James Guy Resets 400 Free National Record To Kick Off British Nationals

Photo Courtesy: Jiri Hodan

British Swimming has placed an extremely high standard on its athletes aiming for a place on the world championship roster, setting qualifying times much faster than the FINA cuts. Many of the qualifying times are faster than or equal to British records. Only three of the country’s top stars met that standard to set themselves up for medals in Russia this August.

The time needed to qualify for the world championships in the 400 free is 3:44.58. That’s a time James Guy knows well, as it is equal to his national record set at last year’s Commonwealth Games. Guy beat both times in the final with a 3:44.16 to land on the world championship team and lower his national record. Indicating the level of swimmer that British Swimming wants to take to worlds, Guy’s time puts him second in the world, behind the 3:42.84 by Australian Mack Horton.

James Guy 400 free splits (by 100)
53.62
1:50.76 (57.14)
2:48.00 (57.24)
3:44.16 (56.16)

Nicholas Grainger tried to keep pace with Guy, turning five tenths back at the 250-meter mark. But Grainger was unable to put together any 50-meter splits faster than 28-high, and settled for second with a 3:45.89. That time is much faster than FINA’s “A” cut, but Grainger would have needed to swim faster than 3:43.36 under Great Britain’s selection policy in order to earn qualification. Grainger can take solace in knowing that his time is sixth in the world, which might help Team GB staff pick him for the worlds team. Dan Wallace, fresh off the NCAA championships, was third with a 3:46.15, ranked eighth in the world.

Fran Halsall looked in control to win the women’s 100 free final, but Siobhan-Marie O’Connor made a surge in the final 10 meters to take the title with a 53.83 over Halsall’s 54.10. That could be viewed as a bit of an upset, as Halsall has been Britain’s top freestyle sprinter for more than five years. Neither time is as fast as the British standard of 53.43, but they are well ahead of the FINA “A” cut of 55.05, so the two will have to wait to see if they will swim the event in Russia. O’Connor’s swim ranks her 10th in the world while Hasall, last year’s Commonwealth Games bronze medalist, ranks 14th.

Chris Walker-Hebborn continued his reign as the top British backstroker while Liam Tancock works his way back to post-injury form, posting a 52.88 in the 100 backstroke. That’s his first swim under 53 seconds and nearly took down Tancock’s national record of 52.73 from the 2009 world championships. Walker-Hebborn joins Japan’s Ryosuke Irie as the only two under 53 seconds so far in 2013, with Walker-Hebborn’s time ahead of Irie’s 52.99. Tancock was just outside Great Britain’s qualifying time for worlds with a 53.98 for second, just a bit slower than his best since returning from double shoulder injury.

Hannah Miley will be one of the busiest women at nationals, as she swims lots of events in addition to her individual medley specialties. She took down reigning national champion Jemma Lowe in the 200 fly final today with a 2:08.63, good for 11th in the world but not good enough for world championship placement as the British qualifying time stands at 2:06.81. Lowe was about an arm’s length ahead of Miley through the race, but faltered in the final 50 to place second with a 2:09.36. Aimee Willmott was also in the hunt, placing third with a 2:09.66.

Perhaps the most anticipated race of the night was the men’s 200 breaststroke. The field of eight featured Michael Jamieson, the reigning 200 breast Olympic silver medalist; Ross Murdoch, the reigning Commonwealth champion; and Adam Peaty, the world record holder in the 50 breast. Add in Olympic finalist Andrew Willis and this had the makings of a possible horde of British swimmers in the top 10 in the event. The priority was qualifying for worlds and beating the 2:08.34 qualifying time.

Ross Murdoch fired the opening salvo with a 2:09.48 in prelims that ranked him second in the world going into finals. But Peaty set the pace early, going out in 29.08 at the 50. Willis took over the lead at 100 meters with a 1:02.21, while Jamieson and Murdoch were not in the hunt at the halfway point. Peaty got the win with a 2:08.34 to equal the time needed to qualify for the world championships. That potentially gives Peaty three events at worlds, given that he is likely to qualify in the 100 breast and earn the right to swim the 50 in Russia as a result. Peaty’s time ranks him second in the world behind the 2:07.77 by Japan’s Yasuhiro Koseki. Willis might get a chance to swim in Russia with a second-place time of 2:08.59 that makes him third in the world. Similar to his race to win gold at the Commonwealth Games, Murdoch had a strong final surge but had to settle for third with a 2:08.90. That gives Great Britain three of the top five times swum so far in 2015 … but potentially, only one will swim at worlds.

2015 British Long Course Nationals, Day 1 – Results

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Robert Griswold

9 years ago

What a pathetic way of selecting a worlds team

Harry Maishman

9 years ago

Billy Martin check out this guys splits on the link