Yui Ohashi Throws Down 4:32.57 400 IM At QLD C’shps

2019 QUEENSLAND CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Saturday, December 14th – Friday, December 20th
• 12/14 – relays only; 12/18 – 12/20 age-groupers
• Brisbane Aquatic Center
• LCM
• Meet Site/Entry List
• SwimSwam Preview
• Day 1 (Relays) Recap
• Live Results

In addition to the powerful 2:07.28 200m breaststroke performance from Zac Stubblety-Cook, fellow Australians and beyond got some solid racing underway on the first non-relay finals session of the 2019 Queensland Championships.

For the aforementioned Stubblety-Cook, the 20-year-old Chandler swimmer’s time checked in not only as a new lifetime best but also recorded a new Queensland state and Queensland All-Comers standard. The man also moved from sitting 11th on the all-time performers’ list to now #7. You can read more about his swim here.

The women’s edition of the 200m breast saw 22-year-old Jenna Strauch get it done for gold. The Bond athlete stopped the clock in a time of 2:25.31 to just out-touch a charging Japanese competitor in Reona Aoki.

Aoki led through the first 100m, clocking an opening split of 1:09.33 to Strauch’s 1:09.97, but couldn’t maintain the speed through the back half. Aoki wound up touching in 2:25.46, indicative of the fact the Japanese squad is competing in the midst of a training camp.

Freestyle ace and open water competitor Kiah Melverton produced the 2nd best time of her career to top the women’s 200m free podium in Brisbane tonight. She led the field in a result of 1:58.57, marking just the 2nd occasion she’s ever been under 1:59. Her personal best rests at the 1:58.48 notched this past June at the Aussie World Championships Trials.

The men’s 200m free saw NY Breakers member Jack McLoughlin get to the wall first. The 24-year-old notched a winning effort of 1:47.63. That’s a solid performance for McLoughlin, with his time tonight checking in among the top 5 swims of his career.

McLoughlin led World Championships finalist in the event, Clyde Lewis, with Lewis earning silver in 1:48.01 after firing off the fastest front half of the field in 51.26. Rackley’s Louis Townsend rounded out the top 3 with a mark of 1:48.99.

The 18-year-old 200m backstroke silver medalist from Gwangju, Kaylee McKeown, topped the women’s 100m backstroke podium tonight with ferocity. The teen knocked down a time of 59.29, coming with .19 of her own personal best of 59.10 notched this summer at the World Championships

Splitting 29.19/30.10, McKeown’s time tonight represents the 5th fastest performance of her young career and would have finished in 6th place at the aforementioned World Championships.

World Junior Championships swimmer Thomas Neill nailed a big-time personal best in the men’s 100m back to take the boys’ 17-year-old title. Entering with a PB of 58.76, he lowered that to a time of 57.41 in the heats before crushing a time of 56.96 to take the age group gold.

Japanese IM queen Yui Ohashi did major damage in the 400m IM this evening, clocking a victorious effort of 4:32.57. That beat the next closest competitor, McKeown, by over 6 seconds, with the Aussie finishing with the silver in 4:38.69.

For Ohashi, her outing here in Brisbane sits just .24 outside the 4:32.33 she registered in Gwangju to take World Championships bronze. McKeown’s effort actually checks in as a new personal best for the teen, overtaking the 4:39.14 registered at the 2018 Commonwealth Games Trials.

The men’s open 400m IM was also won by a non-Aussie, as World Championships bronze medalist Lews Clareburt of New Zealand took the gold in 4:13.41.

Additional Notes:

• 15-year-old Mollie O’Callaghan finished in 4th in the women’s open 100m back final, logging a mark of 1:02.10. She owns a personal best of 1:00.27 from this summer’s World Championships where she finished 4th.
• All Saints’ Thomas Hauck earned the 400m IM state title for his age, with the 16-year-old clocking a time of 4:23.16, the 4th fastest of his young career.
• The men’s open 100m back saw Tristan Hollard get it done in a time of 55.00, with visiting Kiwi athlete Andrew Jeffcoat right behind in 55.27.