Peaty, Adrian, Carlin and Miley All Post Top Three Times

Adam Peaty has been having a great year, which continued today in Barcelona where he won the men’s 100 breaststroke breaking the meet record as well as putting up the second fastest time in the world.

Peaty won the race in a life time best time of 59.25, setting a new British national record in the process, breaking Daniel Sliwiniski’s 2009 record of 59.55. He also broke  Cameron van der Burgh‘s 2012 meet record of 59.73 and with that swim he also jumps over the Olympic champion in the rankings. The only athlete who has swum faster this year is Australian Christian Sprenger who recorded a time of 58.87 at the Australian Nationals.

The 19 year old Peaty is having a great season, he qualified for his first Commonwealth Games team, representing England, by winning the British Gas National Championships beating out touching one of his top rivals 20 year old Ross Murdoch, who will be representing Scotland in Glasgow.

In the preliminaries of the men’ 100 freestyle Florent Manaudou of France posted a time of 48.81 qualifying first for the final setting up what appeared to be a great battle for the event title between him and American Nathan Adrian. Unfortunately that was not meant to be as Manaudou pulled out of the final.

Adrian ultimately won the event, his third 100 freestyle crown in the series, in a time of 48.08, which is a season’s best and puts him third in the world rankings behind Australians James Magnussen and Cameron McEvoy. The American recorded his season’s best beating the time of 48.23, which he posted at the Mesa Grand Prix.

Hanser Garcia Hernandez of Cuba finished second in a time of 49.05 followed by Andrey Grechin of the Russia who hit the wall in a time of 49.14.

In the first event of the evening Welsh star Jazz Carlin won the women’s 1500 freestyle in rather convincing fashion, finishing 18 seconds over her next competitor. Her time of 16:07.41 currently puts her third in the world rankings. Carlin swam a very strategic race negative splitting the event by five one-hundredths of a second. 

Carlin – 8:03.73/8:03.68 – 16:07.41

Maria Vilas of Spain finished second in a time of 16:25.68 followed my Melanie Costa Schmid who touched in a time of 16:34.97.

Hannah Miley took the women’s 400 IM in a season’s best time of 4:33.25 putting her third in the world rankings and breaking her own meet record of 4:34.41 which she set in 2009. The win was not an easy one for Miley as she had to face a familiar foe fellow British swimmer Aimee Willmott. After the backstroke Miley had a lead of seven one-hundredths of a second over Willmott, but Miley created significant separation between herself and Willmott in the breaststroke portion of the race.

Willmott finished second in a time of 4:34.87 followed by Sakiko Shimizu of Japan who touched in a time of 4:38.99.

With Jeremy Stravius pulling out of the meet before the prelims the competition for men’s 50 backstroke did look like a field that would create a dramatic race, which it didn’t. Junya Koga of Japan, who finished second to Stravius in Canet, took the event easily in a time of 24.66. His time places him sixth in the world and also surpassed South African Gerard Zandberg‘s 2008 meet record of 25.05.

Ryosuke Irie of Japan finished second in a time of 25.16 followed by Christopher Walker-Hebborn of Great Britain who posted a time of 25.33.

Irie went on to dominate the 200 backstroke later in the evening winning the event in a time of 1:54.81 beating his next competitor by over two seconds. This was his third victory in the event, winning in both Monaco and Canet. The win will also help solidify him as the top money earner in the series.

The Olympic silver medalist in the event was well off of his season’ best time of 1:53.91.

Radoslaw Kawecki of Poland finished second in a time of 1:57.00 followed by Ryan Murphy of the United States who posted a time of 1:57.83.

Danish star Jeanette Ottesen took the women’s 100 butterfly with ease winning the event in a time of 57.20, setting a new meet record. Ottesen was off the Danish record of 56.96 which she set in Canet.

She was followed by British swimmer Jemma Lowe and Russian Svetlana Chimrova.

Lowe and Chimrova had a spectacular battle with the two hitting the halfway mark tied in a time of 27.37. Lowe was eventually able to pull out the win finishing 11 one-hundredths of a second ahead of Chimrova. Lowe collected the silver finishing in a 58.61 while Chimrova collected the bronze hitting the wall in a time of 58.72.

Ottesen had to settle for one win on the night as she was beat by Fran Halsall of Great Britain in the women’s 50 freestyle. Halsall took the event in a time of 24.40, just off her season’s best of 24.38, which currently ranks fourth in the world. Ottesen finished second in a time of 24.54 followed by her Danish teammate Pernille Blume who hit the wall in a time of 24.90.

Russian Veronika Popova won the women’s 200 freestyle in a time of 1:56.20 breaking the meet record of 1:57.14 which was set by Katinka Hosszu last year. Popova was followed by South African Karin Prinsloo who posted a 1:57.36 and British swimmer Siobhan-Marie O’Connor who touched in a time of 1:57.86.

James Guy of Great Britain took the men’s 400 freestyle in a time of 3:48.11. Guy and South African Myles Brown, who won the event in Canet, had a strong battle in the first half of the race where Brown turned two tenths of a second ahead of the Brit. At the 250 meter mark Guy began pulling away from Brown and continued to add to that throughout the final half of the race.

Brown took the silver finishing in a time of 3:49.83 followed by Miguel Duran Navia of Spain who hit the wall in a time of 3:50.61.

In the first stop in Monaco Danish star Mie Nielsen had to settle for the silver in the women’s 100 backstroke finishing behind Elizabeth Simmonds of Great Britain, but has not been beat in the event since, including today where collected gold posting a time of 59.69. Nielsen was not far off her season’s best of 59.36.

Georgia Davies of Great Britain finished second recording a time of 1:00.16 followed by Simmonds who touched in a time of 1:00.54.

Daiya Seto of Japan won the men’s 200 butterfly in Monaco, Pawel Korzeniowski of Poland took the event in Canet and this evening the two faced off to see who would collect the final victory of the Mare Nostrum series. It was a magnificent race with the two never being separated by more than 35 one-hundredths of a second after the first 50 meters. Seto held the lead for the entire race and eventually won the event in a time of 1:55.18 breaking the meet record of 1:55.59 set by Brazilian Kaio Marcio Almeida in 2012.

Korzeniowski finished second in a time of 1:55.30 followed by Alexander Kudashew who touched in a time of 1:56.96.

 Hiromasa Fujimori of Japan took the men’s 200 IM in a time of 1:59.30. He was followed by Joe Roebuck of Great Britain who recorded a time of 2:00.84 and Roberto Pavoni of Great Britain who finished in a time of 2:01.45.

Ben Proud of Great Britain won the men’s 50 butterfly in a time of 23.66 just off of his season’s best of 23.42. Rafael Perez finished second in a time of 23.69 followed by Hirofumi Ikebata who touched in a time of 23.90.

Maria Liver won the women’s 50 breaststroke in a time of 31.23 she was followed by Jessica Vall Montero who touched in a time of 31.90. Corrie Scott finished third in a time of 32.03.

Full results can be found here