Max Litchfield, Duncan Scott Take Down British Records on Day Three in Sheffield

Photo Courtesy: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

A pair of British records went down on the third day of six at the British Swimming Championships in Sheffield. Max Litchfield and Duncan Scott, each top-five finishers in their respective events at the Olympic Games last summer in Rio, both put up stellar efforts that vaulted them deeper into medal contention for this summer’s World Championships.

Read full coverage from all of the evening’s finals below.

Men’s 1500 Free

Daniel Jervis took over the lead about one-third of the way through the race and then pulled away from Timothy Shuttleworth to capture the national title. He finished in 14:51.78, the fourth-fastest time in the world this year behind Gregorio Paltrinieri, Gabriele Detti and Mack Horton.

Shuttleworth captured second in 15:07.92, and Stephen Milne was third in 15:14.26. Milne finished 10th in the 1500 at the Olympics in Rio in 14:57.23, but he will not have the opportunity to swim that event at this summer’s World Championships.

Tobias Robinson finished fourth in 15:18.05, just ahead of Samuel Budd (15:18.30). Also among the top eight finishers were Luke Turley (15:35.24), Harrison Coulter (15:37.66) and Caleb Hughes (15:45.65).

Women’s 200 Fly

Charlotte Atkinson won her second butterfly title of the meet, holding off Alys Thomas on the last 50 to win the 200 fly. She previously won the 50 fly on day two of the meet.

Atkinson finished in 2:07.06, ranked No. 5 in the world this season and under the consideration time to be selected for the World Championships. Thomas came in second at 2:07.87, eighth in the world so far this year, and Emily Large came in third at 2:09.89.

Keanna Macinnes touched fourth in 2:11.48, ahead of Hannah Miley (2:12.06), Laura Stephens (2:12.16), Isobel Grant (2:12.44) and Holly Hibbott (2:13.69).

Men’s 400 IM

Max Litchfield took down the British record in the men’s 400 IM, blasting a time of 4:10.62 to secure his spot in the event for the World Championships. The mark takes down Dan Wallace’s national record in the event and ranks fourth in the world. Litchfield’s winning time is exactly one second faster than the 4:11.62 he swam to finish fourth in the event at the Olympics in Rio last summer.

Also swimming a personal best time was Mark Szaranek, who touched second in 4:15.51. Joe Litchfield pulled away from Brodie Williams on the final 100 to take third in 4:19.18.

Nathan Hughes ended up finishing fourth in 4:20.84, using a strong freestyle leg to catch Williams (4:10.89). Thomas Dean was sixth in 4:21.23, ahead of Fraser Minnican (4:22.31) and Jacob Greenow (4:22.64).

Women’s 50 Free

Anna Hopkin picked up the national title in the shortest event on the women’s program, moving into a tie for 20th in the world this year with her time of 25.07. She fell well short of the World Championships consideration time of 24.56, but it was plenty to defeat Siobhan-Marie O’Connor.

O’Connor, the Olympic silver medalist in the 200 IM, was second in 25.28, but she will have plenty of other chances to get onto the British World Champs team, most notably in the 200 IM.

Lucy Hope was third in 25.42, edging out Freya Anderson (25.44). Also in the final were Katherine Stark (25.61), Harriet Cooper (25.86), Emily Crane (25.88) and Victoria Cunningham (26.16).

Men’s 100 Free

Duncan Scott became the first British man to crack the 48-second barrier, blasting a 47.90 to break his own national record of 48.01 twice achieved at the Olympic Games last summer. Scott, who finished fifth in Rio, now ranks second in the world in the event, and the 19-year-old will contend for a medal this summer at the World Championships.

Scott won the event by almost a second and a half, while Jack Thorpe took second in 49.65 , and Kieran McGuckin was third in 49.68.

Also breaking 50 were Calum Jarvis (49.80) and Nicholas Grainger (49.87). Jarvis Parkinson (50.02), Lewis Burras (50.11) and Yusuke Legard (50.28) finished sixth through eighth, respectively.

Full results

Name*

Email*

Welcome to our community. We invite you to join our discussion. Our community guidelines are simple: be respectful and constructive, keep on topic, and support your fellow commenters. Commenting signifies that you agree to our Terms of Use