Sweden’s Sarah Sjostrom dominated the sprint events at the FINA Champions Swim Series, but she did lose one race, the 50 m Free in Guangzhou, to Australia’s Cate Campbell.
Campbell wants to keep it that way, screaming to a 52.12 world-leading win on the fifth night of the Australian World Championships Swim Trials in Brisbane (AUS).
“I am really pleased that I held my nerve and swam my own race,” Campbell said afterwards.
“Traditionally I usually like to be out quickest and then just hold on but I have been really working on cruising on the way out and using all the training that I have been doing – cause I have been doing a lot of it – to help me get home.
“It is a tenth off my personal best so I am really pleased with that and I will now go back and do a ten day training block and then taper again for worlds, that worked really well in the lead up to Pan Pacs so we are hoping to emulate that again.”
Here’s how good the race was: her 52.12 is the no. 6 performance in history – she has three of the six, to Sjostrom’s two – and behind her came:
2. Emma McKeon, 52.41, passing Sjostrom for no. 2 on the 2019 world list and now the no. 6 performer in history;
3. Bronte Campbell at 52.84, no. 4 on the 2019 world list, and
4. Shayna Jack at 53.18, no. 5 on the 2019 world list and equal-20th all-time.
In the understatement of the day, Campbell added, “To have three girls to go under the 53 second barrier and Shayna go 53.1, we are going to be a tough relay team to beat and it is really exciting to be a part of it.”
Australia won the women’s 4×100 m Free in Rio in 2016 with McKeon, Brittany Elmslie, Bronte and Cate Campbell in a world-record 3:30.65, with the U.S. well behind at 3:31.89.
In the men’s 200 m Backstroke, Mitch Larkin ran away from the field in 1:55.03, winning by 2.63 seconds and moving to no. 2 on the world list for 2019. It was his third win of the Trials after taking the 100 m Back and 200 m Medley.
The Australian Trials continue through Friday; the live timing site is here.
