2023 British Championships: Day 2 Finals Live Recap

2023 BRITISH SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Tuesday, April 4th – Sunday, April 9th
• Prelims at 9:30 am local (4:30 am EDT)/Finals at 6:00 pm local (1:00 pm EDT)
• Ponds Forge, Sheffield
• LCM (50m)
• World Championships Qualifier
• World Championships Selection Criteria
• Draft Entries
• Day 1 Recap
• Live Results
• Livestream

The second finals session of the 2023 British Swimming Championships is here. Tonight’s session in Ponds Forge will feature the women’s 800 free, men’s 50 breast, women’s 50 fly, men’s 200 fly, women’s 100 back, men’s 100 back, and the women’s 200 breast.

Freya Colbert comes into tonight as the top seed in the women’s 800 free, which is a timed finals event. The fastest heat will be swimming in tonight’s final, where Colbert will be in lane four with her seed of 8:37.51. Only 13-year-old Amelie Blocksidge is seeded under 8:40 alongside Colbert, coming in with her British Age Record mark of 8:39.14.

Archie Goodburn became the third-fastest British performer all-time in the men’s LCM 50 breast, swimming a 27.19 to lead the way in prelims. While he’s still a ways off Adam Peaty‘s British Record of 25.95, which is also the World Record in the event, Goodburn did crack the Scottish Record in the event this morning. He also now only sits 0.03 seconds off James Wilby‘s personal best of 27.16, which makes Wilby the second-fastest British performer all-time in the event. Wilby will notably be in the final tonight as well, swimming one lane over from Goodburn.

After winning the women’s 50 breast yesterday in Scottish Record fashion, Kara Hanlon will be looking to get her hands on the wall first tonight in the 200 breast as well. Hanlon was fourth this morning with a 3:31.43. There’s a tightly bunched group in the top three, as Elizabeth Booker led the way this morning in 2:28.01, but Gillian Davey and Sienna Robinson were right behind in 2:28.06 and 2:28.55 respectively.

WOMEN’S 800 FREESTYLE – TIMED FINALS

• British Record – 8:14.10, Rebecca Adlington (2008)

1. Freya Colbert – 8:35.02
2. Amelie Blocksidge – 8:38.33
3. Fleur Lewis – 8:40.14

Coming in as the top seed in the event, Freya Colbert completely took over in the middle of the race. She ended up speeding to a new personal best of 8:35.02.

13-year-old budding star Amelie Blocksidge was bunched up in a pack of swimmers behind Colbert for a big part of the race, but came on very strong at the end, pulling firmly into second place. She was quickly running Colbert down at the end but Colbert’s lead was too large to be overcome at that point.

Still, Blocksidge’s final time of 8:38.33 marks another British Age Record for 13-year-old girls in the event. Blocksidge had just set the record at 8:39.14 at the Swedish Grand Prix last month.

While both Colbert and Blocksidge turned in terrific performances tonight, the qualifying time in the women’s 800 free stands at 8:19.00, so neither swimmer made that mark to qualify for Fukuoka.

Fleur Lewis rounded out the top three, touching in 8:40.14 to win the bronze medal.

MEN’S 50 BREASTSTROKE – FINALS

• British Record – 25.95, Adam Peaty (2017)

1. Archie Goodburn – 27.24
2. James Wilby – 27.62
3. Gregory Butler – 27.76

Archie Goodburn won the title in the men’s 5o breast tonight in Ponds Forge, clocking a 27.24. While that time was just a tick off the 27.19 Goodburn swam in prelims this morning to set a new Scottish Record, the performance still comes in as his second-fastest performance of his career.

As he was this morning, James Wilby was second tonight with a 27.62. Wilby is the second-fastest British performer all-time in the LCM 50 breast, boasting a career best of 27.16 in the event.

Gregory Butler touched right behind Wilby, earning the bronze medal with a 27.76.

British Swimming doesn’t have qualifying times for the stroke 50s (fly, back, breast), but Goodburn’s performances today were fantastic nonetheless. We currently have Goodburn’s 27.19 from this morning putting him in a tie for ninth in the world this season.

WOMEN’S 50 BUTTERFLY – FINALS

• British Record: 25.20, Francesca Halsall (2014)

1. Sophie Yendell – 26.16
2. Harriet Jones – 26.49
3. Lucy Grieve – 26.83

Sophie Yendell picked up the win in the women’s 50 fly tonight, speeding to a new lifetime best of 26.16. Coming into the meet this morning, Yendell’s career best was a 26.67 from last year’s British Championships. She first cracked that mark this morning, swimming a 26.39 in prelims. With her performance tonight, Yendell took a total of 0.51 sec0nds off her personal best in the event today – a huge amount for a 50m race.

Harriet Jones touched second in 26.49, marking a season best. Jones was close to her lifetime best of 26.20, which she swam at the Commonwealth Games last summer.

Lucy Grieve came in third with a 26.83.

MEN’S 200 BUTTERFLY – FINALS

• British Record – 1:54.58, Michael Rock (2009)

1. Joshua Gammon – 1:58.88
2. Thomas Beeley – 1:58.99
3. Reuben Rowbotham-Keating – 2:00.83

Operating on the outside, Joshua Gammon took a slim lead on the third 50 of the race tonight, touching the 150m turn 0.21 seconds ahead of Thomas Beeley. Gammon then managed to hold on to his lead by the skin of his teeth through the final 50m, speeding into the finish in 1:58.88, finishing just 0.11 seconds ahead of Beeley.

The performance marks a huge lifetime best for Gammon, who entered the meet this morning with a personal best of 2:01.01, which he swam last July in Spain. For Beeley, the swim came in just off his personal best of 1:58.60, which he swam at last year’s British Championships.

Gammon and Beeley were the only two men in the field tonight to crack 2:00, with Reuben Rowbotham-Keating taking third in 2:00.83.

The qualifying time in the men’s 200 fly stands at 1:54.22.

WOMEN’S 100 BACKSTROKE – FINALS

• British Record – 58.08, Kathleen Dawson (2021)

1. Medi Harris – 59.82
2. Lauren Cox – 1:00.01
3. Kathleen Dawson – 1:00.50

Medi Harris got out to the early lead tonight in the women’s 100 back final, splitting 28.67 on the opening 50m. She was out ahead of a tough field that featured Lauren Cox and Kathleen Dawson, who is the British Record holder in the event. Cox was out in 29.09 tonight, while Dawson clocked a 29.31 on the first 50.

Harris then managed to hold her lead through the back half of the race, speeding into the finish in 59.82, making her the only swimmer to touch under 1:00. She was just over half a second off her personal best of 59.24, which she set in February of 2022.

Cox came in second in 1:00.01, marking a new personal best for her. Her previous best of 1:00.17, which she swam last summer at the Commonwealth Games.

Dawson ended up finishing third, swimming a 1:00.50. It wasn’t her best performance, as she holds the Briitsh Record at 58.08, which she swam in 2021.

MEN’S 100 BACKSTROKE – FINALS

• British Record – 52.73, Liam Tancock (2009)

1. Oliver Morgan – 53.92
2. Cameron Brooker – 53.94
3. Luke Greenbank – 54.30

In a very tight final, Oliver Morgan pulled it out, getting his hand on the wall first by 0.02 seconds. Cameron Brooker was out a touch faster than Morgan, splitting 25.97 on the first 50m to Morgan’s 26.08.

For Morgan, the swim marked a huge personal best. He entered the day with a top time of 54.70, which he swam at the 2022 British Summer Championships last July. Brooker had a very similar performance, having entered today’s action with a lifetime best of 54.75, which he swam at the British Championships last April.

Luke Greenbank came in third with a 54.30. Greenbank notably has the fastest career best of anyone in this field, having been as fast as 53.34, a time which he swam a the 2021 European Championships in Budapest.

WOMEN’S 200 BREASTSTROKE – FINALS

• British Record – 2:20.89, Molly Renshaw (2021)

1. Gillian Davey – 2:25.07
2. Kara Hanlon – 2:25.12
3. Elizabeth Booker – 2:25.96

There was a trio of women who broke away from the final of the 200 breast tonight, including Gillian Davey, Kara Hanlon, and Elizabeth Booker. Davey ended up getting her hands on the wall first tonight, swimming a 2:25.07 to touch out Hanlon by 0.05 seconds.

Hanlon, who won the women’s 50 breast last night in a new Scottish Record, displayed a more conservative approach to her race tonight. Though she was on top of the podium in the 50 breast last night, Hanlon wasn’t out the fastest in the 200 tonight, rather, she was in third at the 50m turn and fourth at the 100m turn. It was the third 50 where Hanlon really made her move, closing the gap on Davey to just o.09 seconds with 50m to go.

Booker was in second through the first half of the race, out-splitting both Davey and Hanlon on the first two 50s. She moved into first place on the third 50 after Sienna Robinson, who had been the leader up to that point in the race, faded. Both Davey and Hanlon were able to catch and pass Booker on the final 50, however, and she ended up touching in third with a 2:25.96.

it was Sienna Robinson who got out to the fastest start, leading at the 50m and 100m turns. She started to fade on the third 50, but really hit her wall on the final length and fell back quite a ways. In the end, Robinson took fourth tonight with a 2:28.00.

Davey’s performance tonight shattered her previous career best of 2:26.09 in the event, which had stood since 2019. Hanlon’s performance also marks a big lifetime best, coming in well under her previous best of 2:26.55, which she swam at the British Trials in 2021. Booker also clocked a new personal best, beating out her previous top time of 2:26.92.