Australian Trials: Ariarne Titmus Cruises To a 4:05.43 And Sam Short drops a 3:47.32 In Opening 400m Freestyle Heats in Melbourne

WAVE OF SUCCESS: Ariarne Titmus off to a flying start in Melbourne.Photo Courtesy: Delly Carr (Swimming Australia).

Ariarne Titmus Cruises To a 4:05.43 In Opening 400m Freestyle Heat at Australian Trials

Olympic champion Ariarne Titmus (St Peters Western, QLD) has kicked started her World Championship campaign for Fukuoka with a comfortable 400m freestyle heat swim this morning, clocking 4:05.43 on the opening session of the Australian Trials in Melbourne.

Australia’s best swimmers have converged on the Melbourne Sports And Aquatic Centre for the six-day Trials with the Dolphins team to be announced on Sunday night.

Titmus, who lost her world record (3:56.40) to Canadian wunderkind Summer McIntosh (3:56.08) in April this year, led the heat from start to finish, going through the 200 metres in 2:01.24 and swam away from her second placed club mate Kiah Melverton (4:09.30) to swim under the Swimming Australia qualifying time of 4:06.44.

It was then World Short Course champion Lani Pallister’s turn and the 21-year-old from Griffith University claimed the second fastest time of the day with her 4:07.36 (2:00.54).

The men’s 400m freestyle saw almost identical performances from heat winners – world ranked No 1 Sam Short (Rackley Swim Team, QLD) clocking 3:47.32 to win the first seeded heat before defending world champion Elijah Winnington (St Peters Western, QLD) won the second heat in 3:47.50.

Other qualifiers include Brendon Smith (Griffith University, QLD) 3:48.90, his club mate and 2016 Olympic champion Mack Horton (3:49.50) and Tokyo Olympian Thomas Neill (Rackley Swim Team, QLD) 3:51.47.

And while all-eyes were focused on Titmus and the Olympic stars it was Australia’s Paralympic gold medallist from Tokyo, Benjamin Hance (St Andrews, QLD), who stole the show on the first morning.

The 21-year-old, who is coached by Australia’s 2008 Olympic backstroker Ashley Delaney on the Queensland Sunshine Coast, set the first world record of the meet – breaking his own S14 mark in Multi-Class 100m backstroke, stopping the clock in 56.73 – taking 0.15 off the previous time.

Hance will be one of the stars of the Australian Para Swim Team heading to Manchester in August for the Para World Championships.

In other events this morning:

DUAL OLYMPIC backstroke champion and world record holder Kaylee McKeown (Griffith University, QLD) cruised to an effortless heat win in the women’s 200IM in 2:11.97 as she chases Stephanie Rice’s Australian record of 2:07.03 set back in 2009.

TWO-TIME TOKYO Olympic freestyle gold medallist Emma McKeon (Griffith University, QLD) is the fastest qualifier into women’s 100m butterfly final, clocking 57.35 – under the QT of 57.91 ahead of Alex Perkins(USC Spartans, QLD) 58.46, Lily Price Rackley Swim Team, QLD) 58.48, Brianna Throssell; (St Peters Western, QLD) 58.68 and USC Spartans-based Abbey Connor (Revesby Workers, NSW) 58.91.

WHILE THE MEN’S 100M BREASTSTROKE heats saw Blue Mountains 19-year-old Haig Buckingham (SOPAC, NSW) top the qualifiers in the men’s 100m breaststroke heats, in a personal best of 1:00.33 ahead of 200m Olympic and World Champion and world record holder Zac Stubblety-Cook (Chandler, QLD) 1:00.47, Sam Williamson (Melbourne Vicentre, VIC) 1:00.48 and Joshua Yong (UWA West Coast, WA) 1:00.96.

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