Daniel Wiffen Nabs 1500 Free Victory For Loughborough On Day 1 Of BUCS

2023 BRITISH UNIVERSITIES & COLLEGES (BUCS) SC CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Friday, November 17th – Sunday, November 19th
• Ponds Forge International Swimming Centre, Sheffield, England
• Meet Central
• SwimSwam Preview
• Draft Entries
• Live Results
• Livestream

The 2023 British Universities & Colleges (BUCS) Short Course Championships got underway from Sheffield tonight with already one national record biting the dust.

We reported how Fleur Lewis of Loughborough got the job done for gold in a new lifetime best and British record of 15;46.15. Her outing represented the 19-year-old’s first-ever performance to go under the 16:00 barrier. You can read more about Lewis’ achievement here.

European record holder Daniel Wiffen was also in the water, taking on the men’s edition of the 1500m freestyle. The World Championships finalist stopped the clock in a result of 14:20.75, beating his twin brother Nathaniel Wiffen by over 20 seconds.

N. Wiffen finished in 14:48.69 while Tyler Melbourne-Smith, also of Loughborough, landed on the podium in 14:52.80 for bronze.

As for D. Wiffen, the 22-year-old’s performance this evening represents 2nd-best result of his career. The Irishman owns a career-quickest time of 14:14.45 notched at the 2022 Scottish Short Course National meet. For additional perspective, Wiffen’s time this evening would have bagged the bronze at the 2021 European Short Course Championships.

British national champion the 400m IM Freya Colbert was also in the water this evening, trying the 200m free on for size. The Loughborough racer notched a winning effort of 1:54.27 to clear the competition decisively, beating the next-closest competitor by nearly 3 seconds.

Colbert entered this competition with a personal best of 1:55.46 from last year; however, her performance this evening rockets her up the all-time British rankings to now hold slot #6.

Additional Winners

• Edinburgh’s Archie Goodburn nabbed gold in the men’s 100m IM in a mark of 54.55.
• Katie Shanahan of Stirling scored a new BUCS record of 59.78 en route to gold in the women’s 100m IM.