Hibbott, O’Connor Opt Out of Prelims for Day 2 of British Champs

2019 BRITISH SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS

Heading into day 2 prelims of the British Championships, 200 free runner-up Holly Hibbott and versatile Siobhan-Marie O’Connor scratched out of their respective races.

Hibbott, after missing the 200 free title by 0.01s to Freya Anderson, will not be swimming the 800 free, where she was the top seed by 10 seconds (8:29.05). Her seed time is well under the FINA “A” time standard of 8:38.56. Second place seed Polly Holden still remains absent from the meet as she also did not swim the 200 free on Monday. Taking the top spot in the 800 free now is Danielle Huskisson (8:46.20).

O’Connor, on the other hand, looks to be saving up for her more signature races. O’Connor scratched out of the 200 breast, where she was seeded 4th. Later in the meet, O’Connor is the 2nd seed in the 100 free and the top seed in the 100 breast and 200 IM. At some point in time, O’Connor has earned British titles in those 3 events.

Other scratches include Ryan Brown (men’s 200 free) and men’s 50 breast seeds James Lewis and Oliver Crosby, who also remain absent from the meet after opting out of the 100 breast on Monday.

Day 2 Races to Watch:

  • Sprint breaststroke-stud Adam Peaty will aim for his 5th 50 breast British title on Tuesday. Peaty comes in with a seed time of 26.09, just 0.14s off his World and British record of 25.95 from 2017 Budapest Worlds. Ross Murdoch narrowly leads the race for second, coming in as the 2nd-fastest British performer in the event (27.27).
  • In the women’s 50 fly, Harriet Jones will have to fend off Emily Barclay to defend her 2018 title. Jones is seeded first with a 26.79, just 0.16s off her Welsh national record of 26.63.
  • Multi-time British champion James Guy is seeded first in the men’s 200 fly with a 1:56.13, two seconds ahead of his nearest foe and two-tenths off his LTB of 1:55.91.
  • Georgia Davies is the only sub-1:00 woman in the 100 back seeds. Her top seed of 59.36 is 0.02s off her Welsh national record of 59.34, set back at the 2017 British Championships in Sheffield.
  • Four of the top-10 fastest Brits in the men’s 100 back will collide on Tuesday, including top seed Luke Greenbank, Nicholas PyleXavier Castelli, and Craig McNally. Also in the mix are fourth sub-55 seed Brodie Williams and 50 back champion Thomas Howdle.
  • Molly Renshaw leads the women’s 200 breast with a 2:23.28, nearly a second off her 2016 Rio Olympic time of 2:22.33.

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nuotofan
4 years ago

Yesterday I thought it was a typo, but now..
Why Hibbett? Hibbott, Holly Hibbott.
Womens 800 free field really poor, with also the absence of Polly Holden.
And for many years GB had Carlin (not to cite Adlington or Jackson). Time for youngsters to step up (yesterday good performance by Freya Colbert in the 400 Im)
Interesting to see the different situation in Canadian Swimming with a lot of very young swimmers (O’Croinin, Bellio, McIntosh) already on the scene.
Ben Titley, British Coach, has been successful in Canada.

About Nick Pecoraro

Nick Pecoraro

Nick has had the passion for swimming since his first dive in the water in middle school, immediately falling for breaststroke. Nick had expanded to IM events in his late teens, helping foster a short, but memorable NCAA Div III swim experience at Calvin University. While working on his B.A. …

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