British Championships: Gregor Tait Breaks Commonwealth Record in 200 Back

SHEFFIELD, England, April 3. GREGOR Tait put on a show for the crowd at the British Championships held in Sheffield when he erased the Commonwealth record in the men's 200 back.

After witnessing pre-selected Liam Tancock capture the 50 back world record during prelims of the 200 back, Tait put together a Commonwealth record time in finals with a 1:56.67. He felt heat the entire way with James Goddard touching right behind him in 1:56.82.

"I'm happy with my swim, and a new personal best after breaking the British record yesterday," Tait told British Swimming. "I went out too hard in the heats yesterday and didn't have much left in the tank at the end of the race so I was much better paced today."

The performance moved Tait into seventh all time, just ahead of Laszlo Cseh's 1:56.69 and behind Helge Meeuw's 1:56.34.

Hannah Miley opened the evening with a victory in the women's 200 IM when she touched in 2:12.17. That performance barely held off second-place finisher Keri-Anne Payne, who clocked a time of 2:12.43.

In the next event, Ross Davenport locked down a spot on the Olympic roster with a time of 1:47.66 to win the men's 200 free. He finished ahead of Robert Renwick's second-place readout of 1:48.29.

"I'm relieved to have won, you can't look forward to something you have not achieved yet and I am over the moon," Davenport told British Swimming. "It's now time to get back into the pool and prepare for what comes next."

In the women's splash-and-dash 50 free event, Fran Halsall earned her second swim in Beijing when she hit the wall in 24.79 for the win. Katy Sexton took second place in 25.51, while Emma Wilkins placed third in 25.90.

"I'm really happy with that and I really enjoyed that race," Halsall told British Swimming. "It's great to have qualified and am really looking forward to going to Beijing. I'm going to go and get some rest and prepare for the 100m Butterfly tonight but I am feeling relaxed. I've got six events in my program at this event so I'm looking forward to the rest of the week."

Kate Haywood held off a hard-charging Kirsty Balfour to surface with the women's 100 breast title in 1:07.84, while Balfour placed second in 1:08.05.

"I'm so happy," Haywood told British Swimming. "I was really pleased with my swim last night and today I tried not to think about swimming quickly but just concentrating on where I was in the race. I went out fast in the first 50m and held for the final 50m and am just so pleased to have done it."

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

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

0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x