Commonwealth Games Preview – Women’s 200 and 400 freestyle

200 FREESTYLE

Event Details:

• Heats – Thursday July 24th – 10:30 am local (5:30 am EST)
• Finals – Thursday July 24th – 7:00 pm local (2:00 pm EST)

Event History:

• 2010 Champion – Kylie Palmer (AUS) – 1:57.50
• Commonwealth Games Record – Caitlin McClatchey (SCO) – 1:57.25 (2006)
• Commonwealth Record – Joanne Jackson (GBR) – 1:55.54 (2009)

Australian Emma McKeon has posted the fastest time this year recording a 1:55.68 at the Australian Swimming Championships in April. McKeon took the event by almost a full second over Australian national team veteran Bronte Barratt.

The 20 year old had her first experience representing Australia at a major international competition last year at the 2013 World Championships in Barcelona. She won a silver in both the 4 x 100 and 4 x 200 freestyle relays as a prelims swimmer. Therefore her experience on the biggest stage is very limited. She has had success at the junior level winning medals at both the 2010 Youth Olympics and the 2011 Junior Pan Pacific Championships.

McKeon has improved a great deal over the past two recording a best time of 1:58.75 in 2012 improving that to a 1:56.17 in 2013 and now having posted a lifetime best of 1:55.68, which is the fastest of any competitor.

England’s Siobhan-Marie O’Connor is having a fabulous year so far coming into the Commonwealth Games with the second fastest 200 freestyle time of 1:56.59. For an 18 year old O’Connor has a significant amount of experience on the international stage competing at the 2011 World Championships, 2012 Olympics and the 2013 World Championships.

She is very inexperienced in this event though only having swum it at two competitions in 2013 and entering the season with a best time of 2:00.03. Her improvement this is year has been incredible dropping three and a half seconds. O’Connor is also coming into the games with the second fastest 200 IM time in the Commonwealth.

Australian Bronte Barratt comes into the Glasgow with the greatest amount of international experience and success. Barratt competed at the 2006 Commonwealth Games collecting a gold in the 4 x 200 freestyle relay and bronze in the 400 freestyle. At the 2008 Olympics she won gold as part of the Aussies world record setting 4 x 200 freestyle relay. At 2010 Commonwealth Games she collected gold once again in the 4 x 200 freestyle relay and at the 2012 Olympics she won silver in the 4 x 200 freestyle relay and bronze in the 200 freestyle.

Barratt had disappointing results at the World Championships in Barcelona not qualifying for either the 200 or 400 freestyle final. She posted her lifetime best of 1:55.74 in 2011 but since the 2012 Olympics has not recorded a time under 1:56.

Karin Prinsloo of South Africa has the fourth ranked time in the Commonwealth having posted a 1:57.15. Prinsloo competed at the 2012 Olympics finishing 20th in the 200 freestyle. She has shaved almost one and a half seconds off her previous best time in this event and had a signature win against top flight international competition at the BHP Billiton Super Series.

Brittany MacLean of Canada posted a lifetime best of 1:57.57 in the 200 freestyle at the Canadian Trials in April. MacLean won the 200, 400 and 800 freestyle at the same meet and also had incredible success at the 2014 NCAA Championships winning both the 500 and 1650 freestyle events. After having an off year in 2013 she is looking to right that wrong this summer.

Australian Brittany Elmslie comes into the event with the sixth fastest time in the Commonwealth having posted a 1:57.64 at the Australian Swimming Championships. Elmslie recorded her lifetime best of 1:57.15 in 2013. She competed in London as a relay swimmer and took her first crack at racing an individual event on the world stage in Barcelona last summer competing in both the 50 and 100 butterfly at the World Championships.

Jazz Carlin of Wales and Lauren Boyle of New Zealand come in with the next two fastest times in the Commonwealth. Carlin, who won the silver in this event in 2012, posted a lifetime best of 1:57.65 in March and has looked sharp all season. Boyle also posted a lifetime best this season recording a 1:57.67 in April.

My Top Six:

1. Emma McKeon (AUS) – 1:55.68 (2014)
2. Siobhan-Marie O’Connor (ENG) – 1:56.59 (2014)
3. Bronte Barratt (AUS) – 1:55.74 (2011)
4. Jazz Carlin (WAL) – 1:57.65 (2014)
5. Brittany MacLean (CAN) – 1:57.57 (2014)
6. Karin Prinsloo (RSA) – 1:56.17 (2014)

400 FREESTYLE

Event Details:

• Heats – Tuesday July 29th – 10:30 am local (5:30 am EST)
• Finals – Tuesday July 29th – 7:00 pm local (2:00 pm EST)

Event History:

• 2010 Champion – Rebecca Adlington (ENG) – 4:05.68
• Commonwealth Games Record – Rebecca Adlington (ENG) – 4:05.68 (2010)
• Commonwealth Record – Joanne Jackson (GBR) – 4:00.60 (2009)

Jazz Carlin, who won the bronze in this event in 2010, is going into the games with the top time in the Commonwealth of 4:04.03, tying her lifetime best which she posted in 2013. Carlin has looked great in the 200, 400, 800 and 1500 freestyle events throughout the year, but the 400 freestyle may be where she shines the brightest in Glasgow.

Carlin does have a history of swimming well at the Commonwealth Games winning silver in the 200 freestyle and bronze in the 400 freestyle in 2010. Last year at the 2013 World Championships in Barcelona Carlin just missed out on a medal in the event finishing fourth by 14 one-hundredths of a second behind bronze medal winner Lauren Boyle.

Bronte Barratt has recorded the next fastest time winning the 2014 Australian Swimming Championships in a time of 4:04.56. Last year at the same meet Barratt had an incredible swim posting a time of 4:03.52, a performance that would have earned her a bronze at the World Championships. When she competed in Barcelona though she recorded a 4:09.65 finishing 13th overall.

Barratt has performed well at the highest level, having won a bronze in the 200 freestyle at the Olympics, she will look to erase the disappointment of last summer by putting up a challenge for the top of the podium.

Barratt’s teammate Jessica Ashwood has made huge strides in her performances this year, especially in the 400 freestyle where she has shaved almost five seconds off her lifetime best posting a 4:05.01 in February. Ashwood was not able to repeat that result at the Australian Swimming Trials in April finishing third in the event. She does have a good amount of international experience having competed at the 2011 World Championships, 2012 Olympics and 2013 World Championships.

Australian Remy Fairweather finished second to Barratt at the Australian Swimming Championships posting a time of 4:06.02. With that performance the 17 year old improved on her lifetime best by almost a second and a half. Unlike the majority of her competitors in this event Fairweather has no experience on the international stage as a senior athlete.

Lauren Boyle had a breakout competition at the World Championships in Barcelona last summer, collecting bronze in the 400, 800 and 1500 freestyle events. Boyle, who has battled illness for the majority of the 2014 season, put up a season’s best of 4:06.08 in April. She recorded her lifetime best of 4:03.63 in London and in 2013 had a season’s best of 4:03.89.

Boyle showed some promising signs that she is rounding into form recording a 8:22.93 in the 800 freestyle earlier this month.

Brittany MacLean has looked incredible this entire season putting up lifetime bests in both the 200 and 800 freestyle. MacLean won the 400 freestyle at the Canadian Trials in a time of 4:06.20 missing her lifetime best of 4:05.06 which she recorded at the 2012 Olympics. She had no competition in the event in Victoria winning the Trials by over four seconds. That will not be the case in Glasgow and in the past MacLean has shown that she can step up when challenged.

My Top Six:

1. Jazz Carlin (WAL) – 4:04.03 (2014)
2. Brittany MacLean (CAN) – 4:05.06 (2012)
3. Lauren Boyle (NZL) – 4:03.63 (2012)
4. Bronte Barratt (AUS) – 4:03.52 (2013)
5. Jessica Ashwood (AUS) – 4:05.01 (2014)
6. Remy Fairweather (AUS) – 4:06.02 (2014)