British teenager James Guy has arrived. After earlier winning silver in the men’s 400 free, Guy swam a second British Record and won gold in the men’s 200 free on Tuesday at the 2015 FINA World Aquatics Championships.
Guy touched in 1:45.14, which breaks Robbie Renwick’s 2009 record of 1:45.99 by almost a second.
The time won’t actually make Guy the world leader – Australian Thomas Fraser-Holmes, not swimming in this final, still leads that category with a 1:45.08 – and Guy’s winning time was much slower than the 1:44.20 that won the race for Agnel in 2013. Overall, with no Park Tae-Hwan, no Agnel, and no Fraser-Holmes, this was a bit of a loose final, but it’s still a major step forward for the young Guy.
His previous best time was a 1:46.32 from April’s British Trials, and it was his aggressiveness on the front-half that carried him forward – Guy was the first swimmer to the midpoint turn with a 50.99 split, as compared to a 51.93 in his old personal-best swim. That willingness on the front-half has become his calling card, as he led the first 300 meters of the 400 as well.
With the Americans left in uncertain straits in this championship, and Guy swimming well, the Brits are gaining steam toward some hope of a possible 800 free relay upset later in this meet.
British Swimming has now seen 31 national records broken between 2014 and 2015. While the country had hoped for a better Olympic performance in front of a home crowd in 2012, their post-Games review and overhaul is paying dividends with a young, talented team heading toward Rio next year.
James Guy is in pole position for Rio. He looks like he can dip below 1:44 next year. The rest of the contenders are past their best, or off the juice.