Queensland State Championships: Emily Seebohm Doubles

BRISBANE, Australia, December 12. OLYMPIC relay gold medallist Emily Seebohm has set the Brisbane Aquatic Centre alight, winning the 100m backstroke and the 200m IM on night two of the Queensland State Championships.

In the first event of the night the 19-year-old Australian record holder who made her first national team at 14 in the same pool, was a class above as she clocked a sizzling 59.37 – only 0.16 from the time she swam at the Shanghai World Championships in July and 0.04 from the time she posted at the Beijing Olympics.

Over a second back was the Victorian duo of Sophie Edington (1:00.98) and Grace Loh (1:01.60).

In the penultimate all-age event of the night the 200m IM, Seebohm again blitzed the field in 2:13.37 from Japan's Tomoyo Fukuda (2:14.87) and Kiwi Natalie Weigersma (2:15.74) to send a loud warning shot to her competitors ahead next year's Australian Swimming Championships in Adelaide in March.

"I wish I would have went a little bit faster in the backstroke but that's a pretty good pair of swims considering I wasn't tapered and I didn't even shave my legs this morning," said Seebohm.

When quizzed about whether she will contest the 200m IM at next year's Australian Swimming Championships, setting up a mouth-watering show down with five-time Commonwealth Games gold medallist Alicia Coutts and three-time Olympic gold medallist Stephanie Rice, the Matt Brown coached star kept her cards close to her chest.

"That's a bit of a secret. I guess everyone is going to have to wait and see."

Leisel Jones, who recently relocated back to Brisbane under Michael Bohl, was pushed all the way by Chinese swimmer Li Ping Ji and her former training partner Sarah Katsoulis in the women's 100m breaststroke.

It was the wily veteran that will be looking to make her fourth consecutive Olympic team next March in Adelaide, who was too good in the end touching first in 1:07.46, from Ji (1:08.44) and Katsoulis (1:09.05).

Gold Coast Olympic hopeful and Commonwealth Games 50m breaststroke gold medallist Leiston Pickett was a shade back in fourth in 1:09.15.

In other events…

Men's 100m breaststroke
Queensland sparing partners Christian Sprenger and Brenton Rickard were again slugging it out in the pool in tonight's final of the 100m breaststroke.

But it was the 25-year-old Sprenger, fresh from claiming the short course 100m breaststroke Australian record last month in Asia who touched first in 1:00.07, while Rickard the current world record holder was second in 1:01.63.

Gold Coast swimmer Nicholas Pregelj rounded out the final tier on the dais with a 1:02.89 for third.

Men's 100m backstroke
Sydney swimmer Daniel Arnamnart, who recently moved to Brant Best at SOPAC swim club, posted the exact same time as he managed in the 100m backstroke morning heats to again beat 200m Australian record holder Ashley Delaney to the wall.
Arnamnart's 54.84 was only 0.06 better than the fast finishing Delaney (54.90), while Sydney University veteran Matt Hawes rounded out the top three in 55.22.

Women's 400m freestyle
National 800m freestyle champion Katie Goldman led the 400m freestyle from start to finish claiming a body length victory in 4:06.98, from Sydney distance freestyle Jessica Ashwood (4:10.02).

Shanghai World Championship silver medallist in this event Kylie Palmer was showing the effects of a gruelling 75km training week, but still held her composure to finish third in 4:10.29.

Men's 400m freestyle
Twenty-two-year-old Park Tae Hwan from Korea showed why he is the reigning Olympic 400m freestyle champion when he dominated the field to win gold in the middle distance event in 3:49.44.

Gold Coast swimmer Thomas Fraser-Holmes was hot on the Korean's heels for the entire race and did not finish far back in second in 3:50.81, while Chinese swimmer Jun Dai was third into the wall in 3:52.24.

Men's 200m IM
In the men's 200m IM it was Sydney swimmer Daniel Tranter who claimed his maiden Queensland State Championship win in a new personal best time of 2:00.58. His training partner Jayden Hadler (2:01.12) was a stroke back in second, with Olympian Travis Nederpelt third in 2:03.85.

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