2018 QUEENSLAND CHAMPIONSHIPS
- Saturday, December 15th – Friday, December 21st
- 12/15 – relays only; 12/20 & 12/21 – age groupers
- Brisbane Aquatic Center
- LCM
- Meet Site
- SwimSwam Meet Preview
- Entry List
- Live Stream
- Live Results
While competing at the 2018 Queensland Championships in Brisbane, 18-year-old Elijah Winnington took down the men’s World Junior Record in the 200m freestyle.
Winnington competed in the open category on day 1 of these championships, where the Bond athlete produced a winning effort of 1:46.64. That mark fell just .24 shy of the WJR held by Russia’s Ivan Girev. Girev set the WJR at 1:46.20 while competing at the 2017 World Junior Championships.
Tonight in Brisbane, however, Winnington got another chance to get the job done, and he wound up slicing .07 off of Girev’s mark to set the standard now at 1:46.13. The Aussie did so while racing in the men’s 17-18 age category 200m freestyle event.
Splits for Winnington tonight include 51.44 for the opening and 54.69 for the back half to give him the new WJR. For perspective, the teen’s 1:46.13 time tonight would have won the bronze medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
This is the 2nd international record for the rising star, who hit the short course meters WJR in the 400 freestyle at this year’s Aussie Short Course Championships.
Elijah Winnington is highly promising. Another swimmer that has caught my eye and an additional potential member of what looks like a very deep 4X200 team is Jack McLaughlin. Better known as a 1500 swimmer, he is now putting in smart times in the middle distance events. He’s obviously untampered but still managed to go 1.46.9 in the 200 and 1.45 in the 400(not far off his best of 3.44 from the Pan Pacs).
Chalmers, Winnington, Graham, Cartwright, Lewis, McEvoy, Fraser-Holmes, Horton… Australia have a potentially brutal 4×200… Main threat to USA for me. Russia/GB fighting for Bronze, I feel they have X factor legs that Japan lack currently.
GB should be in the conversation. Guy/Scott are absolutely lethal, Milne is reliable as heck, and it’s easy to forget Grainger split 1:46.0 in 2017… not to mention Jarvis and Kurle, plus the youngster Tom Dean, who pulled his best time down from something like 1:54 to 1:47 in about a year.
Usa needs a 4th solid 1.45 mid here to back up Haas / Pieroni and Seliskar if they want to be really lethal as well
It’ll be interesting to see if they let Conger swim prelims, and just put Pieroni straight through to the final. I feel like out of Apple, Conger, Dwyer, and LeVant, there’s a good chance that one of them should be able to split sub-1:46.
For so long the Aussie 4X200 promised so much but delivered so little, lots of depth here & as you said X factor as well. Hopefully the 4×200 can deliver. Like every other relay women’s or men, the US is always dangerous due to their depth. the US & Russia also looks strong.
Nice swim by Winnington, hopefully can keep improving.
GB & Russia sorry.
Don’t count out Brazil after this SC world
Altamir and scheffer are 1:46 swimmers scheffer mighty be 1:45 with 1:44 splits
Breno is probably already on scheffer level if not faster
4th leg some guys can probably go such as Leo santos., lanza and 16 year old sartori went 50,03 1;48;91 and 3:52 on the same competition
USA/AUS/RUS are the big three for me on actual potential.
JPN have Matsumoto 1.45 , Ehara 1.46, Hagino can go 1.45 on his day. GBR have Scott & Guy both proven 1.44 legs – Jarvis, Grainger, Milne are proven 1.46 legs. Dean & Litchfield you have to suspect are capable of 1.46 legs too.
Not sure Brazil can hang with that just yet, but definitely a potential spoiler if theh find a big 4th leg.
Hungary will be good, too.
real WJR is Thorpe’s 1:45.3 or Izotov’s 1:43.9 in a super suit.
Amazing rising talent !!!