Mitch Larkin Set To Race At Aussie Olympic Trials As Updated Psych Sheets Released

2024 AUSTRALIAN OLYMPIC TRIALS

After he was a surprising omission from the initial psych sheets, backstroking veteran Mitch Larkin will indeed race at next week’s Australian Olympic Trials.

Larkin was absent from the originally released entry lists in late May, but reports indicated he would still be racing at the meet scheduled for June 10-15 in Brisbane.

That proves to be the case as the 30-year-old is entered in the men’s 100 and 200 back at the Trials as Swimming Australia has published an updated psych sheet.

A three-time Olympian, Larkin is the #8 seed in both the 100 back (55.01) and 200 back (2:00.08), having raced sparsely over the last 18 months, notably taking nearly a year off from competition after the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

Training out of the Chandler Swim Club, Larkin was in action on the 2023 World Cup circuit, with his fastest times coming in at 55.01 in the 100 back and 2:01.00 in the 200 back. Most recently, he went 55.50/2:00.44 at the Australian Open Championships in April.

After making his Olympic debut in London, qualifying for the final of the men’s 200 back and placing 8th, Larkin won two medals at the 2016 Games in Rio, claiming silver in the 200 back and bronze in the men’s 400 medley relay.

That came after he was on career-best form in 2015, winning double backstroke gold at the World Championships in Kazan. In November 2015, he set what remains the Australian and Commonwealth Records in the 100 back (52.11) and 200 back (1:53.17) at the World Cup stop in Dubai, and then a few weeks later he set the world record in the SCM 200 back (1:45.63) which still stands today.

At the Tokyo Olympics, Larkin placed 7th in the 100 back (52.79) and 10th in the 200 IM (1:57.80).

The updated psych sheets showed no lineup changes for the marquee names already entered in the event.

The competition will run June 10-15 at the Brisbane Aquatic Center.

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Oceanian
5 months ago

This is the last Swim/Swam story to include ‘Mitch Larkin’ in the title until the ‘Mitch Larkin announces his retirement’ article which can only be a couple of months away.

Laps
Reply to  Oceanian
5 months ago

Months might be generous. Could be after trials if he misses the team.

Personal Best
Reply to  Oceanian
5 months ago

Mmm… not sure how to react. Both ‘Ooof, that’s harsh’ and ‘lol’ could both work here. Maybe just a contained chuckle.

felix
5 months ago

give up Mitch

Verram
5 months ago

I love Mitch but I just don’t know about Paris .. I’m thinking trials might be his swan song

Meow
5 months ago

Alphabetical order is such a weird choice for psych sheets.

felix
Reply to  Meow
5 months ago

bloody annoying…..

Miss M
Reply to  Meow
5 months ago

It makes it very easy for coaches to check whether or not their athletes are properly registered.

Oceanian
Reply to  Meow
5 months ago

Troyy likes them that way. So that matters 😉

Oceanian
Reply to  Oceanian
5 months ago

Oh what was I thinking? He likes them ordered in seeded times – like all of us prefer.

Skip
Reply to  Meow
5 months ago

The program is out now

Andy
5 months ago

Larkin’s 1:53.17 remains the second fastest textile swim ever, only behind Lochte.

That same year, Larkin also swam a 1:53.34, 1:53.58, 1:53.72, and 1:53.80

Has anyone besides Rylov been swimming 1:53s since 2017? Lately 1:54 has been good enough to win worlds and 1:55s have been winning medals

Larkin swimming the 200IM instead of sticking with the 200back (IMO the weakest event in men’s or women’s swimming) was the dumbest decision of his career.

To give you an idea of how slow 200back is today, Michael Phelps swam a 1:54.67 in 2007. Milak has swum almost 2s faster than Phelps best textile 200fly (his signature event) but Phelps’ 200back which he never competed in internationally wouldn’t be… Read more »

Mike
Reply to  Andy
5 months ago

At the time it made sense with Rylov and Murphy being the fastest at the time and a relative weak field in the 200 IM having 1:56 winning times at certain meets before Marchand and Wang Shun swimming 1:54s

Andy
Reply to  Mike
5 months ago

You’re right. He had fast times domestically in the 200IM but could never back up at the big meets

He swam 1:55.72 in 2019 trials only to swim 1:57.32 at worlds, 1:56.32 at 2020 Queensland Champs, 1:56.29 at 2021 trials only to swim 1:57.80 in Tokyo

On the other hand, he swam an in season 1:54.38 200back in April 2021 which would have easily medalled in Tokyo (whereas he would have had to swim his second fastest ever 200IM just to win bronze behind Wang and Duncan Scott)

Emily Se-Bom Lee
Reply to  Andy
5 months ago

the exception being his australian record set at 2018 pan pacs, in a field with kalisz, hagino and seto

Last edited 5 months ago by Emily Se-Bom Lee
Andrew
Reply to  Andy
5 months ago

i’ll never understand how and why 2 back is so slow atm. 2 back does NOT hurt more than 2 fly. Look at men’s 2 back vs 2 fly times. Uncomparable at the top and depth even if you omit Milak. It’s so sad to see such a promising event go backwards in the past 15 years.

Irie 1:54.1 in 2011
Peirsol 1:54.95 20 YEARS AGO
MP 1:54.67 2007 when that’s his 17th event
Lochte 1:52.9 in 2011

Times from 12+ years ago and the best 200 backstrokers can’t even sniff Lochte’s textile WR. Excluding Larkin in 2015, this event has been frustratingly stagnant.

John26
Reply to  Andrew
5 months ago

These things happen in waves.

If it weren’t for Sun Yang, we would’ve seen 1:45 win gold in 200free for 6 straight years 2015- 2019

Chris
Reply to  Andy
5 months ago

Has anyone besides Rylov been swimming 1:53s since 2017?

Yes, Xu Jiayu won the 2018 Asian Games in 1:53.99 (which remains China’s national record).

Andrew
Reply to  Chris
5 months ago

Xu is unfortunately washed but he was a beast in 2018-2019

RealCrocker5040
5 months ago

2015 Mitch Larkin was something else lmao

Andrew
Reply to  RealCrocker5040
5 months ago

casuals also forget that was the year my glorious savior Jimmy Guy cooked Biederfraud in the 2 free to get his first individual gold LCM medal. Also sexy King Flo dominating the 50 free, wow that was a good year

Derp
Reply to  Andrew
5 months ago

Ok gatekeeper

Yoo
Reply to  Andrew
5 months ago

Before they both choked in Rio…

Andy
Reply to  Yoo
5 months ago

To be fair to Larkin, he still swam a 1:53 to get silver. Murphy just happened to have his all time best swim to get the gold

NO ONE other than Rylov has swum faster than Larkin’s rio time since 2016

RealCrocker5040
Reply to  Andy
5 months ago

WRONG

Murphy was 1:53.5 at the 2018 Pan Pacs

Joel
Reply to  Yoo
5 months ago

Choked? Geeez you are ridiculous.

BairnOwl
5 months ago

Larkin dropped the 200 back in favor of the 200 IM for Tokyo. Seems like the IM never worked out for him on the international stage.

Chris
Reply to  BairnOwl
5 months ago

He won bronze for the event in the 2019 world champs, but his best event is arguably 200m back.

Chris
Reply to  Chris
5 months ago

Sorry. It was the 100 back that he won bronze.

torchbearer
Reply to  BairnOwl
5 months ago

For what it is worth, he won the 200IM at the 2018 Comm Games…

About James Sutherland

James Sutherland

James swam five years at Laurentian University in Sudbury, Ontario, specializing in the 200 free, back and IM. He finished up his collegiate swimming career in 2018, graduating with a bachelor's degree in economics. In 2019 he completed his graduate degree in sports journalism. Prior to going to Laurentian, James swam …

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