After day 1 in Australia, when Emily Seebohm didn’t have a great swim in the 100 free, I quipped that she was having a bit of a tough go this spring. In Saturday’s finals sessions, however, she threw up a complete reversal-of-fortune swim in the women’s 100 backstroke, when she won in a blazing 59.36.
That’s by far the fastest time in the world this year (only Missy Franklin has been under a minute), and is almost as fast as she was in the entire injury-plagued year of 2011. She was 4th in this race in Shanghai (a very quiet 4th, at that), and she’s showing that when she’s healthy, she’s still a contender for gold.
Her teammate Belinda Hocking, who generally is much better in the 200, put up a very good time to place runner-up to Seebohm in 1:00.17.
In the women’s 100 fly, British swimmer Ellen Gandy put up a nearly-as-spectacular performance to win in 57.78. That too places her at the top of the World Rankings, and is seven-tenths better than she was at the same meet last year. With huge competition coming from Jemma Lowe and Fran Halsall (who are both also swimming very well), Gandy has answered the call and stepped up her game ahead of next month’s Olympic Trials.
The runner-up in that race, Yolane Kukla, seems to be back on the upward path after hitting a sophomore-slump in 2011. She swam a 58.54, which is her best time since October of 2010. Singapore’s Tao Li took 4th in 59.77. That’s not a great time for the 2008 Olympic finalist, but it shows that she’s at least settling in to her new training routines after changing coaches for the 3rd time in two years.
On the men’s side, 18-year old Joshua Beaver, who has been racing a lot and making a lot of statement-swims, broke another Australian National Age Record in the 200 back. His 1:59.17 bettered his own 18-year-olds’ record that he set last month. In this race, he took out two very good swimmers in New Zealand’s Gareth Kean (1:59.68) and Australia’s Ashley Delaney (1:59.97). There’s a lot of talk about which young Australian women might sneak their way onto the Olympic team, but with how he’s been swimming Beaver could be the talk-of-the-town and earn a spot on the men’s roster.
Another New Zealander, Glenn Snyders, was able to hold off some young competitors to win the 100 breast in 1:01.99. He finished last season very fast, and typically after a year-end like he had, swimmers start the next season on fire as well. This swim wasn’t exactly an “on-fire” time, but if he plans to follow the same pattern as he did last year, he may crack a minute at the Olympics after this start.
Brenton Rickard, in likely his final Olympic run at 28-years old, was 3rd in 1:02.46.
Another world-leading time came from South Korea’s Tae-Hwan Park in the men’s 200 free, where he swam a 1:46.78. That moves him ahead of Sun Yang, and with typically-big taper puts him in solid control of the “top-Asian” position for the Olympics.
In the men’s 200 IM, Daniel Tranter took down an old Ian Thorpe state record, which is an honor for any swimmer. His 1:59.23 knocked half-a-second off of Thorpe’s mark from 2003. Young star Kenneth To was a disappointing scratch in that race.
In the women’s 200 breast, a pair of Japanese teenagers stole the show. Keiko Fukudome won in 2:25.88 and Mio Motegi took 2nd in 2:26.23. The women’s breaststrokes at the Japanese Trials are going to be elevated to the level of the men’s competition.
And finally, in the women’s 400 free, Bronte Barratt won the women’s 400 free in 4:06.82. That puts her 3rd in the world in 2012.
I’d tend to see the 200 fly as way, way harder on the shoulders than the 100 fly or 400 IM. With only a 100 fly, you can train around the arm stroke to some degree, but the only way to properly get into 200 fly shape is to train lots and lots of fly, which isn’t the best thing for her to be doing these days since she opted against surgery.
I do not understand why Steph would not swim the 200fly. Currently, it is most likely her most assured path onto the team. Apart from Schipper, the next fastest is Hamill who’s only been under 208 once since the ban of the suits. She could easily make the team with a 207mid.
She is also leading a crop of second tier swimmers that is going to challenge the Chinese and the Brits. Stephanie will need to be as good as she was last summer to simply make the team int he 200IM. However, this frees her up in the 100fly.
When I first heard she was getting surgery, I immediately thought of the scenario where Rice’s event schedule could become… Read more »
I’d agree 4:37 is enough for top 2. I don’t think Hamill will be able to get down below that. I think she is going to struggle to make the 200 IM with Seebohm back to form.
Also I believe for Aust as long as you make the team anyone can swim on the relay so my guess is Rice will not contest the 200 free at trials or pehaps only the prelims unless she has failed to make an indiviual event by then.
In 2008 she was top seed into the final but pulled out due to the clash with the 200 IM however she was the lead off at the Olympics.
I don’t think 4:37 is good enough to secure the 400 IM second spot (assuming the first spot is taken by Evans, in a 4:32-4:33 probably). Remember that Hamill already did 4:37 in 2010.
The 4×200 FR relay spot is equally fierce if not more so. Palmer, Barratt, Evans, Bainbridge, Neilsen, Coutts, Schlanger are all capable of swimming sub 1:57
That’s seven swimmers already. There are also other swimmers who can go 1:57-1:58 such as Kukla, Seebohm (if she decides to try for a relay spot), Dingjan, Stubins, etc.
Rice actually has more chance to qualify in 200 fly than as a relay alternate in 800 FR. That’s how deep Australia’s women 200 free has become.
I think Rice will qualify for the 400I.M. If she can go 4.37 @ trials. I think that will be enough 2 make the cut. However i dont see her beating Coutts and Seebohm in the 200I.M. Both Coutts and Seebohm are likely to be sub 2.10 @ trials. Rice is also likely to attempt a spot for the 800free relay.
could have Kukla been tired on day one when her slower swims were and freshend up with out the training load over the course of the meet? She seemed to get faster every swim.
Have to agree she is up and down and a very ordinary relay swimmer based on the last few years.
And how about Park Tae-Hwan! After going 22.7 in the 50, he later swam 14:47 in the 1,500!
(and check out his last split, almost Yang-like)
There’s now distinct possibility Rice will not qualify for London at all.