Disclaimer: BlueSeventy Swim of the Week is not meant to be a conclusive selection of the best overall swim of the week, but rather one Featured Swim to be explored in deeper detail. The BlueSeventy Swim is an opportunity to take a closer look at the context of one of the many fast swims this week, perhaps a swim that slipped through the cracks as others grabbed the headlines, or a race we didn’t get to examine as closely in the flood of weekly meets.
We are 5 stops into the 8-part 2015 World Cup Series, and there has been no shortage of surprises thus far. The versatile Chad le Clos, defending series champ, has been passed up in the points by his countryman Cameron van der Burgh, a one-stroke specialist. We’ve even had one entire night of the tour canceled due to air quality concerns amidst haze.
But if there’s been one thing you can count on at every World Cup stop, it’s been this: Emily Seebohm will go 58 in the 100 back.
The Australian is all but unbeatable at the moment, and is showing remarkable consistency no matter what city she happens to be competing in.
Here’s a look at just how consistent Seebohm has been over the past two months or so, beginning with her gold-medal time from Worlds and continuing through the World Cup circuit:
Emily Seebohm – 100 Back
| Meet | Time |
| World Championships | 58.26 |
| Moscow | 58.88 |
| Paris | 58.91 |
| Hong Kong | 58.88 |
| Beijing | 58.59 |
| Singapore | 58.72 |
With only 4 women all year putting up a sub-59 in the event, it’s all the more impressive that Seebohm has been able to do it basically at will. She hasn’t even been challenged in the event on the World Cup series yet – only Katinka Hosszu has even broken a minute racing Seebohm at a World Cup meet so far.
It’s unlikely Seebohm has the range to catch Hosszu in the overall points, but Seebohm isn’t a swimmer who emphasizes her range as much as Hosszu does. For Seebohm, this year is all about momentum – maintaining as much of it as possible heading into the 2016 Rio Olympics, where she’ll take on defending Olympic champ Missy Franklin in what Seebohm hopes will be a revenge match for 2012, where Franklin eked out gold over the Aussie.
Based on what we’ve seen so far this season, Seebohm’s momentum is only growing.
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I gotta say, even if Franklin hadn’t missed a half year of optimal training due to injury, I still highly doubt she would be putting up 6 58’s at this point in the season. Seebohm is the heavy favorite for gold in the hundred back in Rio at this point in the game, and judging from Franklins progress, so far she will be battling for a medal with a handful of others. Then again, a lot can happen in 10 months, so it will be interesting how the battle towards Rio in this event this plays out.