Australian Women’s 4 x 100 Freestyle Relay Has a Chance to be Special

When you look at the results of the women’s 100 freestyle semi-final it is hard to wait until after tomorrow night’s final to start to think what the top four women will be able to accomplish in the 400 freestyle relay in Rio.

So we didn’t.

The top four qualifiers for the final were Cate Campbell, Bronte Campbell, Emma McKeon and Brittany Elmslie. The 4 x 100 freestyle relay team that set a world record of 3:30.98 at the Commonwealth Games was made up of the Campbell sisters, McKeon and Melanie Wright (Schlanger)

When you examine where the season’s best times of the four women on the world record relay compared to the top four performances in this evening it is not a stretch to think that they could knock a significant chunk of time off the world record.

Season’s best times in 2014:

• Cate Campbell – 52.62
• Bronte Campbell – 52.86
• Emma McKeon – 53.61
• Melanie Wright – 53.51

Add up from a flat start – 3:32.66

Times from the semi-final

• Cate Campbell – 52.41
• Bronte Campbell – 52.78
• Emma McKeon – 52.98
• Brittany Elmslie – 53.62

Add up from a flat start – 3:31.79

McEvoy Threatening Cielo’s World Record

Cameron McEvoy‘s winning time in tonight’s final was a sensational 47.04. McEvoy set a new Australian record, new Commonwealth record and his time was the fastest ever done in a textile suit.

This is a fantastic improvement for the 21 year old who has taken on the challenge of competing for Olympic hardware in the 50, 100 and 200 freestyle. For the last three years he has been hovering in the mid to high 47 second range:

• 2012-13 – 47.88
• 2013-14 – 47.65
• 2014-15 – 47.94

In tonight’s final McEvoy drop 61 one-hundredths of a second off his lifetime best of 47.65, which he recorded at the 2014 Australian National Championships. He now needs to drop 13 one-hundredths of a second to erase Cesar Cielo‘s world record of 46.91. McEvoy was out significantly slower than the world record pace, but had an extremely strong second 50 meters to narrow the gap between himself and Cielo’s world record.

• Cesar Cielo – 22.17/46.91 (24.74)
• Cameron McEvoy – 22.54/47.04 (24.50) 

After the first five days of competition McEvoy has qualified to swim both the 100 and 200 freestyle in Rio. On Wednesday night he will look to add the 50 to his Olympic schedule.

The Next Wave of Australian Stars are on the Rise

The talent pool in Australia is deep and it showed on Monday night as 17 year olds Kyle Chalmers and Matthew Wilson gave us a glimpse of the future of Australian swimming. Chalmers finished second to McEvoy in the 100 freestyle posting a time of 48.03, qualifying to swim the race in Rio. His time was also a new junior world record beating the previous mark of 48.25 set by Matheus Santana in 2014.

Wilson came into the competition with a lifetime best of 2:11.23 in the 200 breaststroke. On Monday night he won the event in a time of 2:09.90 missing both the Olympic qualifying time and junior world record by 26 one-hundredths of a second.