Dan Wallace of Great Britain broke his own Scottish national record Wednesday morning during the heats of the 200m IM in order to take the second seed behind fellow Gator grad Ryan Lochte.
Clocking in at 1:58.28, Wallace bettered his 1:58.72 national mark that he set at last year’s Commonwealth Games by just over four-tenths of a second.
Wallace’s splits
- Fly – 25.27
- Back – 30.72
- Breast – 33.41
- Free – 28.88
Despite breaking the Scottish record, Wallace will still have a ways to go if he wants to get anywhere near the British record in the men’s 200m IM. That record currently sits at 1:57.12 from James Goddard’s performance at the 2009 World Championships in Rome.
Wallace has already established himself as one of the early leaders in the race and will be looking to take home so hardware. Last year at the 2014 Commonwealth Games Wallace earned his first international medals of his career.
If he can stay in the position he’s in now, he will have a shot at gaining his first major international medal at either a World Championships or Olympic Games.
Wallace will have plenty of tough competitors to beat if he wants to have a chance at climbing the podium, and will likely have to dip into the 1:56 range or even lower. Daiya Seto of Japan, Conor Dwyer of the United States, and other top level competitors will be joining him in tonight’s semifinals.
Wallace will have a better chance making the podium in his primary event, the 400m IM, on the final day of the meet. Currently he’s seeded fifth in that race.
Wallace is showing great promise, and good progression from his breakout at the CG last year. It would be nice to see him on the podium in both IM’s. That would be a good set up for Rio.