Campbell Sisters Keep Sizzling in Australia as Brisbane Grand Prix Kicks Off

BRISBANE, Australia, June 6. THE Campbell sisters continued to rule Australian sprinting on the women’s side of the ledger during day one of the Brisbane Grand Prix.

Cate blitzed the women’s 50-meter free field with a 24.33. That’s just off her world-leading time of 24.13 from the Australian National Championships here in Brisbane earlier this year. Bronte, meanwhile, claimed second in 24.78. She’s been a bit faster as well with a sixth-ranked 24.58 from Aussie Nats as well. Marieke D’Cruz snagged third overall in 25.90.

Cate, the world-leader in the women’s 100-meter free with a 52.68 from Brisbane, checked in with a 53.75 to pace prelims of that event as well. Bronte took the second seed in 54.22.

Matt Abood, fresh off being named as Eamon Sullivan’s replacement for the Commonwealth Games, took the men’s 50-meter freestyle title in 22.66. Kenneth To put up a swift second-place time of 22.79, while James Magnussen fell to a surprising third with a 22.80. Abood currently stands ninth in the world with a 21.87, while Magnussen is seventh with a 21.77.

A big upset occurred in the men’s 50-meter breaststroke as the world-leader Christian Sprenger (26.74 from Aussie Nats) finished well back in third with a 30.08. Jake Packard (28.88) and Buster Sykes (28.98) had an exciting battle for the title.

Thomas Fraser-Holmes posted the only circuit-record time of the night as he tied Justin Norris’ 2004 record of 4:17.58 in the men’s 400-meter IM. It was like taking a bath for Fraser-Holmes, however, as he’s already the second-best in the world this year with a 4:10.68. New Zealand’s Nathan Capp took second in 4:25.54 with Jared Gilliland earning third in 4:28.42. Fraser-Holmes then paced prelims in the men’s 200-meter IM with a 2:01.65.

Brittany Elmslie clipped Marieke D’Cruz in the women’s 50-meter fly, 26.63 to 26.74, while Madeline Groves took third overall in 27.38. Meanwhile, Tommaso D’Orsogna edged Jayden Halder in another close contest, 24.40 to 24.46, for the men’s 50-meter fly title. Christopher Wright rounded out the top three in the sprint fly with a 24.62.

Madison Wilson just missed the top 20 in the world in the women’s 50-meter back with a 28.60. That swim came up just .04 short of the 19th-ranked 28.56 shared by Arianna Barbieri and Paige Miller. Wilson’s St. Pete teammate Meagen Nay claimed second in the sprint backstroke with a 28.81. Lauren Rettie touched third in 29.77.

Josh Beaver earned the men’s 50-meter backstroke title in 25.76, while Mitchell Larkin hit the wall in 25.93 to claim second-place honors in the sprint back. Jack Selman snared third overall in 26.42.

Sally Hunter captured the women’s 50-meter breaststroke title in 31.55 with Georgia Bohl earning second in 31.98. Lorna Tonks touched third with a time of 32.21. Keryn McMaster stopped the clock in 4:44.53 to win the women’s 400-meter IM, while Jessica Pengelly clocked a 4:48.49 for second. Ellen Gandy took third in 4:54.23.

Bronte Barratt, the fourth-ranked swimmer in the world with a 4:04.56 in the women’s 400-meter free, smashed the field in the event during finals swimming with a 4:09.34. Jessica Ashwood took second in 4:14.86 with Katie Goldman earning third in 4:15.27.

David McKeon smoked the men’s 400-meter free field with a 3:50.81 for the win. He’s already the top swimmer in the world with a 3:43.72 from Australian Nationals in the event. Jordan Harrison clinched second in 3:54.01 with Matthew Stanley taking third in 3:54.60.

Plenty of prelims also took place, setting up an action-packed day two in Brisbane.

Mitchell Pratt led the men’s 200-meter fly in 2:00.89, while Madeline Groves led the way in the women’s 200-meter fly with a 2:12.70. Mitchell Larkin claimed the top seed in the men’s 200-meter back in 2:01.42. The men’s 200-meter breast only featured two athletes with New Zealand’s Julian Layton leading Buster Sykes, 2:18.85 to 2:19.35. Jake Packard then beat Sykes, 1:03.83 to 1:04.58, in a two-person men’s 100-meter breast prelim.

Meagen Nay, who already ranks third in the world in the women’s 200-meter back with a 2:08.19 from the Victorian Open Championships in Melbourne, cruised to the top seed with a 2:09.79. Another swimmer who already is in the world rankings, Sally Hunter, posted a 2:26.69 in the women’s 200-meter breast. She is 12th in the world this year with a 2:24.91 from Aussie Nats. Hunter then led the way in the women’s 100-meter breast prelims with a 1:08.50.

Emma McKeon, the second-ranked swimmer in the world in the women’s 200-meter free with a 1:55.68 to her credit this year, put up an easy speed 1:56.99 to top prelims today. David McKeon, meanwhile, checked in with a 1:48.81 to lead the men’s 200-meter free qualifying.

Emma set herself up for a day two double with a 58.69 in the women’s 100-meter fly. That’s not too far off her ninth-ranked 57.99 from Australian Nationals earlier this year.

Kenneth To kept up his impressive session with a 53.98 to lead the men’s 100-meter fly. To then doubled up on his top-seed swims with a 49.70 in the men’s 100-meter free. Jayden Hadler (50.00), James Magnussen (50.04) and Matt Abood (50.27) qualified second through fourth.

Madison Wilson clipped teammate Meagen Nay for the women’s 100-meter back top seed, 1:01.30 to 1:01.56, while Mitchell Larkin took another top seed with a 56.46 in the men’s 100-meter back after leading 200-meter backstroke qualifying as well.

Alicia Coutts, who is top-ranked in the women’s 200-meter IM with a 2:08.89 from Australian Nationals, posted a smooth 2:13.32 to lead qualifying in prelims of the event.

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