2016 Australian Championships: Day 4 Prelims Live Recap

2016 HANCOCK PROSPECTING AUSTRALIAN CHAMPIONSHIPS (AUSTRALIAN OLYMPIC TRIALS)

• Thursday April 7th-Thursday April 14th
• SA Aquatic and Leisure Centre – Adelaide
• Prelims – 11 am local (9:30 pm EDT previous evening); Finals – 7:45 pm local (6:15 am EDT)
• Australian Olympic Qualifying Criteria
• Psych Sheets
• Program of Events
• Live stream
• Live results

Men’s 100 Free – Prelims

The first event to go off was perhaps the race of the night, with some of Australia’s biggest names battling it out in the 100 free. It was 17-year-old phenom Kyle Chalmers who led prelims, going 48.61 to almost top his previous best time, put up while winning the junior world title last summer.

Defending national champ Cameron McEvoy sits second in 48.75, while veteran James Magnussen is 48.77 for third. McEvoy won silver at last year’s World Championships, while Magnussen sat the meet out after surgery.

All three should be relatively likely legs of the Australian 4×100 free relay, with solid competition brewing over the final spot. At this point, Kenneth To sits fourth in 49.12, with Tommaso D’Orsogna (49.24) and Will Stockwell (49.32) just behind.

Also into semifinals: James Roberts (49.51, 9th), who swam with McEvoy, D’Orsogna and Magnussen on this relay at the London Olympics and Matt Abood (49.93, 14th), who had the team’s second-best split behind Chalmers in Kazan last summer.

Top 8:

1. Chalmers – 48.61
2. McEvoy – 48.75
3. Magnussen – 48.77
4. To – 49.12
5. D’Orsogna – 49.24
6. Stockwell – 49.32
7. Copeland – 49.41
8. Smith – 49.47

Women’s 200 Fly – Prelims

Madeline Groves easily paced the women’s 200 fly heats, winning by well over a second. Her 2:09.80 is still well off her season-best, but there wasn’t much need for speed in the preliminaries – Groves could have gone 9 seconds slower and still moved on to semifinals.

Brianna Throssell is second in 2:11.53, with third-place Alice Stewart a good two seconds back of her in 2:13.29.

Groves and Throssell should be the front-runners, as the duo took the two World Championships entries in the race last year, with Throssell taking 4th overall.

Top 8:

1. Groves – 2:09.80
2. Trhossell – 2:11.53
3. Stuart – 2:13.29
4. Mee – 2:13.54
5. Washer – 2:14.50
6. Gilmour – 2:14.93
7. Taylor – 2:15.00
8. White – 2:15.20

Men’s 200 Breast – Prelims

The men’s breaststrokes have been a weaker event for the Australians recently, with the team not entering anyone in the 200 at 2015 Worlds. But 17-year-old Matthew Wilson seems to be a rising young talent, and he’s the top qualifier at Aussie Trials with a 2:12.90.

Nick Schafer, who’s been competing in the U.S.’s NCAA system for the past few years, went 2:13.31 for second. He’s the defending national champ in the event. Behind them, a bunch of athletes went 2:14s, led by Jake Packard in 2:14.59.

Top 8:

1. Wilson – 2:12.90
2. Schafer – 2:13.31
3. Packard – 2:14.59
4. Tierney – 2:14.73
5. Milligan – 2:14.87
6. Bremer – 2:14.88
7. Layton – 2:14.93
8. Harley – 2:15.62

Women’s 100 Fly Multiclass – Prelims

21-year-old Taylor Corry topped the women’s para 100 fly event, going 1:08.47 to sit just about a second off the S14 world record. Corry is a two-time Paralympic silver medalist.

Top 8 (per Multiclass point score or MCPS):

1. Corry – 1:08.47
2. Scott – 1:11.56
3. Watt – 1:10.34
4. Van Roosmalen – 1:10.49
5. Beecroft – 1:12.57
6. Leonhardt – 1:11.16
7. Downie – 1:11.67
8. Harding – 1:16.69

Men’s 100 Fly Multiclass – Prelims

22-year-old Brenden Hall won the men’s race, going 1:02.97 from the S9 class.

Top 8 (per Multiclass point score or MCPS):

1. Hall – 1:02.97
2. Bramham – 1:04.05
3. Pendleton – 1:01.05
4. Jason – 59.79
5. Yourell – 1:01.91
6. Hodge – 1:05.13
7. Hearne – 1:02.30
8. Aungles – 1:07.58

Women’s 1500 Free – Timed Final

Kareena Lee cut seven seconds off her seed to win the national title in the 1500 free, dethroning 2015 champ Chelsea Gubecka.

Lee was 16:27.26, beating out Gubecka’s 16:42.03 by a wide margin. The 1500 is not an Olympic qualifying event on the women’s side, but Lee does earn the Australian title.

Zoe Elkerton (16:51.43) and Aiden Lister (16:52.28) followed after that, with 17-year-old Sarah Thompson coming up with a big 17:01.56 from the early heat to take 5th overall.

Top 8:

1. Lee – 16:27.26
2. Gubecka – 16:42.03
3. Elkerton – 16:51.43
4. Lister – 16:52.28
5. Thompson – 17:01.56
6. Gough – 17:03.37
7. Fowler – 17:07.62
8. Finney – 17:12.28

Men’s 200 Free Multiclass – Prelims

24-year-old Daniel Fox came within a tenth of a second of the S14 world record in leading prelims of the 200 free. Fox was 1:56.32, with the record standing at 1:56.27 from last summer.

Joshua Alford‘s 2:00.48 sits second, with Brenden Hall coming off his top-qualifying 100 fly earlier in the session to go 2:04.73 for third.

Top 8:

1. Fox – 1:56.32
2. Alford – 2:00.48
3. Hall – 2:04.73
4. Schluter – 2:02.38
5. Ireland – 2:02.87
6. Kilduff – 2:05.42
7. Schefman – 2:07.67
8. Powell – 2:12.91

Women’s 200 Free Multiclass – Prelims

In the women’s 200 free it was Lakeisha Patterson who took the top seed, going 2:21.16 our of the S8 class. Meanwhile S4’s Rachael Watson earned second place in 3:29.11.

Top 8:

1. Patterson – 2:21.6
2. Watson – 3:29.11
3. Clarke – 2:17.02
4. Dedekind – 2:21.16
5. Corry – 2:17.64
6. Lucy – 2:21.81
7. Cook – 2:22.83
8. Miro – 2:35.34