Without Proud and Scott, Britain Misses Final in Men’s 400 Free Relay

2018 LEN EUROPEAN AQUATICS CHAMPIONSHIPS

• August 3-9, 2018 (swimming portion)
• Glasgow, Scotland
• Tollcross International Swimming Centre
• Meet Central
• Program
• Psych Sheet
• Live Results

The pool is getting deeper in Europe, and Great Britain learned that the hard way on Friday morning at the 2018 European Aquatics Championships in Glasgow. In front of a home crowd in Glasgow, the British men sloughed the 400 free relay and missed the final, finishing just 10th in the heats. Also failing to  advance was France – though they used their best swimmer, Mehdy Metella, on the anchor, and in spite of having the second-fastest split of the field in 48.2, it wasn’t enough for France to advance.

Britain’s relay, and splits:

• Calum Jarvis – 49.68
• Craig McLean – 49.41
• David Cumberlidge – 49.83
• James Guy – 48.39
• Time: 3:17.31
• Time to Qualify: 3:16.88

At the Commonwealth Games, Scotland on its own was able to go 4:16.53 in prelims of the 400 free relay. In that same relay, David Cumberlidge, swimming for England, led-off in a new lifetime best of 49.08. That actually makes him the second-fastest British swimmer on a flat start this season, so his inclusion wasn’t necessarily intended to be a softening of the relay. He was 8-tenths slower than that in prelims on Friday, even on a rolling start.

McLean was 6-tenths slower than he was in the morning at the Commonwealth Games. The Welshman Jarvis has been under 49 in his career, but not since 2015 – his 49.68 on Friday was right on his season-best, though still well short of his lifetime best.

So, while Britain had a decent relay put together on paper, including James Guy who was right on his Commonwealth Games split to anchor (48.39 vs. 48.34 on the Gold Coast), they had opportunities at every position of this relay to make a change for the better. That includes by putting either Duncan Scott (who split 47.62 rolling in Australia) or Ben Proud (who split 47.93 rolling in Australia) on the relay.

Britain has a mountain of other less-obvious swimmers who have relay-split 48 in this race as well. David Thompson, Stephen Milne, and Scott McLay all did so at the Commonwealth Games. Thompson and McLay aren’t even on the British roster.

Great Britain didn’t swim this relay at last year’s World Championships, where they took gold in the 800 and silver in the 400 medley relay. They haven’t raced the event at LC Euros since 2010.

The miss delays the start of the meet for Britain’s top male swimmers Duncan Scott (until Saturday in the 100 free) and Ben Proud (until Monday in the 50 fly).