British Mid-D Rising: Freya Anderson and Duncan Scott Take Out 200 Free Records

2020 INTERNATIONAL SWIMMING LEAGUE FINAL – DAY 2

The British Records in both the men’s and women’s 200 meter freestyles were both broken on Sunday in the final day of the 2020 International Swimming League grand final.

First, in the 200 free, Anderson swam a 1:51.87 to finish 2nd behind the Asian Record set by Siobhan Haughey (1:51.87). That broke her own British Record of 1:52.60 that she set earlier this season.

In total, throughout the 2020 ISL season, she has dropped her British Record of 1:52.77 from the 2019 European Championships by 9-tenths of a second.

Anderson Record Pre-Season Most Recent British Record
New British Record
50m 27.02 27.05 26.77
100m 29.24 (56.26) 28.97 (56.02) 28.48 (55.25)
150m 29.20 28.47 28.60
200m 27.31 (56.51) 28.11 (56.58) 28.02 (56.62)
Total Time 1:52.77 1:52.60 1:51.87

She had to go out faster than normal to have a chance of picking off Haughey, who has been among the standouts of the league all season, and she did that. She held on well – basically a flat split with her previous best time – and learned a lot about the endurance she has that should allow her to be freer on the front half as we head toward Tokyo.

Right after her swim, London Roar teammate Duncan Scott broke a British Record of his own in the men’s 200 free, taking the win in 1:40.25. That swim out-paced Townley Haas, who finished 2nd in a new American Record, and both swims were well ahead of Danas Rapsys, one of the best in the regular season but who got quiet in the finals.

Moving in lockstep toward Tokyo with Anderson, Scott’s pre-season best time, the old British and Scottish Records, was a 1:40.92 from last December’s European Championships, and then he set that record again during the ISL season in 1:40.76 during the semifinals.

Scott Record Pre-Season Most Recent British Record
New British Record
50m 23.69 23.83 23.51
100m 25.51 (49.20) 25.48 (49.31) 25.20 (48.71)
150m 25.76 25.73 25.65
200m 25.96 (51.72) 25.72 (51.45) 25.89 (51.54)
Total Time 1:40.92 1:40.76 1:40.25

The splits here tell an almost equal story as Anderson’s: he was more aggressive on the front-half than normal, held on to the back half, and came away with a new British Record. That’s not how he normally races – he was about mid-pack last year at the World Championships when he took bronze in the 200 free, for example.

Scott’s swim is the 5th-best performance in history, and he now has the #5 and #6 times ever. He’s the fastest man in the 200 free in short course meters over the last 5 years by more than half-a-second. The World Record sits at a 1:39.37 belonging to Paul Bieredmann.

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About Braden Keith

Braden Keith

Braden Keith is the Editor-in-Chief and a co-founder/co-owner of SwimSwam.com. He first got his feet wet by building The Swimmers' Circle beginning in January 2010, and now comes to SwimSwam to use that experience and help build a new leader in the sport of swimming. Aside from his life on the InterWet, …

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