Aussie Breaststroker Gideon Burnes On Fire In Career Breakthrough Meet In Tokyo
Australia’s emerging breaststroker Gideon Burnes is celebrating a career breakthrough meet at the 57th Tokyo International Swimming Centre Invitational – rocketing up the rankings en-route to LA28.
The recently turned 21-year-old from the Queensland Gold Coast produced three personal best times in both the 50 and 100m breaststroke events and is now the second fastest current Australian behind World, Pan Pac and Commonwealth champion Sam Williamson in both events.
Fresh from his record-breaking Australian Short Course Championship meet in Sydney, Burnes, became just the fourth Australian to crack the 27 seconds barrier to win the 50m breaststroke final in 26.94, after his 27.04 personal best in the heat.
ON FIRE: Gideon Burnes (Bond) Photo Courtesy Wade Brennan
In doing so, Burnes claimed the scalp of 17-year-old Japanese whiz kid, Shin Ohashi (27.12) who recently set the world record in the 200m breaststroke and World Junior record in the 100m, with fellow rising Australian, Matthew Loffler third in another new Western Australian record with his personal best of 27.48, to also move into the Australian top ten.
Queensland’s Josh Anderson (Brisbane Grammar) also joined the pb party, clocking 27.49 in the 50m breaststroke heats also in a top ten Australian time.
Only two Australians, Williamson (26.32) and London Olympic silver medallist in the 100m breaststroke, Christian Sprenger (26.74) have swum faster than Burnes over 50 – putting the boy from Bond on an exciting trajectory towards LA, where the one-lap form strokes will debut.
Australia’s 50m breaststroke Top 6
26.32 Samuel Williamson (Doha 02.02.24)
26.74 Christian Sprenger (Brisbane 05.04.14)
26.94 Gideon Burnes 2005 (Tokyo 01.11.26)
26.95 Brenton Rickard (Rome 29.07.09)
27.02 James McKechnie (Gold Coast 02.03.18)
27.29 Jake Packard (Gold Coast 02.03.18)
SURGING AHEAD: Emergong Queensland breaststroker Gideon Burnes in full cry. Photo Courtesy: Wade Brennan.
Burnes, who swims for the Bond University club under Olympic gold medal coach Chris Mooney and alongside Olympians Flynn Southam and Ben Armbruster, had earlier clocked under the minute for the first time in the heats of the 100m breaststroke.
Cocking a time of 59.45, before finishing second in the final in 1:00.05, won by Ohashi in 58.77
Williamson and his 58.80 is the only current Australian Dolphin to have swum faster, with Burnes moving ahead of Olympians Josh Yong (59.48) and Zac Stubblety-Cook (59.51).
Australia’s 100m breaststroke’s Top 6
58.58 Brenton Rickard (Rome 27.07.090
58.79 Christian Sprenger (Barcelona 29.07.130
58.80 Samuel Williamson (Brisbane 10.06.240
59.17 Matthew Wilson (Gwangju 21.07.190
59.20 Jake Packard (Tokyo 09.08.180
59.45 Gideon Burnes (Tokyo 30.10.26)
Burnes is a member of the 16-strong Hancock Prospecting Queensland team who have been competing in Tokyo alongside the fellow Australian State team from Western Australia.
Amongst the strong performers over the first three days of the meet have been:
Hannah Allen (Rackley) who has won the 100m freestyle in 54.50 ahead of Chloe Rowe-Hagans(55.71) and the 400m in 4:11.79 – with Rowe-Hagans (St Andrews) winning the 50m freestyle in 25.32 ahead of WA’s Eloise Sheldrick (25.48) and Mackenzie Burns (St Andrews) 25.98.
Bond’s Sienna Harben won the 100m breaststroke in 1:07.31 in an Australian trifecta ahead of Matilda Smith (Miami) 1:09.49 and WA’s Brielle Dredge (1:09.63).
While Zoe Ammundsen (Rackley) won the 2100m backstroke in 1:01.57 with WA’s Eloise Sheldrick third in 1:02.82.
Harben (31.22) finished second in the women’s 50m breaststroke with Dredge (31.68) third and Smith (32.14) fourth.