Alexander Bowen Produces 22.18 50 Free To Become 7th Fastest Briton

2019 BRITISH SUMMER CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Tuesday, July 23rd – Sunday, July 28th
• Tollcross International Swimming Centre, Glasgow, Scotland
• LCM
• Recap #1/Recap #2/Recap #3
• Live Results

On the day that the British men took the 4x100m medley relay gold in Gwangju, Korea while competing on the final night of the 2019 FINA World Aquatics Championships, their compatriots were racing at home on the final day of the 2019 British Summer Championships.

Infused with the extra excitement of the come-from-behind victory by the relay at Worlds, Matthew Richards of Royal Wolverhampton put down another 3 individual wins in the final days here to continue his momentum from an impressive British Championships in April and European Junior Championships earlier this month.

In addition to his earlier 100m free win in Glasgow, Richards added gold in the 100m fly for 17/18 in a time of 54.63, the 50m free gold in a time of 23.20, as well as another gold in the 200m free in a mark fo 1:50.67. For the teen who is racing at this meet just for fun after a long season, he’s emerged as budding sprint star for Great Britain, riding on the back of his impressive 48.88 100m free European Junior title.

Another teen making the moves is Mia Slevin of Derventio Excel. The 16-year-old produced a winning time of 4:15.12 to take the women’s 400m free for 16-year-old. That outing sliced over 2 seconds off his previous PB of 4:17.17 she clocked at the European Junior Championships where she wound up 11th after the heats.

Emma Russell produced a new Scottish Age Record for 15-year-olds, taking the 100m free victory for her age group in a time of 56.62. Entering this meet the Hearts of Midlothian’s best time rested at the 56.98 she logged at the Scottish National Age Group Championships in March.

The World University Games gold medalist in the men’s 50m free, David Cumberlidge, clocked a solid 22.14 50m free time in the 19+ category to reap the top prize. He narrowly outperformed his Loughborough teammate Alexander Bowen who touched in 22.18.

For Bowen, the 24-year-old just hit the fastest time of his career by a large margin. His 22.18 overwrites his previous personal best of 22.35 from 2018 and he now moves up 2 spots to tie Charles Turner as the 7th fastest British performer ever in the 50m free event.

Cumberlidge’s 21.97 time from Naples, Italy checked him in as the 4th fastest British performer in history.

European Junior Championships silver medalist Honey Osrin took the top of the podium in the 200m back here, logging a time of 2:11.55 for the women’s 16-year-old race. She was 2:10.30 behind Italy’s Erika Francesca Gaetani in Kazan.

Another Kazan medalist Kayla Van Der Merwe took gold here, hitting the wall first in her age category of the women’s 100m breast. Van Der Merwe clocked a time here of 1:08.30. She took the European Junior title in a time of 1:07.12 in Kazan and also earned bronze there in the 200m breast.

Plymouth Leander’s James Hart won the men’s 15-year-old 100m fly in a big-time 55.69. That knocked almost 2 seconds off of his previous PB clocked on that day’s heat. Prior to these championships, Hart’s PB was 58.30, so the teen has found a way to crack off well over 2 seconds en route to becoming the 2nd fastest 15-year-old British swimmer ever in the event.

Additional Notes:

• Kyle Booth of Cardiff produced a winning time of 2:15.37 in the men’s 17/18 200m breast.
• Chelmsford’s Erin Little was the quickest in the women’s 13.14 200m free, putting up a time of 57.15.
• Charlie Hutchison did damage in the men’s 17/18 200m IM, winning his age category in a time fo 2:02.56, just .04 off of his lifetime best.
• While older brother Max Litchfield raced in the men’s 400m IM final in Gwangju, younger brother Joe Litchfield took the men’s 200m IM here in 1:59.17, the only sub-2:00 time of the 19+ field.
• Stirling’s Kathleen Dawson took the 50m back win for 19+ in 28.15.