Mitch Larkin Lays Down New Aussie, Commonwealth Records In 200 Back

2015’s World Champion in both the 100m and 200m backstroke events, Australian Mitch Larkin was back at it again tonight in Tokyo.  While at the World Cup stop in Japan’s vibrant city, Larkin laid waste to the recent new Australian and Commonwealth records he set just this past summer in Kazan, further cementing the 22-year-old as the man to beat come Rio 2016.

During the finals tonight in the men’s 200m backstroke, Larkin threw down an incredible time of 1:53.34, a result which shaved over two tenths off of his winning mark of 1:53.58 from Kazan. As such, the 1:53.34 now ranks as the #1 time in the world, but also established brand new Australian and Commonwealth records.  Larkin also already holds the Australian and Commonwealth Records in the 100m backstroke with his World Championship-title-winning swim of 52.37 in Kazan.

Taking a look at history, Larkin’s 1:53.34 from tonight now bumps the Australian up one spot on the All-Time Performances list, where his time now sits in the 7th spot.  Given that the top two times were done during the supersuit era, this translates into Larkin now holding the 4th-fastest time ever in a textile suit.

Aaron Piersol 1:51.92, 2009
Ryosuke Irie 1:52.51, 2009
Ryosuke Irie, 1:52.86, 2011
Ryan Lochte, 1:52.96, 2011
Aaron Peirsol 1:53.08, 2009
Ryosuke Irie, 1:53.26, 2014
Mitch Larkin, 1:53.34, 2015

Larkin’s 1:53.34 swim tonight vs. his 1:53.58 swim from Kazan are broken down below, showing how he chose to take it out remarkably faster in his most recent race:

26.59/28.95/29.11/28.69 = 1:53.34

27.07/29.08/28.97/28.46 = 1:53.58

Larkin is slated to swim at the two remaining World Cup stops in Dubai and Doha, therefore, we very well may yet see his times continue to drop before the year runs out.