Ross Murdoch had a pretty good 2014 season. The 20 year old won the Commonwealth Games gold in the 200 breaststroke as well as a bronze in the 100 breaststroke on home soil in Glasgow. He then went on to win silver in both the 100 and 200 breaststroke at the European Championships in Berlin.
Murdoch saw a great deal of improvement during the season, with the most remarkable coming in the 200 breaststroke where he lowered his lifetime best by more than six seconds, going from a 2:13.62 to a 2:07.30, which was his winning time in Glasgow.
He set a new British record in the 200 breaststroke along with Scottish records in the 50 (27.28) and 100 breaststroke (59.33).
It has been hard for Murdoch to believe that the Commonwealth Games have come and gone since that is what he has had his sights on for the last two years, “For the last two years, all that has been on my mind has been the Commonwealth Games and now it’s gone,” Murdoch told The Herald.
“It’s very, very strange.”
Murdoch competed for the first time since the European Championships at the Singapore Swim Stars event, finishing sixth in the 100 breaststroke posting a time of 1:01.27.
He will now begin to focus on his two year journey towards the Rio Olympics where he will once again be shooting for the top of the podium.
He told The Herald that the 50 would take a backseat to the two breaststroke events he hopes to be competing for the Olympic gold, “The World Championships will be my benchmark meet for next year,” said Murdoch.”With the 50m breaststroke, I’m thinking at the moment that I’m probably not going to be swimming it in a major meet for the foreseeable future simply because for the next two seasons I’m going to be focusing on the Olympic Games.”
“You can’t actually swim the 50m at the Olympics so I think things will be focused around the 100m and looking at that to build the front end for my 200m. I’ll also be using the 200m so I have the back end of the 100m. They are going to compliment each other perfectly. The training plans that Ben and I have set out, we know it can work so it’s just about implementing that for the season ahead.”
Murdoch is currently ranked first in the world in the 200 breaststroke:
2014 LCM Men 200 Breast TYR World Ranking
MURDOCH
2.07.30
| 2 | Marco KOCH | GER | 2.07.47 | 08/21 |
| 3 | Dmitry BALANDIN | KAZ | 2.07.67 | 09/23 |
| 4 | Michael JAMIESON | GBR | 2.07.79 | 04/10 |
| 5 | Kevin CORDES | USA | 2.07.86 | 08/07 |
And fourth in the world in the 100 breaststroke:
2014 LCM Men 100 Breast TYR World Ranking
PEATY
58.68
| 2 | Christian SPRENGER | AUS | 58.87 | 04/03 |
| 3 | Cameron VAN DER BURGH | RSA | 59.28 | 07/24 |
| 4 | Ross MURDOCH | GBR | 59.33 | 08/18 |
| 5 | Giedrius TITENIS | LTU | 59.35 | 08/18 |
As his coach in the early years (pre 2013), the target was 2.07.5 in 2014 and 2.05.9 in 2016. Better walls will definitely make the difference to get there.
It will take sub 2.06 to win I think, especially if someone breaks 2.07 come 2015.
Koseki started as a freestyler and didn’t switch to breaststroke until sometime after 2010. He was inspired by Kitajima. If you look, you can’t even find results for him in the 200 from last year because he was primarily swimming 100s (He won the World University Games in the 100 and didn’t swim the 200), but as he’s gotten endurance, he’s gone from a 2:11 earlier this year down to a 2:08 during the Mare Nostrum series with the Asian Games yet to come. He’s still very raw in the 200 and every time he races, he’s getting faster. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him crack the world record in Busan just under two weeks from now.
A few points on Murdoch – He didn’t swim any 200s in 2011 so his drop at Olympic Trials (2.21.9-2.13.60) is not as dramatic as first glance suggests. His fastest time before 2012 was actually from 2010 – at 2.32 (His 2.21 was January of 2012)!! Moreover – his drop this year isn’t as clear cut as times suggest. His 100m best in 2012 was 62.2 – He Improved that to 59.8 in 2013 while he was actually slower in the 200m event that he was in 2012. His Improvements over 200m have been later than his 100m Improvements throughout his Junior career. On that basis, I suggest a 2.06 is in the works for Murdoch.
Something that had been… Read more »
Murdoch’s went 30.74 second 50 in Berlin. That the best at Berlin. .3 better than peaty.
In Glasgow his 4th lap was a 31.99. Correct me if I’m wrong the fastest competitive 4th lap ever.
Looking at his turns in Berlin vs Koch, he was .3 at least slower on all turns.
To win in rio will take a world record on the 100 and 200 breaststroke. Murdoch could win both!
Dropping from 2:13 to 2:07.3 in one year and he’s only 20! He’s got to be the favorite for gold in Rio
Koseki is the future of the 200 breast.
Wow, 4 guys under 2:08 WITHOUT Gyurta or the WR holder, with Koseki knocking on the door of a 2:07. there could be six or more guys going sub2:08 in Rio, and one or two going under 2:07.
Yamaguchi 2:07 was or a one-in-a-lifetime swim or he crumbled under pressure after he got the WR.. He is probably of all Textile Record Holders the one who is doing worse
honestly, I think cordes can go under 2:07, its ever so slight but if he picked up his tempo just a tiny bit, talkin fractions, I think he would run away with the race. his kick, and strength in total is amazing and I believe far better than anyone elses.
I think Cordes could maybe do it in a heat swim… not so much in a final if things stay as they are!
The question is Cordes delivering it when needed (Finals, not Heats) and how he will react when he see Gyurta Koch and Murdoch turning at the first 100 together or ahead..
Murdoch is the next breaststroke star. I think he has a good chance of sweeping the 50, 100, and 200 breast next year and gold in the 100 and 200 breast in Rio.
Murdoch will need to drop around 0,6 on 100 to get to Peaty.. doable.. the 50 will be harder, he will have to drop the same 0,6 to reach peaty… He has a bigger change on 100 than getting on 50..
His bigger chance in on 200, the smaller on 50. on 50 he may find it hard to medal.. he will need to improve his front speed
He is a medal shot on 200 for sure.. one of the few who can beat Gyurta.
On 100 he would not have an outside chance for medal but he will be in the mix by Kazan. He does not need to drop a lot of time to medal
On 50… Read more »
Ledecky dropped more
But at least Ledecky every year she improved her time and won World titles. Murdoch and Peaty? All of a sudden? Hmm.
yes but her events are 2-8 times longer, so you’d expect her theoretically to drop that much more. It’s not like she’s improved 42 seconds in the 1500 in one year