British Swimming is keeping a running list of entrants for their upcoming National Championship meet, which this year will mirror the Americans’ on timing from June 26th-30th in Sheffield, and there’s already quite a few interesting entries in the pot.
Keep track of the full running list here.
Among the more interesting entries includes James Goddard, the 29-year old veteran of the 2008 Olympics, is entered in just a single event: the 200 backstroke. Goddard is the British National Record holder in both the 200 backstroke and the 200 IM, but last year made the Olympic Team in only the latter of those events, where he finished 7th in the final (he was as fast as 1:58.49 in the semi-finals.)
He drops that event in favor of a 200 backstroke in which he had a pretty dismal year, going no better than 2:02 and ranking only 9th in the country at year’s end.
Meanwhile, breaststroker/IM’er Sophie Allen has added a new event to her schedule, and it’s not the 200 breaststroke that you might expect. The 2012 Olympian in the 200 IM will swim that race, the 100 breaststroke, and the 200 fly at this year’s Championships. She swam the 200 fly pretty well when she was younger (going 2:22’s at only 13 years old), but between 2008 and 2013 didn’t ever even attempt the race (that we can find record of).
So far this year, though, she’s been as fast as 2:11.5 in February, and so she’ll go after that 200 fly at Trials. This is an event that has gotten much easier with Ellen Gandy deciding to change her sporting citizenship to Australian (where she’s lived and trained for a while), and Jess Dickons deciding to retire at just 22 years old.
With two of the country’s top three from 2012 out of the mix, that leaves her chief competition in the event as 17-year old Elena Sheridan and Olympic finalist Jemma Lowe (and, of course, the qualifying standards.)
The only other really interesting entry that we could pick out was Georgia Davies swimming just the 50 and the 100 backstroke. Those are by far her best chances at making the British World Championship roster, but she was the 6th-best Brit in the 200 last year. She also swam it at the Olympic Trials, but has dropped it this year. The difference seems to be that in 2013, the 200 backstroke comes on the first day of Trials, whereas last year it came at the end of the meet. In 2012, there was little to lose by racing it, but in 2013 her energies are better reserved for the sprints.
There’s a whole lot of retired swimmers absent from this meet, from Rebecca Adlington, to Kate Haywood, to David Carry and David Davies, the meet will be looking for a new generation of swimmers to crop up and take their places.
My money is on Tilly Gray to hit the 200 fly spot behind Jemma Lowe. She has been a personal best 2:10.78 this year without a taper and races tough. Don’t be surprised if she pulls a 2:08 out at trials.
Allen has twice been 2.11 in the 200 ‘fly this year. It’s a very smart decision, as Ellen Gandy has decided to change allegiance there is a spot behind Jemma Lowe. It should be fought out by Sheridan, Barton, Allen, Gray and Thomas. There is less than a second between those five girls (2.10.78-2.11.71) and IF Hannah Miley swims, that’ll be six ladies between those times. An unreal race is in store.