Peaty Sends Warning To World With 58.74 Morning 1Breast In Glasgow

2016 BRITISH NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS/OLYMPIC TRIALS

• Tuesday, April 12th – Sunday, April 17th
• Tollcross International Swimming Center, Glasgow, Scotland
• Prelims at 10am local/6am EDT; Finals at 6:30pm local/1:30pm EDT
• British Swimming 2016 Olympic Games Selection Policy
• Live Streaming
• DRAFT Psych Sheet
• Start Lists/Results

MEN’S 400 FREESTYLE – HEATS

• British National Record – 3:43.75, James Guy (2015)
• British OLY Standard – 3:44.81/3:43.50

Reigning 200m freestyle World Champion James Guy nabbed the top seed in the morning heats of the 400m free event, racing to the wall in a time of 3:48.74, just .07 of a second ahead of Perth City’s Stephen Milne.

Guy wrangled in a silver medal in this event at the 2015 FINA World Championships, clocking a time of 3:43.75, the new British National Record. He’ll need to hit near that mark in addition to claiming 1st to be the on the Rio roster for GBR. As a refresher, the nation’s selection policy has set the 1st place qualifying time at a stiff 3:44.81, well ahead of the FINA A standard of 3:50.44.

Milne, the other swimmer earning  as sub-3:49 time this morning, looked at ease with his 3:48.81 outing. The 21-year-old’s best time sits at the 3:46.88 he registered at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, so he’ll need continue to step things up and have the swim of his life to get in the realm of what’s needed to go to the 2016 Olympics. Milne wound up 4th last year in 3:48.42, so he’s already well on track to exceeding that mark in Glasgow tonight.

Noticeably missing from the top 8 out of prelims is last year’s 3rd place finisher in the event. Warrander’s Dan Wallace earned the bronze last year in a time of 3:46.15, but this year he registered a 3:53.47 to find himself in 11th and out of the final.

Wallace holds the 4th-fastest British times ever in the event, with his mark of 3:46.11 from 2014, so the fact he was shut out of the final is a nod to how the entire field’s speed has progressed within the last year.

Top 8:

1. Guy, 3:48.74
2. Milne, 3:48.81
3. Shuttleworth, 3:49.11
4. Lelliott, 3:49.23
5. Litchfield, 3:49.67
6. Lloyd, 3:49.97
7. Grainger, 3:50.59
8. Hughes, 3:52.08

WOMEN’S 200 FREESTYLE – HEATS

• British National Record – 1:55.54, Joanne Jackson (2009)
• British OLY Standard – 1:55.88/1:55.06

A good sign from this morning’s heats of the women’s 200m freestyle is that the top 4 finishers all dipped beneath the 2:00 threshold already, which sets any one of them up nicely to hit the 1:55.88 qualifying mark.

Leeds swimmer Georgia Coates led the field with a mark of 1:59.09, while 800m freestyle World Championships bronze medalist Jazmin Carlin racked up a time of 1:59.33 for the 2nd seed.

Sheffield’s Eleanor Falkner and Glasgow’s Camilla Hattersley sit in the 3rd and 4th seeds with their morning times of 1:59.44 and 1:59.07, respectively.

Last year Carlin clinched the gold in a mark of 1:56.88, a time which sits an exact second over the British OLY standard of 1:55.88, while Siobhan-Marie O’Connor earned silver in 1:57.24. O’Connor opted out of the event this year, perhaps opening up a spot for the likes of young Georgina Boyle to make her move. 1:59.72 is Boyle’s career-best, so she’s already within eyesight after prelims, but will need to rip off a unbelievable effort to move all the way up to the top 3.

Top 8:

1. Coates, 1:59.09
2. Carlin, 1:59.33
3. Faulkner, 1:59.44
4. Hattersley, 1:59.97
5. Payne, 2:00.32
6. Turner, 2:00.74
7. Mitchell, 2:00.81
8. Boyle, 2:00.91

MEN’S 100 BREASTSTROKE – HEATS

• British National Record – 57.92, Adam Peaty (2015)
• British OLY Standard – 59.38/59.03

As expected by nature of his being the World Record Holder, Adam Peaty fired off his first world warning, stopping the clock at a mighty 58.74 this morning. Right off the bat that rockets the 21-year-old to the top of the world rankings, surpassing his South African rival, Cameron Van der Burgh.

Peaty split 27.39/31.35 to take the top seed over 2 University of Stirling studs hot on his heels. 2014 Commonwealth gold medalist in the 200m breast event, Ross Murdoch, took the 2nd seed in a time of 59.82, while teammate Craig Benson is right in the mix with his mark of 1:00.20.

With his time of 59.09 that garnered a bronze at last year’s World Championships, headed into this meet Murdoch owning Britain’s 2nd fastest 100m breaststroke mark of all time, so he’ll look to inch closer to the 59.03 consideration standard with his finals swim tonight.

Lurking as the 8th seed is Michael Jamieson, the 2012 Olympic Games silver medalist in the 200m breaststroke event. Although the longer distance is his forte, Jamieson at least has a lane and, therefore, a shot of stepping on the podium tonight. Although, he’ll need to drop some mega time in the span of just one race in order to do it.

Top 8:

1. Peaty, 58.74
2. Murdoch, 59.82
3. Benson, 1:00.20
4. Willis, 1:00.27
5. Wilby, 1:00.38
6. Attwood, 1:01.22
7. Tait, 1:01.84
8. Jamieson, 1:01.97

WOMEN’S 400 IM – HEATS

• British National Record – 4:31.33, Hannah Miley (2009)
• British OLY Standard – 4:35.46/4:31.15

Garioch’s Hannah Miley looks to defend her 400m IM national title from last year, an event she won in a time of 4:32.16 over Aimee Willmott (4:33.66).  The 2 find themselves as the top 2 seeds out of the morning, with Miley touching in 4:38.48 to Willmott’s 4:42.32.

After her 200m freestyle swim, Georgia Coates qualified for her 2nd final, claiming the 3rd seed here in 4:46.28. She finished in 4th last year (4:46.6), but a 200 free/400 IM is a tough double to soar all the way to the 4:35.46 Olympic standard tonight.

Willmott already had a strong outing earlier this season with the 4:34.82 time she clocked while competing at the Flanders Cup in January. That time ranks the 22-year-old as 3rd fastest in the world only behind IM aces Katinka Hosszu (Hungary) and Mireia Belmonte (Spain). The fact that Willmott already dipped beneath the British-dictated standard of 4:35.36 bodes well for the London Aquatics’ swimmer to help step up the entire field’s game tonight in to hopes of clinching 2 qualifiers to take on the world in Rio.

*Update since original publishing – Coates has reportedly scratched the 400m IM in order to focus on the 200m freestyle instead. As such, Peterboro’s Chloe Hannam is now the 8th seed (4:50.60).

Top 8:

1. Miley, 4:38.48
2. Willmott, 4:42.32
3. Coates, 4:46.28
4. Wood, 4:46.57
5. Hall, 4:47.21
6. McKenzie, 4:48.65
7. Rudin, 4:48.89
8. Dean, 4:49.10