Mens Backstroke – Commonwealth Games Preview – Mitchell Larkin Looking To Take Two

MEN’S BACKSTROKES – PREVIEW

• Commonwealth Games 2014. Glasgow, Scotland. July 24-August 2
• 50m back- Sunday July 27th
• 100m back – Friday July 25th
• 200m back – Monday July 28th
• Defending Commonwealth 50m back champion- Liam Tancock (England) 24.62
• Defending Commonwealth 100m back champion- Liam Tancock (Engand) 53.59
• Defending Commonwealth 200m back champion- James Gooddard (England) 1:55.58
• 50m back Commonwealth Games record- Liam Tancock (England) 24.62
• 100m back Commonwealth Games record- Liam Tancock (England) 53.59
• 200m back Commonwealth Games record- James Gooddard (England) 1:55.58

The men’s backstroke events at the Commonwealth Games will be a true battle between the Australians and the other talent in the field.

In all three backstroke events Australia is sending the top ranked Commonwealth swimmer; in the 50m backstroke the top two, in the 200m the top three.

With the current depth arising in Australian backstroke, a depth that they haven’t had for a while, the assumption can be made quickly that we’ll see a down-under sweep in those events; but truth be told there are a fair level of competitors who could very well destroy that image.

50m backstroke

In the 50m backstroke Australian Benjamin Treffers is currently the top ranked Commonwealth swimmer this year. That comes as no surprise after the 24.54 he threw down at Australian trials to break the Australian national record in the event. Currently in the world, Treffers is ranked third.

After that impressive time it’s easy to put Treffers in as the favorite in the event, but don’t overlook the current world record holder Liam Tancock. The English swimmer was just a 25.38 at British nationals earlier this year to currently rank him fifth out of all Commonwealth swimmers who will be competing at the games. Tancock has the definite experience to come home with a huge win here  and has shown so much speed over his career I’m putting him ahead of Treffers without a question.

I think Treffers will try to stay with him, but nobody in the final will back the raw speed that Tancock has which will ultimately win him the gold medal.

Christopher Walker-Hebborn is the man that could work it out so that England has two swimmer on the podium in this event. The 24-year-old is one of the few to show an example of his speed, actually swimming the best at last year’s World Championships in the 100m backstroke out of all swimmers who will be competing at Commonwealths in backstroke events. The 25.09 that he swam to give him the 12th spot in this year’s current world rankings is definitely way off the mark that is clearly achieavable by Tancock and Treffers. Walker-Hebborn will have to really fight if he wants to be in the mix, but my best bet is he falls back into a fight for the bronze.

The Australian’s have Mitchell Larkin on the team as well as Joshua Beaver, two swimmers who could be in the mix in this final. It isn’t for sure that they’re swimming this event considering Beaver placed third at trials, Larkin fourth, and second place finisher Bobby Hurley is not on the team.

My Picks:

1. Liam Tancock (England) PB 24.04 WR
2. Benjamin Treffers (Australia)PB 24.54
3. Christopher Walker-Hebborn (England) PB 25.09

100m backstroke

Due to it’s nature of being an Olympic event, there’s a lot more focus on the 100m backstroke than there is on the 50. All the main figures from the 50m backstroke will be in the 100m final, but throw in a few wild-cards and you’ve got yourself a pretty good race set up.

Mitchell Larkin has been on fire this season plain and simple. Currently he’s ranked fourth in the world for the 53.46 that he swam at Australian trials and first out of all Commonwealth swimmers. Larkin’s young; he just turned 21 a few days ago and is an incredible talent. Put him in the mix in the 100m backstroke and I garuntee he’s going to be fighting for that top spot. No doubt there are some better sprinters than him if you look at guys like Tancock and Treffers. Larkin’s raw speed just doesn’t compare but he is a wicked 200m backstroker which should give him some power in his legs to come home strong that last 50.

The sign that puts Larkin ahead of anybody else in this race for me is that he out-split the new Australian record holder in the 50m backstroke during the race at Australian trials in the 100. During that first 50, you could expect that Treffers should be ahead but he was about even with Larkin, Larkin having the slight lead. Larkin wasn’t able to pull away from Treffers during that last 50 as you’d expect, but he was able to swim a great consistant race as you’d expect from a 200m backstroker.

True, Treffers wasn’t far off from Larkin’s time at trials. Just 0.09 behind him, Treffers is currently ranked fifth in the world and second amongst Commonwealth swimmers in the 100 with his 53.55. If Treffers can use his speed to gain a lead during that first 50 and hold onto it, I’d say he can beat Larkin. It’s going to come down to race day to see which of these two will come out on top, but I’d say it’ll be either one or the other on the top of the podium.

Christopher Walker-Hebborn also posted a time this year int he same range of Treffers and Larkin. He swam a 53.82 at British nationals and could be the one to pass both Australians for the podium. No, I don’t think this will happen, but anyone who watches swimming knows that come race day anything is possible. Walker-Hebborn has shown significant speed, he’s fast, he’s talented, and he won’t be too far from home. The Australians will also have the double focus with Pan Pacs which might give Walker-Hebborn a chance to really shine.

If not Walker-Hebborn, Australia could be seeing three swimmers stand on the podium. Joshua Beaver swam a 53.84 at the Aussie trials, which is almost identical to the time Walker-Hebborn swam at British nationals. In the final at Aussie trials, Beaver was just behind the two leaders at the first 50 clocking in at 26.20 and kept fairly even the last 50. He was faster than Treffers coming home but will need to show a little more speed on that front half if he wants to be on the podium here in Glasgow.

Liam Tancock comes in as the wild-card in this event. Without competing at the 2013 World Championships he’ll be coming in a bit under the radar. This will be his first major international meet since the 2012 Olympic Games, and considering the fact that he hasn’t really posted any outstanding times leaves me to put him in the wild card position. Yes, he’s the most experienced backstroker in the field. Yes, he has tons of speed. Yes, he’s the world record holder in the 50, but there’s just so much young talent right now that Tancock might not be able to break into that top three. He’s only been a 54.54 this year, nothing spectacular. He hasn’t been fast but his heightened experience over the field slots him in as the wild card.

Another swimmer in the field will be New Zealand’s Corey Main. Main is a swimmer from the University of Florida and had a pretty good season there to say the least. Main swam a 54.47 at the New Zealand nationals and is currently ranked 34th in the world this year. A medal position might be a little far-fetched for Main considering the Australian and English talent in this race, but put him in this mix and we should see something good.

My picks:

1. Mitchell Larkin (Australia) PB 53.46
2. Benjamin Treffers (Australia) PB 53.55
3. Joshua Beaver (Australia) PB 53.84
4. Liam Tancock (England) PB 52.73
5. Christopher Walker-Hebborn (England) PB 53.38
6. Corey Main (New Zealand) PB 54.47

200m backstroke

The 200m backstroke could give Australian Mitchell Larkin his second gold of the competition if he’s able to win the 100 three days beforehand. In the 100, there are a few swimmers that could overthrow Larkin for the upset, but in the 200 it looks as though it’s his race.

Larkin blasted a 1:55.26 at Australian trials earlier this year to break the Commonwealth record. Going in as the fastest-ever Commonwealth swimmer in the event has to give him some confidence. He’s over a second faster than second place Commonwealth qualifier Matson Lawson from Australia who came second to Larkin at trials with a 1:56.35.

If Larkin can swim a time similar or faster to what he posted in April it’ll be his race to lose.

Lawson, the second Australian in the event, will have some competition from fellow countryman Joshua Beaver. Beaver has displayed speed in the 50, speed in the 100, and was a 1:56.83 at Australian trials to finish third behind Lawson.

Chad Le Clos comes in as the wild card in this race. He’s not usually known for his backstroke being a fly swimmer and all, but he’s shown us that he can properly pace a 200 swim wether it be backstroke or not. Le Clos swam a 1:57.93 earlier this year which ranked him fourth amongst swimmers who will be competing in Glasgow. Le Clos has international experience, although not in this event, he is an Olympic gold medallist in an individual event. When it comes down to it, this man can race, and he doesn’t care who he’s racing. Put him up against the three top ranked Aussies and he’ll battle it out to the end. He’s not going to believe that he’ll lose the race unless he physically sees his name below one of theirs on the scoreboard. I’d say Le Clos can medal, but I wouldn’t throw him in there as contention for the gold considering also that he’s got a pretty hefty program to swim.

Other than these four, the rest of the swimmers competing haven’t posted times that show they’ll be able to challenge for a podium position. Craig McNally from Scotland is ranked behind Le Clos with the 1:58.87 he swam at Scotish nationals. He’ll have the home-crowd advantage which might give him the race of his life to compete for a medal considering his best time in the event is a 1:55.67.

Canadian Russell Wood will likely be neck-and-neck with McNally. Wood swam a 1:59.50 this year at Canadian trials and has had a fantastic season in short course meters. Wood got the backstroke sweep at the CIS Championships in February, but much like McNally has not swam anything that suggests he’ll be in medal contention.

My picks

1. Mitchell Larkin (Australia) PB 1:55.26
2. Matson Lawson (Australia) PB 1:56.35
3. Chad Le Clos (South Africa) PB 1:57.93
4. Craig McNally (Scotland) PB 1:55.67
5. Joshua Beaver (Australia) PB 1:56.83
6. Russell Wood (Canada)PB 1:59.50