2017 Aussie National C’ships Day 1 Finals Live Recap: McEvoy 21.55

2017 AUSTRALIAN SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Sunday, April 9th – Thursday, April 13th
• Brisbane Aquatic Centre
• Prelims at 11am local/Finals at 7:30pm local
• LCM
• Meet Site
• Entry List
• Qualification Criteria
• Meet Preview
• Live Streaming
• Live Results

MEN’S 200 BACKSTROKE – FINAL

• Swimming Australia QT – 1:57.12
• The Podium
  • Mitch Larkin – 1:56.66
  • Josh Beaver – 1:56.95
  • Clyde Lewis – 1:58.83

Double world champion Mitch Larkin expectedly retained his 200m backstroke title, earning the win tonight in 1:56.66. That’s well under the qualifying mark of 1:57.12, which is for what Larkin said he was aiming this meet, as opposed to any best times. Larkin, who says he feels as though he’s sometimes ‘learning to swim again’ under his new coach Simon Cusack at Commercial was a mighty 1:53.90 at this same point last year (Olympic Trials).

Nunawading’s Josh Beaver also retained his runner-up status, stopping the clock just about .3 of a second behind Larkin. 1:56.95 is what the 24-year-old registered for the win, just off his 1:56.57 mark that rendered him in 10th place in Rio. He, too, made it under the 1:57.12 qualifying mark for Budapest.

The 2 men now sit as the world’s 4th and 5th fastest swimmers in the event this season.

Finishing just outside qualification is 19-year-old former Larkin teammate Clyde Lewis, who settled for bronze tonight in 1:58.83. He’s still got to be happy, however, with this morning and tonight representing his first two sub-1:59 marks of his young career.

Reminder that there is no semi-final format at this year’s edition of the National Championships; instead, the format goes from prelims straight to finals.

MEN’S 100 BUTTERFLY – FINAL

• Swimming Australia QT – 51.51
• The Podium:
  • David Morgan – 51.81
  • Grant Irvine – 52.08
  • Brayden McCarthy – 52.43

Although TSS Aquatics swimmer David Morgan scored the only sub-52-second time of the men’s 100m butterfly final, it still fell short of the stiff Aussie-mandated World Championships-qualifying time of 51.81. Even Morgan’s personal best of 51.64 wouldn’t have been enough to meet the mark, so it’s no shock the Aussies will have no men representing them in Budapest in this event. Morgan, Australia’s 2nd fastest performer of all time behind Olympic medalist Andrew Lauterstein, does now check-in as the 3rd fastest swimmer in the world this season.

Grant Irvine raced his way from 4th seed to a silver medal tonight, stopping the clock in a solid 52.08 for the 4th fastest time of his career. In Rio, the St. Peters Western swimmer finished 13th overall in a time of 51.87, .11 off the personal best of 51.76 he notched to win silver at this same meet last year.

19-year-old Bond University up-and-comer Brayden McCarthy is an up-and-comer among the Aussie sprinting ranks as a member of the Aussie men’s 4x100m freestyle relay that won gold at the 2015 World Junior Championships. After clocking a personal best this morning by almost a full second and half (52.98), McCarthy hacked over another half a second off to claim bronze in a new career fastest. He, along with Morgan, will be racing the men’s 50m freestyle later tonight.

WOMEN’S 100 FREESTYLE – FINAL

• Swimming Australia QT – 53.92
• The Podium
  • Bronte Campbell – 52.85
  • Emma McKeon – 53.12
  • Cate Campbell – 53.30

After a monster morning swim of 52.78 to score the world’s first sub-53 second 100m freestyle this season, 24-year-old Cate Campbell wound up racing slower tonight, collecting the bronze in a time of 53.30. The gold went to younger sister Bronte Campbell instead, with the double world champion registering a super swift 52.85 to now sit as the 2nd fastest swimmer in the world behind big sis. This marks just the 4th time in her career that Bronte, who has been battling shoulder issues for the past 2 years, has notched a time in the 52-point realm.

Not to be overlooked is silver medalist Emma McKeon, who got the job done to make the Aussie team individually in this women’s 100m freestyle event. McKeon rocked a monster time of 53.12, the 3rd fastest time of her career. At this meet last year, the Olympic bronze medalist in the 200m freestyle notched a personal best of 52.80, a time which etched her into the 4th position of Australia’s top female performers.

18-year-old Shayna Jack laid waste to her own personal best from this morning, earning a mega 53.40 for 4th place. With C1 opting out of the World Championships, Jack’s new 18-year-old national age group record-setting time should secure her a spot on the women’s 4x100m freestyle relay. Jack, who trains with the Campbell sisters under Simon Cuscack is cited by C1 as being ‘responsible for turning up’ the training at Commercial.

WOMEN’S 800 FREESTYLE – TIMED FINAL (FINAL HEAT)

• Swimming Australia QT – 8:26.96
• The Podium:
  • Ariarne Titmus – 8:23.08
  • Jessica Ashwood – 8:25.16
  • Kiah Melverton – 8:34.76

In an incredible feat, 16-year-old Ariarne Titmus denied both reigning national champion Jessica Ashwood and open water national champion Kiah Melverton in an eye-popping women’s 800m freestyle final. Cranking out a mega personal best tonight of 8:23.08, Titmus annihilated her previous career fastest of 8:37.50 by almost 15 seconds. Titmus, who won the women’s 400m freestyle short course national title last November, now checks-in as the 5th fastest Australian performer of all-time in this event. Her time now also ranks as the #1 mark in the world this season, as well as stands as the new Aussie 16-year-old age group national record.

Also qualifying for Budapest is Ashwood, who managed a solid 8:25.16, though it’s more common for the Chandler swimmer to have a sub-8:20 outing at a major meet. Melverton, Aussie’s 5k open water national champion, earned bronze in 8:34.76.

MEN’S 50 FREESTYLE – FINAL

• Swimming Australia QT – 22.02
• The Podium:
  • Cameron McEvoy – 21.55
  • James Roberts – 21.91
  • Will Stockwell 22.33

Just when it looked as though Cameron McEvoy would potentially be the only Aussie male to qualify in the men’s 50m freestyle for Budapest, 25-year-old James Roberts pulls an ace from his sleeve. McEvoy topped the field handily, dropping his own world-leading time of 21.73 from the morning to a new low of 21.55. That mark represents the 2nd fastest time of the Bond swimmer’s career, whose personal best sits at 21.44 from this meet last year. McEvoy’s outing tonight would have finished 4th in Rio – that’s how fast this kid is on Aussie soil.

But, Somerset veteran athlete Roberts proved that the best things come to those who wait as he just hammered out his own personal best time of 21.91 at age 25. Having never dropped beneath the 22-second threshold ever in his career, Roberts hacked about a half a second off of his own career-fastest 22.38 from this morning’s heats to qualify for the 2017 World Championships individually. Roberts now moves into 6th place on the All-Time Aussie list of performers in this splash n’ dash event.

Will Stockwell scored an impressive time of 22.33 for bronze, while 19-year-old Brayden McCarthy, fresh off of his 100m butterfly bronze, earned a 4th place finish in 22.40. McCarthy’s best entering this meet was 23.16, but the 19-year-old McEvoy protegé has now brought that down to 22.40 in a matter of 2 races today.

MEN’S 400 FREESTYLE – FINAL

• Swimming Australia QT – 3:47.19
• The Podium:
  • Mack Horton – 3:44.18
  • David McKeon – 3:46.90
  • Jack McLoughlin – 3:46.96

A tight battle ensued in the men’s 400m freestyle event, but 20-year-old Olympic champion Mack Horton pulled out the win for his 3rd consecutive national title in the race. Being led by St. Peters Western’s David McKeon through 250m mark, Horton started making his move, solidly outsplitting McKeon every lap thereafter, closing in a speedy 27.70 final 50. Both men qualified for the World Championships under the Aussie-mandated mark of 3:47.19.

For Horton, his outing tonight ranks as the 5th fastest of his young career – not bad for his first rested/tapered meet of the season.

Just as in last year’s edition of this meet, which doubled as the Aussie Olympic Trials, Jack McLoughlin found himself with the bronze, clocking a mark of 3:46.96. That’s just off the 3:46.27 he notched in 2016 and also dips beneath the QT. The 3 Aussies now rank as #1, #4 and #5 among the top times in the world this season.

WOMEN’S 50 BREASTSTROKE – FINAL

• Swimming Australia QT – N/A
• The Podium:
  • Jenna Strauch – 32.11
  • Chelsea Hodges – 32.51
  • Georgia Wells – 32.85

The top seeds from this morning, which included Jessica Hansen, Georgia Bohl and Aisling Scott opted out of tonight’s final, giving Bond swimmer Jenna Strauch a chance to shine. Strauch took advantage, dropping .7 off of her mroning outing of 32.81 to top the podium in 32.11.

Southport teen Chelsea Hodges finished exactly .4 behind in a time of 32.51, while Georgia Wells from Commercial touched in 32.85 for bronze.

In today’s prelims, Hansen notched a personal best of 31.19 to fall just outside of the Aussie All-Time top 10 performances in the event.

MEN’S 4×100 FREESTYLE RELAY – FINAL

Marion Swimming Club easily took the win in the men’s 4x100m freestyle relay, as the crowd was treated to 100m freestyle Olympic champion Kyle Chalmers’ first swim of the meet. Clocking the swiftest split of the field, Chalmers notched a very solid anchor of 48.22 after teammates Travis Mahoney (50.84), Hayden Lewis  (51.78) and Andrew Abood  (49.64) set the clear water up nicely.

Chalmers didn’t include the men’s 50m freestyle in his event line-up this meet, so his first individual comes tomorrow in the men’s 200m freestyle prelim.

WOMEN’S 4×100 FREESTYLE RELAY – FINAL

With just one team in the field, Yeronga Park nabbed the gold in 4:00.03.