Freya Colbert Demolishes British 200 Free Record In 1:54.34, Moves to #10 All-Time

2026 AQUATICS GB SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Tuesday, April 14th – Sunday, April 19th
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Freya Colbert hacked over half a second off her newly-minted British Record in the 200 free in London tonight, clocking 1:54.34 to win the British title by nearly three seconds.

She swam 1:58.76 this morning to move through to the final in third, splitting a smooth 58.17/1:00.59, but turned it on in the final this evening. She was out more than two seconds faster, hitting the halfway point in 55.79 to lead the field by nearly a second.

Her third 50 split was a 29.09, which put her 0.59 ahead of her own British record pace with 50 meters to go. She stayed strong through the final 50, closing in 29.46 to touch in 1:54.34, knocking 0.64 seconds off the record of 1:54.98 she set last month in Edinburgh.

That had been her first swim under 1:55, lowering her best from the 1:55.06 she swam for 4th at the World Championships last summer. As such, this marks the third record in less than 12 months for the Loughborough swimmer, and marks a drop of 1.42 seconds from the 1:55.76 she swam at this competition last year.

Colbert’s opening speed was electric tonight, but it was her third 50 which separated her most from her former best. She went out in 56-low in both of her previous records before splitting 29-mid on the third 50, but was 29.0 this year on the penultimate length.

Colbert’s swim would have taken silver at the 2025 World Championships, 0.18 seconds ahead of Li Bingjie‘s 1:54.52. Colbert was 0.39 seconds off the podium last year, but sets herself up to be the favorite at the European Championships and could threaten Mollie O’Callaghan at the Commonwealth Games. Of note, Canadian record holder Summer McIntosh will not be in attendance in Glasgow this summer.

Colbert ranks 3rd in the world so far this season, just over half a second behind McIntosh. She is the fastest European swimmer so far this season by 2.66 seconds, with Freya Anderson‘s 1:57.00 for silver tonight ranking as the 2nd-fastest.

Colbert now sits behind only Federica Pellegrini and Sarah Sjoestrom in the European all-time rankings, with her performance tonight ranking 6th all-time among European women. Colbert became the first European woman to break 1:55 since Federica Pellegrini at the 2019 World Championships with her 1:54.98 last month.

Additionally, she now ranks as the 10th-fastest woman in history.

Women’s 200 Free, All-Time Top Ten

1.  Ariarne Titmus (AUS) – 1:52.23, 2024 Australian Trials
2. Mollie O’Callaghan (AUS) – 1:52.48, 2024 Australian Trials
3. Federica Pellegrini (ITA) – 1:52.98, 2009 World Championships
4. Allison Schmitt (USA) – 1:53.61, 2012 Olympic Games
5. Summer McIntosh (CAN) – 1:53.65, 2023 World Championships
6. Katie Ledecky (USA) – 1:53.67, 2016 Olympic Games
7. Siobhan Haughey (HKG) – 1:53.92, 2020 Olympic Games
8. Sarah Sjoestrom (SWE) – 1:54.08, 2016 Olympic Games
9. Tang Muhan (CHN) – 1:54.26, 2021 Chinese National Games
10. Freya Colbert (GBR) – 1:54.34, 2026 British Championships

Leah Schlosshan placed 3rd tonight in a new best of 1:57.49, with Theodora Taylor setting a new lifetime best and a new age group record for 17-year-olds in 4th as she clocked 1:58.31.

With the top four swimmers needing to combine for a time of 7:54.25 to dip under the qualification time for the European Championships, Colbert, Anderson, Schlosshan, and Taylor blew that time away with a 7:47.14. That sets them up to challenge Hungary for gold at the European Championships this summer. Abbie Wood, who has been 1:57.23 this season, chose the 200 breaststroke instead tonight but is another weapon to add to that team.