16-Yr-Old Max Morgan Fires Off 27.52 LCM 50 Breast At Aquatics GB Summer Championships

2024 AQUATICS GB SUMMER CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Saturday, July 20th – Friday, July 26th
• Ponds Forge, Sheffield, England
• LCM (50m)
• Recap #1/Recap #2
• Live Results

The 2024 Aquatics GB Summer Championships continued from Sheffield with nights 3 & 4 bringing some notable performances on both the men’s and women’s sides.

14-year-old Xander Tovey of Millfield fired off a new British Age Record for his age group in the boys’ 100m backstroke final. Tovey stopped the clock at 57.43, nearly even splitting the race at 28.61/28.82.

His performance undercut the previous British Age standard of 57.86 Robbie Hemmings put on the books in 2019.

In the open men’s 100m back, Samuel Greenbank punched a result of 55.43 to narrowly defeat fellow 21-year-old Jamie Ferguson.

Ferguson settled for silver in 55.58 while Newcastle’s Harry Nicholson hit 56.13 to round out the podium.

The girls’ 17-year-old 100m back final saw Blythe Kinsman produce a winning effort of 1:01.38 as the gold medalist. That checks in as the 3rd-quickest time of her career, one which boasts a personal best of 1:00.73 from this year’s Olympic Trials.

Kinsman of Mount Kelly earned bronze in the 50m back at this year’s European Junior Championships, registering a time of 28.29 in Vilnius, Lithuania earlier this month.

A pair of 15-year-olds were impressively under the 1:10 barrier en route to finishing 1-2 in their age group’s girls’ 100m breaststroke event.

Torfaen’s Theodora Taylor produced a result of 1:08.61 to eke out the victory over Basildon’s Jasmine Carter who touched in 1:08.78. Repton swimmer Hannah Capron bagged the bronze in 1:10.56.

Taylor’s time here fell just shy of the 1:08.59 she put up for bronze at this year’s European Junior Championships. There in Lithuania, Taylor also scored silver in the 200m breaststroke event in 2:28.71.

Taylor went on to double up with a win in the 50m free, turning in a time of 25.37, a hair off the new PB of 25.27 she registered in the heats.

Already stealing the spotlight with his monster 1:00.10 100m breaststroke performance, 16-year-old Max Morgan was at it again in the 50m sprint of the discipline.

Reed’s Morgan fired off a time of 27.52 as the sole competitor from his age group under the 29-second threshold en route to gold.

Morgan’s result shaved .33 off his previous career-swiftest effort of 27.85, the British Age Record he put on the books at April’s Olympic Trials.

At just 16 years of age, Morgan now ranks as GBR’s 11th-fastest 50m breaststroker of all time across all ages. That’s impressive considering the nation’s history includes such powerhouse stars as Adam Peaty, James Wilby and Ross Murdoch.

16-year-old Gabriel Shepherd of Leeds made some noise in the boys’ 100m free, getting to the wall in 49.82 for the gold.

Shepherd split 24.33/25.49 to check in just over half a second off his lifetime best of 49.24 hit at Euros Jrs.

Additional Notes

• 17-year-old Filip Nowacki clocked a time of 28.34 to win his age category’s 50m breast while Stirling’s Rory Dickson topped the open podium in 27.84, a new lifetime best. Nowacki doubled up with an age victory in the 400m IM in 4:28.22.
• The 16-year-old girls’ 200m IM saw Phoebe Cooper of Sheffield grab the gold in 2:15.83, just under a second ahead of Leeds’ Matilda Potter (2:16.68). Cockermouth’s Amber Rigg rounded out the top 3 in 2:17.49.
• Wirral Metro’s Abbie Roscoe earned the win in the girls’ 15-year-old 200m fly in 2:13.27, a time which would have won the open category’s competition.