Sanchez Comes Close To Another WJR; Greenbank 3rd Fastest 1Back Brit

2018 SWIM ENGLAND NATIONAL WINTER CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Friday, December 14th – Sunday, December 16th
• Ponds Forge International Sports Centre, Sheffield
• SCM
• SwimSwam Meet Preview
• Meet Site
• Draft Entry List
• Day 1 Recap
• Day 2 Recap
• Live Results

Two National Records bit the dust on the final session of the 2018 Swim England National Winter Championships, one British and one Canadian.

Max Litchfield kissed the SCM 400 IM British National Record good-bye in his winning effort of 4:00.18, registering the 3rd fastest time in the world this season. 18-year-old Olympic champion Penny Oleksiak then made her mark on these championships with a Canadian National Record time of 25.20 in the women’s 50m fly. You can read more about their respective swims here and here.

As for the rest of tonight’s swims, 19-year-old Abbie Wood kicked things off with a new personal best in the women’s 400m IM. The Loughborough swimmer touched the wall in 4:31.70, beating her previous career-fastest mark of 4:32.40 set at the Manchester International Meet in 2015. She won tonight by over 5 seconds.

For the men’s 50m fly, it was City of Sheffield’s Cameron Brooks-Clarke who got the job done, notching a new lifetime best of 23.27. That ranks Brooks-Clarke among the top 10 performers ever and kept him ahead of fast-finishing Sam Horrocks, who touched in 23.52 in tonight’s race for silver.

On-fire Canadian teenager Kayla Sanchez kept her winning streak alive here in Sheffield, crushing another personal best and head-turning swim in the 200m freestyle. The 17-year-old laid low in the prelims this morning, producing the 3rd-seeded time of 1:57.70, but turned on the jets tonight to blast to the top of the pack.

Splitting 55.83/57.02, Sanchez produced a big-time mark of 1:52.85 to steal the gold and come within .35 of the World Junior Record. The WJR, which also represents the Canadian National Record, is held by another young gun, Taylor Ruck. Ruck set the standard at 1:52.50 while competing at the 2016 FINA Short Course World Championships in Windsor.

As for Sanchez’s performance this evening her time would have finished 4th in the event in Hangzhou, even ahead of Italy’s iconic Federica Pellegrini.

Marie Wattel of France took silver behind Sanchez tonight in 1:54.23, while Holly Hibbott wrangled up the 200m free bronze in 1:54.50. As the British swimmer among the top 3, she’ll snag the national title, and also check-in as the 3rd fastest British swimmer of all-time in this event.

Hibbott already took wins in the 800m and 400m freestyle events here.

Top 3 British female performers ever in 200 SCM free:

1. Fran Halsall, 1:53.79, 2009
2. Siobhan-Marie O’Connor, 1;53.82, 2015
3. Holly Hibbott, 1:54.50, 2018

Another British rankings mover and shaker was Luke Greenbank, who scorched a winning time of 50.88 in the men’s 100m backstroke. The 21-year-old Loughborough athlete registering the fastest time of his career with his 50.88 result, logging the 3rd quickest effort ever by a Brit. With his performance, Greenbank accomplished becoming just the 3rd British swimmer to ever dip under 51 seconds in the event.

Top 3 British male performers ever in 100 SCM back:

1. Liam Tancock – 50.14, 2008
2. Christopher Walker-Hebborn, 50.35, 2015
3. Luke Greenbank, 50.88, 2018

Additional Winners Tonight:

• Jack McMillan of Ireland took the men’s 200m freestyle in 1:44.23, with Jay Lelliott of Britain touching behind in 1:45.62. Of note, Olympic medalist James Guy raced in the prelims this morning, earning the 3rd seeded time of 1:45.78 before scratching the final.
• The women’s 100m back saw Bath’s Jessica Fullalove nail victory in 57.83, while the 200m backstroke gold medalist here, Chloe Golding, touched in 58.58 for runner-up status.
• Canadian Olympian Kierra Smith rocked a winning 200m breast time of 2:19.14, while Stockport Metro’s ace Katie Matts earned the English title in 2:20.40.
• Loughborough’s Edward Baxter took the men’s 200m breast in 2:06.93, although the prelims saw James Wilby clock a faster time of 2:06.45 before the Commonwealth Games champion scratched the final.