Photo Courtesy: Swimming Australia
Cameron McEvoy sparked a handful of world bests tonight at the Australian Swimming Championships.
McEvoy jumped to the top of the world rankings in the men’s 200-meter free with a sizzling time of 1:45.94. That swim cleared Yannick Agnel’s 1:45.97 from the French Championships this week.
David McKeon took second in the 200-meter free with a 1:46.33 for fourth in the world rankings, while Thomas Fraser-Holmes rounded out the podium with a third-place time of 1:46.83 for fifth in the world.
The big news, however, came as living legend Grant Hackett qualified for his sixth world championship roster with a fourth-place time of 1:46.84 that ranks him sixth in the world this year. Hackett will now take part in Australia’s 800-meter freestyle relay in Kazan.
For more on Hackett’s world championship history, read this excellent primer written by Jeff Commings. Just six months ago, Hackett announced his return to competitive swimming following a six-year retirement.
A pair of 58s went up on the board in the women’s 100-meter back as Emily Seebohm nearly replicated her world-best swim of 58.89 from the BHP Super Series with a 58.91 for the win tonight.
Touching just behind Seebohm, Madison Wilson unleashed a 58.94 to become just the second swimmer under 59 seconds this year. She leapfrogged Mie Nielsen (59.14) into second in the world with that effort. Hayley Baker rounded out the top three in 1:00.23.
Christian Sprenger lead the way in the men’s 50-meter breast semis with a 27.70. That swim put him into an eighth-ranked tie in the world with Timon Evenhuis. Tommy Sucipto picked up the second seed with a 27.92, while Jake Packard posted a 28.00 for third.
Chelsea Gubecka posted a 16:23.95 to win the women’s 1500-meter free. That swim put her fifth in the world rankings. Yesterday, during prelims, New Zealand’s Lauren Boyles clocked a world-best 16:06.72 but was unable to compete in the finale due to her international status. Kareena Lee (16:36.10) and Phoebe Hines (16:54.00) placed second and third tonight.
Mitchell Larkin then claimed the men’s 100-meter back crown in 53.10. That swim put him on top of the world rankings, trumping the 53.15 set by Ryosuke Irie at the BHP Super Series. Ben Treffers took second tonight in 53.77 for sixth in the world rankings. Josh Beaver placed third in 53.82 to tie Ryan Murphy for seventh in the world.
Brittany Elmslie led the way in the women’s 200-meter free semis with a 1:57.45, while Kylie Palmer qualified second in 1:57.47. Jessica Ashwood (1:57.91) and Emma McKeon (1:57.96) also cleared 1:58 in semis.
Keiran Qaium posted the top time in the men’s 200-meter fly semis with a 1:58.16. Grant Irvine clocked a 1:58.38 with Nicholas Brown qualifying third in 1:58.45.
Taylor McKeown clocked a top time of 1:07.07 to win the women’s 100-meter breast. That swim put her fourth in the world rankings. Lorna Tonks took second in 1:07.46 to crack the top 10 in the world. Sally Hunter placed third in 1:07.63.
In multi-class events, Mitchell Kilduff was listed first in the men’s 50-meter fly in 27.09. Madeleine Scott was listed first in the women’s 50-meter fly in 31.76. Brenden Hall was listed first in the men’s 400-meter free in 4:10.90.
2015 Australian Swimming Championships, Live Results – Results