2019 BRITISH SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS
- Tuesday, April 16th – Sunday, April 21st
- Tollcross International Swimming Centre, Glasgow, Scotland
- Prelims at 10am local (5am Eastern)/Finals at 6:30pm local (1:30pm Eastern)
- SwimSwam Selection Analysis
- SwimSwam Elite Men Preview/SwimSwam Elite Women Preview
- SwimSwam Emerging Women Preview/SwimSwam Emerging Men Preview
- Final Start Lists
- Day 1 Prelims Recap/Day 1 Finals Recap
- Day 2 Prelims Recap/Day 2 Finals Recap
- Live Results
22-year-old Anna Hopkin fired off a new personal best in the women’s 50m freestyle during the heats of the 2019 British Championships this morning in Glasgow.
Entering with a previous lifetime fastest of 25.07 from when the Brit took the national title at this same meet 2 years ago, Hopkin lowered that to a new mark of 24.91 en route to taking the top seed for tonight’s final.
This morning’s outing represents the University of Arkansas swimmer’s first foray into sub-25 second territory and makes Hopkin just the 5th British female swimmer ever to do so.
She joins an elite list that includes national record holder and Olympian Fran Halsall and Commonwealth Games champion Alison Sheppard on the list of all-time British performers below:
| Rank | Name | Ranked Club | YoB | Meet Name | Venue | Level | Date | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Francesca Halsall | Co Liverpool | 90 | Commonwealth Games 2014 | Glasgow | 1 | 26/07/14 | 23.96 |
| 2 | Alison Sheppard | Milngavie &B | 72 | Commonwealth Games 2002 | Manchester | 0 | 02/08/02 | 24.68 |
| 3 | Amy Smith | Wyre Forest | 87 | British Gas Swimming Championships 2012 | London | 1 | 10/03/12 | 24.80 |
| 4 | Anna Hopkin | Ealing | 96 | British Summer Championships 2019 | Glasgow | 1 | 18/04/19 | 24.91 |
| 5 | Emily Barclay | Loughboro Un | 97 | British Summer Championships 2018 | Sheffield | 1 | 26/07/18 | 24.94 |
Hopkin is looking for her first medal at these championships, having finished 4th in last night’s 50m fly final in a time of 26.95.
Anna first went sub 25 (24.93) at the American Nationals last November and I think this, along with her 24.91 at the British Champs, puts her 4th in the British all time list. Small detail I know, otherwise thanks thanks to Swimswam for all the excellent coverage.
The table in this article shows interesting pattern: The leading ladies in British sprint peaked late in their careers, close to retirement.
Halsall – 24yo
Sheppard – 30yo
Smith – 25yo
The cold weather would be probably an explanation of late ripening 😀
This is something I have long held; British swimmers rarely peak young, very seldom have a young prodigy.