Peaty Downs 58.82 100 Breast For Dinner In Manchester

2021 MANCHESTER INT’L SWIM MEET

• Friday, February 12th – Sunday, February 14th
• Manchester, England, UK
• LCM (50m)
• Live Results
• Live Stream

Amidst ongoing national lockdowns due to the coronavirus, one swim meet within the nation of England got underway today. The 2021 Manchester International Swim Meet hosted by the City of Manchester Swim Club kicked off today, with just elite athletes able to take to the long course pool to shake off the competition cobwebs.

The approach to producing the meet is much akin to the International Swimming League (ISL) bubble in Budapest. British Swimming, Manchester City Council, GLL and The City of Manchester Swim Team (COMAST) have collaborated to ensure that traffic flow, athlete confinement outside of competition and social distancing rules are followed and guidelines are adhered to throughout the competition.

Wasting no time making his presence known among the limited field was World Championships medalist Luke Greenbank, with the Loughborough man punching a swift 1:56.33 to take the men’s 200m backstroke.

This morning he was the sole swimmer to get under 2:00, producing a time of 1:58.84 to land lane 4. Tonight, opening in 57.64 and closing in 58.69, Greenbank put up the 3rd fastest time of his career. He owns a lifetime best of 1:55.85 from the 2019 FINA World Championships when he claimed bronze. That outing rendered him as GBR’s 3rd fastest performer all-time, only behind James Goddard and Craig McNally.

In terms of this 2021 racing season, Greenbank’s 1:56.33 effort here now checks him in as the 4th fastest performer in the world.

Olympic champion and world record-holder Adam Peaty already was super quick in the men’s 100m breast, putting up a morning swim of 58.87. Tonight, the 26-year-old new dad sliced another .05 off of the outing to check-in with 58.82.

That result scorched the field, whose next closest competitor was represented by James Wilby in 1:00.15. The slightly quicker outing also let Peaty frog hop Russian Anton Chupkov to become the world’s 3rd fastest man this season.

Plymouth Leander’s Laura Stephens made waves in the women’s 200m fly tonight, capturing the meet title in a time of 2:08.88. Stephens’ own personal best rests at the 2:07.62 she notched at the 2020 Edinburgh International but this evening’s effort checks-in as her 4th fastest time ever.

Stephens’ performance tonight, which marked the only sub-2:10 time of the field, now renders her as the 10th fastest performer in the world this season.

James Guy nearly repeated his morning performance with his victory in the men’s 100m fly tonight. After posting 52.56 in the AM prelim to grab the pole position, the 2015 200m free world champion logged a final result of 52.46 to beat his peers.

Ed Mildred produced a new British Age Record of 52.91 en route to capturing silver behind Guy tonight. The Northampton swimmer’s result marked the first time he was under the 53-second threshold, beating out his previous lifetime swiftest of 53.04.

The men’s 50m free saw Matt Richards hit 23.06 in the men’s 50m free for gold while Marie Wattel topped the women’s race in 24.75. For Wattel, her outing here shaves .10 off of her previous career-best of 24.85, keeping her as France’s 5th swiftest 50m freestyler to date.

Additional Winners:

• Holly Hibbott topped the women’s 400m free event with her gold medal-worthy time of 4:11.97. That cleared the field by over 4 seconds, with the next-closest competitor Leah Crisp at the wall in 4:16.09. Of note, Abbie Wood scored the 2nd fastest time of the morning in 4:12.54 but opted out of the final.
• The women’s 50m back saw Georgia Davies fall just .04 shy of her morning performance, with the Energy Standard ISL ace posting a time of 28.56. Only .04 behind was Swedish swimmer Louise Hansson, getting it done in 28.60 to reap silver representing Loughborough.
• Molly Renshaw and Abbie Wood put on a show in the women’s 200m breast. You can read more about Renshaw’s record-matching performance here.