Ariarne Titmus Continues Speed Surge at Australian Champs; Battle Ahead With Mollie O’Callaghan in 200 Freestyle

Ariarne Titmus Continues Speed Surge at Australian Champs; Battle Ahead With Mollie O’Callaghan in 200 Free

The buzz from Zac Stubblety-Cook’s world record in the 200-meter breaststroke had not worn off when the third day of preliminaries at the Australian Championships opened in Adelaide. Fittingly, swift performances continued to be the norm, with Ariarne Titmus jumpstarting the action in the 200 freestyle.

The reigning Olympic champion in the 200 free, Titmus claimed the top seed over four laps with a mark of 1:55.53 getting the job done. Titmus, who clocked a sub-54 outing in the 100 freestyle earlier in the meet, was the only sub-1:56 athlete of the session, with Kiah Melverton (1:56.78) and Leah Neale (1:56.83) qualifying second and third.

Titmus, coached by Dean Boxall, has already indicated that she will skip next month’s World Championships in Budapest and focus on the Commonwealth Games later this summer in Birmingham. Titmus could find herself challenged in the final by 18-year-old Mollie O’Callaghan, who advanced as the sixth seed in 1:57.26. O’Callaghan has already won the 100 freestyle in 52-mid and added a title in the 50 backstroke. A sizable drop in the final of the 200 freestyle is expected.

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In his return to the water as a world-record holder, Stubblety-Cook went 1:00.13 for the No. 1 seed in the 100 breaststroke. Stubblety-Cook should drop considerable time in the final, as was the case when he dropped almost five seconds in the 200 distance.

Coming off a victory in the 400 individual medley, Kaylee McKeown eased through the opening round of the 100 backstroke, where she is the world-record holder at 57.45. McKeown turned in a time of 1:00.24, with O’Callaghan in the second spot behind a mark of 1:01.16. Minna Atherton was next in 1:01.49.

In the men’s 200 individual medley, Brendon Smith touched in 2:01.13 for the fastest time of the session. The bronze medalist in the 400 medley at the Olympic Games in Tokyo, Smith finished ahead of David Schlict (2:01.62). Veteran National Teamer Mitch Larkin was sixth in 2:02.15.

Jenna Strauch led the way in the women’s 200 breaststroke, as her swim of 2:24.90 was comfortably ahead of the 2:26.52 of Matilda Smith. Meanwhile, Isaac Cooper topped the field in the 50 backstroke off the only sub-25 mark. Cooper covered his lap in 24.74.

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