 1:08.1 this year, which is close to her lifetime textile-best time. On the other end of the spectrum is the true future of Australian breaststrokers: Leiston Pickett, who is also entered in this meet. She leads the world in the 50 this year, and assuming that she’s on a similar training cycle to the rest of her Southport teammates, she’s really improved her ability to race when tired. The 100 here will be an awesome race, and a great preview of one of the better battles at Aussie trials.

4. Stephanie Rice Back from Injury, with Limits – Stephanie Rice is entered in this meet after a relapse of shoulder pain forced her into a (relatively) minor follow-up surgery and a subsequent cortisone shot two weeks ago that again kept her ought of the water. She’s on the entries to swim the 100 fly, 200 free, 200 IM, and 400 IM, but after a bit of soreness earlier this week, her coach Michael Bohl has said that she’ll probably back well off of that. He hinted to the Australian media that Rice will likely stop through for a spin in the 400 IM (both prelims in finals on Friday), and then scratch the rest of her races to return home for training.

5. Michael Klim Teasing 100 Fly Again? – This is not the first time since his comeback that Michael Klim has entered the 100 fly, which is a race where he once held the World Record for 6 years. But it is the first time that I’ve had a good feeling that he might actually swim it (as he’s hinted that he would attempt). Klim’s only two entries in this meet are the 100 free and 100 fly, without the 50 free to use as an excuse to scratch the fly.

6. Abood and Sullivan Seeking Bouncebacks – Both Matthew Abood and Eamon Sullivan were subpar in Adelaide. Both are again entered in the sprint races in this meet, and will be looking to improve off of their respective 49.8 and 22.9/50.6 in the sprint freestyles two weeks ago. Of course, Abood also threw down a 22.1 in the 50 free, so his meet wasn’t a total mess like Sullivan’s.

7. Bad Boy Back in Action – Kenrick Monk has taken a lot of heat in Australia after faking a hit-and-run car accident in September. Thanks in part to a recommendation by Swimming Australia, he was let off with only a light punishment, save for the broken elbow and other injuries sustained in the skateboarding accident. Monk is entered in this meet as his big return, and is entered in the 50, 100, and 200 freestyles. Swimming is normally held as a relatively tame sport, but don’t be surprised if he receives an icy reception from what is expected to be a sizable crowd in Sydney.

8. Te Haumi vs. McEvoy – The Australians might have the best 1-2 punch of 17 year old male sprinters in the world. Te Haumi Maxwell has been tearing up National Age sprint records in every age group from 13 & under until the present, whereas McEvoy has really come on strong the past year or so. Te Haumi is more of a 50/100 swimmer to McEvoy’s 100/200 skills, and so it’s the 100 freestyle where the two will meet. Should be a great battle.

9. Kenneth To – Last year, Kenneth To was one of the best teenage IM’ers in the world – his 1:59.0 from Worlds finished 12th in the world. But he is a very versatile swimmer, and in his only long course meet since a trek around the World Cup series with Thorpe and crew, he left the IM off. Instead, he focused on what could be termed as “training events” for the 200 IM, with 100’s of a few different strokes. In Sydney, where he is now living and training, he will get back to his primary routine of the 50/100 frees and the 200 IM. As good as he is in the IM’s, his sprinting abilities are under-rated. He could yet make some noise for a spot on the 400 free relay or in the individual 50.

10. Other Young Swimmers to Watch – There’s a lot of other talent in the young generation of Australian swimming that will also be at this meet. Among the highlights include 17-year old Madison Wilson, a backstroker who trains with Yolane Kukla and Stephanie Rice at St. Peter’s; 16-year old breaststrokers Jessica Hansen and Taylor McKeown (both have been under 1:10 in the 100); and a pair of 17-year old butterflier Hugo Morris who has been a 54.4 in the 100 fly and 2:00 in the 200 fly in the last 6 weeks.