Mitch Larkin, Emily Seebohm Threaten World Records In Adelaide

Photo by Delly Carr

ADELAIDE – Two world records were put on notice tonight at the Australian short course meters championships, thanks to stellar swims by Mitch Larkin and Emily Seebohm.

Twenty-four hours after setting the Commonwealth and Australian records in the 100 backstroke during semifinals with a 49.94, Larkin had his sights squarely on Nick Thoman’s world record of 48.94. That 2009 record didn’t fall tonight, but will be in jeopardy when Larkin jumps in for the 100 back at short course worlds next month.

Larkin’s time of 49.25 lowers his Commonwealth and Australian records even further, and falls just outside the top 10 performances of all time. Aschwin Wildeboer holds the 10th spot with a 49.22. Larkin, however, does stand fifth among all performers in the event.
“For me to go that quick is just amazing,” Larkin said after the race. “I’ve got really bad eyes and for a second I thought I went 50.2 (seconds) but to go 49.25 is pretty amazing. I’ve got the 200 later in the week so I’m really looking forward to seeing what I can do in that one.”

Larkin is the reigning Commonwealth Games champion in the long course 200 back, and set a national record of 1:48.69 in the short course version last month.

Seebohm has been on a roll in 2014, winning gold in the 100 back at the Pan Pacific championships with the fastest time of the year. After playing coy with the field in semis with a 57.36 for the second seed, Seebohm blasted through the final with a 55.47 to lower her own Commonwealth and Australian records, which stood at 56.58 from 2010. She’s now within reach of Shiho Sakai’s 2010 world record of 55.23, and Seebohm’s swim is the fifth-fastest performance in history behind Sakai’s swim and three by Katinka Hosszu from earlier in the fall.

With the championships serving as a selection meet for the short course world championships, athletes raced with the mindset of earning a roster spot. Jake Packard cemented himself as the new face of Australian breaststroke with a quick 57.92 in the 100 breast final, getting within four tenths of Christian Sprenger’s national record of 57.57 and just missing Brenton Rickard’s All-Comers record of 57.82. Tommy Sucipto placed second with a strong 58.33.

Travis Mahoney took the men’s 400 IM final with a 4:04.96. That puts him fifth in the world, with Thomas Fraser-Holmes (who is skipping this meet) at the top with a 3:58.69. Jared Gilliland also broke 4:10 with a 4:08.26 for second place.

Leiston Pickett continues her reign in breaststroke with a solid 30.06 to win the 50 breast final ahead of the 30.19 by Georgia Bohl. David Morgan posted a 50.77 to win the 100 fly, and Brianna Throssell held off Jessica Ashwood to win the women’s 800 free, 8:16.19 to 8:16.77.

With Cate Campbell sitting out the fall season to rehab a shoulder injury, younger sister Bronte Campbell is the sprint freestyle star on the women’s side. She cruised through the 100 free semifinals today with a 52.32. Emma McKeon, another talented sprinter, was second in semis with a 52.51. Brittany Elmslie also got under 53 with a 52.75.

McKeon and Elmslie stepped up later for the 50 fly semifinals, and qualified 1-2 for finals with times of 26.00 and 26.06, respectively. Marieke D’Cruz, who won the 2009 50 fly world title under her maiden name of Guerher, was third with a 26.22.

Six men cracked 22 seconds in the 50 free semifinals, with Cameron McEvoy leading the way with a 21.54. Kyle Chalmers (21.75), Matt Abood (21.82), Te Maxwell (21.86), Regan Leong (21.87) and Andrew Abood (21.96) were the others under 22 seconds tonight.

After her explosive 100 back final, Emily Seebohm posted the fastest time in the 100 IM semifinals with a 1:00.61, likely playing possum before cracking out a major time in tomorrow’s final. Kotuku Ngwati (1:00.75) and Hayley Baker (1:00.89) also swam under the 1:01 barrier.

Results: Australia short course championships

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