Ben Proud Puts Up 21.73 50 Free Marker On Day Two Of Edinburgh International

2025 EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL SWIM MEET

• Friday, March 14th – Sunday, March 16th
• Royal Commonwealth Pool, Edinburgh, Scotland
• LCM (50m)
• Meet Central
• SwimSwam Preview
• Start List
• Day 1 Recap
• Results
• Livestream

We saw day two of the 2025 Edinburgh International Swim Meet unfold, with the competition representing an in-season racing opportunity ahead of the all-important Aquatics GB Championships. That meet next month represents the sole qualifying meet for this summer’s World Championships in Singapore.

On the heels of his day one victory in the 100m back, Oliver Morgan delivered another impressive performance to take the 50m back sprint.

22-year-old Morgan of Birmingham turned in a time of 24.83, a result just .06 outside the mark of 24.77 he logged at last month’s BUCS Championships to rank 3rd in the world on the season.

Morgan was the sole contestant to register a sub-25-second performance here, with Bath’s Matthew Ward and Tomer Shuster of Israel grabbing the minor medals. The former hit 25.15 and the latter clocked 25.23.

Three-time Olympian Max Litchfield was also in the water, taking on his signature 400m IM event.

30-year-old Litchfield scored a solid in-season swim of 4:16.15 but it was a tight fight with University of Florida commit Charlie Hutchison.

Hutchison touched just over half a second behind after the pair were at each other’s hips the entire race. Hutchison posted 4:16.76 as the only other swimmer to delve under the 4:20 barrier. Jakub Bursa rounded out the podium in 4:22.78.

While Litchfield owns the British national record with his lifetime best of 4:08.85 from the 2024 Olympic Games, Hutchison’s time here was within range of his PB of 4:14.90 from last year’s Sette Colli Trophy.

The men’s 50m free field was stacked, led by Olympic medalist Ben Proud.

31-year-old Proud busted out a season-best 21.73 as the sole sub-22-second performer.

Ireland’s Tom Fannon was next to the wall in 22.05 while Norway’s Bjørnar Grytnes Laskerud captured bronze in 22.29, a new lifetime best.

There were several other top-tier swimmers among the pack, with Israeli Meiron Cheruti hitting 22.31 for 4th, Renzo Tjon-A-Joe (NED) registering 22.43 for 5th, and 200m free Olympic silver medalist Matt Richards producing 22.58 for 6th. Nyls Korstanje (NED) tied Richards for that position.

Proud’s 21.73 effort now checks him into slot #3 among the world’s best performers this season.

The 50m breast contest was one of the highlights on the women’s side, with the top 4 performers separated by just .22.

Belgian national record holder Florine Gaspard led the way posting 30.77 to get to the wall first.

Last night’s 100m breast victor, Angharad Evans of Scotland, put up a solid swim of 30.94 to just out-touch Anna Morgan of Edinburgh who captured bronze in 30.96. Teammate Kara Hanlon was also in the mix with her 4th place mark of 30.99,

Gaspard, who owns a PB of 30.53 from 2 years ago, now ranks 4th in the world.

Ireland’s big gun Ellen Walshe took on a tough double of the 400m IM and 100m fly, striking gold in both races.

Walshe registered a winning effort of 4:41.14 in the 4IM to beat the field by over 8 seconds. That’s a new season-best and inserts her into the world rankings as the 5th-fastest woman.

24-year-old Walshe’s time of 58.26 in the 1fly set her apart from the field by over half a second. The next-closest swimmer was Stirling’s Lucy Grieve who produced 58.98, just .01 ahead of Ciara Chlosshan‘s mark of 58.99.

Additional Winners

• Olympic medalist Daniel Wiffen clocked a time of 7:56.90 to win the men’s 800m free. His season-best remains at the 7:52.52 put up at last month’s BUCS Championshps.
• Versatile Olympian Duncan Scott turned in a time of 1:58.53 to top the men’s 200m fly podium. That beat Manchester’s Edward Mildred (1:59.05) and 4x200m free relay teammate James Guy (1:59.19).
• The men’s 100m breast saw Loughborough’s Greg Butler log 1:01.16 to win by nearly a second.
• Lauren Cox was too quick to catch in the women’s 50m back, with her effort of 27.67 holding off runner-up Roos Vanotterdijk of Belgium and Maaike De Waard of the Netherlands. The former reached the wall in 27.98 and the latter logged 28.05. Cox’s time of 27.60 from BUCS already rendered her #2 in the world this season.
• The women’s 800m free was Leah Crisp get the job done in a time of 8:39.25, a new personal best.
• World champion in the 400m IM, Freya Colbert stepped it up in the 200m free to secure the victory. Colbert put up a gold medal-worthy 1:57.82 (57.50/1:00.32). Abbie Wood earned silver in 1:58.03 and fellow Olympian Freya Anderson rounded out the podium in 1:58.87. Colbert’s outing was enough to make her the 5th-swiftest swimmer worldwide on the season.