Wiffen Wins 400 Free To Close Out 2024 BUCS LC Championships

2024 BUCS LONG COURSE CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Friday, February 23rd – Sunday, February 25th
• Ponds Forge International Swimming Center, Sheffield, England
• LCM (50m)
• Meet Central
• Draft Entries
• Results

The 2024 British Universities & Colleges (BUCS) Long Course Championships wrapped up last night in Sheffield with additional meet records biting the dust.

One of them fell at the hands of 25-year-old Conor Ferguson while racing in the men’s 50m back event

The Loughborough swimmer sped his way to a time of 24.72 to out-touch the 100m/200m backstroke winner here, Oliver Morgan. Morgan settled for silver just .01 back in 24.73 as the only other swimmer in the field to get under the 25-second barrier.

For Ferguson, his outing was a new lifetime best, overtaking his previous PB of 24.81 notched at the 2020 European Championships. That event was held in 2021 due to a COVID-19 pandemic-related postponement.

However, Morgan did some damage as anchor as lead-off on Birmingham’s 4th-place finishing men’s 4x100m medley relay.

Morgan produced a back time of 53.33, a mark just .02 outside the 53.31 clocked earlier in the competition for gold in the individual race.

Newly minted double world champion Daniel Wiffen was also in the water, taking on the 400m freestyle.

After already winning the 800m and 1500m distances, mimicking his results in Doha, Wiffen of Loughborough completed the trifecta with a time of 3:49.66 in the 4free.

That was enough to touch ahead of Felix Auboeck who clocked 3:52.44 while Tyler Melbourne-Smith rounded out the podium in 3:52.78.

Wiffen put up a time of 3:46.65 to place 7th in the 400m free in Doha.

World Championships finalist Kornelia Fiedkiewicz of Loughborough added another piece of hardware to her bag by topping the women’s 50m free podium.

Fiedkiewicz, who represents Poland internationally, stopped the clock in 24.74 to get to the wall well ahead of the field. She marked the sole competitor under the 26-second barrier in the race.

This effort was just a fingernail away from the 24.69 turned in during the Doha final to finish in 7th place there.

Reigning 400m IM world champion Freya Colbert earned the victory in the women’s 400m free, adding the medal to her earlier 400m IM win.

Colbert punched a time of 4:13.34. Although that earned the gold, she was well off her personal best of 4:06.80 from last year’s British championships. That career-quickest outing rendered her GBR’s 6th-fastest performer in history.

Additional Notes

• Scottish national record holder Keanna MacInnes got it done for gold in the women’s 200m fly, hitting 2:09.91 for her Stirling squad.
• Bath earned points in the men’s 200m fly, courtesy of Josh Gammon who grabbed gold in 2:00.27
• David Cumberlidge of Edinburgh reigned supreme in the men’s 50m free, registering 22.49 as the gold medalist.
• Teammate Kara Hanlon boasted a time of 2:26.44 to win the women’s 200m breast while Loughborough’s Greg Butler scored 2:10.95 to take the men’s edition by over 4 seconds.
• The women’s 50m back saw Lauren Cox post 28.12 to take the race by over a second.
• Olympian James Wilby swam as a guest in the heats of the men’s 200m breast, putting up a time of 2:11.98.
• For Stirling, Angharad Evans logged another impressive breaststroke split, this time on the gold medal-winning 4x100m medley. She hit 1:06.44 to follow-up her individual 100m breast winning effort of 1:06.65.