2019 AUSTRALIAN WORLD SWIMMING TRIALS
- Sunday, June 9th – Friday, June 14th
- Brisbane Aquatic Centre
- LCM
- Meet Site
- Live Results
- Latest Recap
The 2019 Aussie World Swimming Trials are now halfway over, which means that Cate Campbell and Bronte Campbell will now be entering the pool, while King Kyle Chalmers has 3 events yet to go here in Brisbane.
In the meantime, a host of swimmers have already nailed World Championships-worthy times, including Olympic medalist Emma McKeon from Griffith University. The 25-year-old punched her Gwangju ticket on night 1 in the 100m fly, but was only getting started. Beating her bronze medal mark in the 200m free from Rio, McKeon cranked out a monster 1:54.55 to log a new personal best and add the event to her lineup for next month in Korea.
Post-race, McKeon stated,“I definitely wasn’t expecting to do a PB in that, I haven’t done a PB since Olympic trials in 2016 so to do it here, I’m pretty happy and definitely shocked.
“My turn at the 150m, my legs weren’t really tiring that much – they were definitely hurting but probably not as much as usual. I think I was just concentrating on my own stroke and own rating rather than looking around where everyone else was.”
Behind McKeon was the 400m freestyle wow factor from night 1, Ariarne Titmus, who was creeping up hard on McKeon towards the end of the is 200m free race. 18-year-old Titmus holds the Aussie National Record in the event with the 1:54.30 notched just this past April at Australian Nationals.
Titmus was followed by Shayna Jack who clinched bronze in the best time of her career in 1:56.37, while Brianna Throssell‘s 4th place 1:56.62 is helping this 4x200m free relay shape up to be something seriously dangerous.
“Tonight gives me a lot of confidence that I am still in the mix and I think even in Australia, that 200 final was probably the quickest it has been in a very long time. Our standard is definitely lifting, and I think it pushes the top girls in Australia and the top girls in the world,” added McKeon.
After a subdued men’s 200m fly prelim, Olympian David Morgan stepped up to the plate big time to throw down the fastest time of his creer in 1:55.26. That cleared the stiff Aussie-mandated QT for GWangju of 1:55.58, giving the TSS Aquatics star his spot on the Worlds roster. Grant Irvine was just behind in 1:55.89, narrowly missing the QT, while Nunawading’s Matthew Temple hit a new PB and his first time ever under 1:57 in 1:56.58.
Of his impressive performance, Morgan stated, breathlessly, “It is great, it is a goal that you set, and you are never guaranteed a spot, someone else could be on form, you just have to perform on the day and lucky enough I did,” Morgan said.