British Olympic Trials: Hannah Miley, Joe Roebuck Shine; Five More Spots Filled on Olympic Roster

LONDON, England, March 6. THE British Olympic Trials moved on to a fourth day of Olympic roster qualifying as five more spots were filled by Britain, with more decisions to come on relay and second-place spots.

While Britain has decided that second-place finishers must have a better time than a top 16 world ranking from last year, relays are chosen first by filling in spots with individual event qualifiers, then “remaining places will be filled by the 'available' swimmers with the fastest overall times in the 100m Freestyle and 200m Freestyle events irrespective of whether the times were achieved in the heats, semifinals or final.”

FINALS
Women's 200 free
FINA A: 1:58.33; British Second-place Qualifier: 1:57.83
Rebecca Turner snagged the top spot in the finale, guaranteeing a spot at the Olympics, with a 1:57.65. That swim pushed Turner to eighth in the world rankings. Favorite Caitlin McClatchey finished second in 1:58.07, better than the FINA A cut, but slower than Britain's more difficult second-place standard of last year's world-ranked top 16. McClatchey, however, is in play for the 800 freestyle relay especially after clocking a 1:57.45 during semis for the fastest time from Britain this week.

Eleanor Faulkner (1:58.39) and Joanne Jackson (1:58.70) finished third and fourth, and are also up for selection to the British relay squad. Sasha Matthews (1:59.39), Jazmin Carlin (2:00.24), Keri-Anne Payne (2:00.31) and Lucy Ellis (2:00.78) placed fifth through eighth for the rest of the finale finishes.

Men's 200 fly
FINA A: 1:56.86; British Second-place Qualifier: 1:56.26
Joe Roebuck shot to the top of the world rankings as the first sub 1:56 time of the year, when he won in 1:55.94, besting the 1:56.18 set by Serbia's Velimir Stjepanovic during earlier heats this week. Roberto Pavoni also gave Britain a pair of Olympic qualifiers in the event with a second-place 1:56.10 to clear Britain's second-place qualifying mark, and put him second in the world.

Michael Rock qualified third in 1:56.48, also under the FINA A cut, but is the hard luck third-place finisher on the outside looking in. Adam Mallett (1:58.52), Iain Macmillan (1:58.85), Matthew Johnson (1:59.12), Cameron Brodie (1:59.48) and Lewis Smith (2:00.29) also swam in the finale.

Women's 200 IM
FINA A: 2:13.36; British Second-place Qualifier: 2:12.87
Hannah Miley raced to the top of the world ranking with a blazing time of 2:10.77. That performance bettered the 2:11.55 set by Emily Seebohm last month, and came within a second of Miley's 11th-ranked lifetime best of 2:09.46.

Meanwhile, Sophie Allen captured the second qualifying spot on the Olympic roster with a sterling time of 2:11.71 for second place. That swim jumped her to third in the world rankings, and beat both the FINA A cut and the tougher British second-place qualifying standard.

Sophie Smith (2:12.31), Aimee Willmott (2:13.52), Lucy Spencer (2:13.53), Siobhan-Marie O'Connor (2:15.49), Emma Smithurst (2:16.97) and Rachael Solway (2:17.12) all vied for the event title as well.

MULTI-DISABILITY FINALS
Heather Frederiksen clocked a 1:08.13 to lead the women's 100 free S8 division. Eleanor Simmonds clocked a 1:17.98 for the top S6 division time. Rhiannon Henry placed first in the S13 division with a 1:01.11, while Hannah Russell posted a 1:02.33 to lead the S12 division. Louise Watkin (S9/1:04.65) and Susannah Rodgers (S7/1:13.08) clocked their divisional top times.

Sean Fraser touched in 1:01.10 for the top time in the men's 100 free S8 division. Matthew Walker clocked a 1:03.95 to pace the S7 division, while David Ellis earned the top S13 time with a 57.19. Simon Miller turned in a 1:00.34 for the top S9 division time.

GUEST FINALS
Poland's Konrad Czerniak won the guest finale in the men's 100 free with a 49.46 after topping qualifying in 49.14. Germany's Markus Deibler took second in 49.50, while Czech's Martin Verner picked up third overall in 49.57.

Spain's Mireia Belmonte held off Poland's Otylia Jedrzejczak, 2:07.63 to 2:07.92, for the women's 200 fly guest title. Belmonte moved to fourth in the world rankings, while Jedrzejczak picked up fifth in the world with the swim. Sweden's Martina Granstrom snagged third in 2:08.99.

Luxembourg's Laurent Carnol, who owns the top ranked time in the world with a 2:09.78 from January, checked in with a 2:12.50 to capture the men's 200 breast guest finale. Spain's Melquiades Alvarez placed second in 2:13.23, while Korea's Janghun Ju took third in 2:14.67.

SEMIFINALS
Men's 100 free
FINA A: 48.82; British Second-place Qualifier: 48.62
Simon Burnett claimed the top see with a 49.33, but has some work to do to make the Olympics with a 48.82 as the target time during finals. Robert Renwick, who already has qualified, finished second in semis with a 49.57. Grant Turner (49.67) and Adam Brown (49.69) placed third and fourth.

James Disney-May (49.70), Ross Davenport (49.74), Craig Gibbons (49.80) and Jak Scott (49.89) also earned spots in the finale. In the open prelims, Poland's Konrad Czerniak (49.14) and Germany's Markus Deibler (49.23) posted the top two qualifying times. Czerniak moved to an eighth-place tie in the world rankings.

Women's 200 fly
FINA A: 2:08.95; British Second-place Qualifier: 2:08.66
Ellen Gandy, who has the top-ranked time in the world with a blazing 2:05.95 from last month, cruised to the top seed in the finale with a 2:07.54. Jemma Lowe, meanwhile, clinched the second seed with a 2:08.53, to set up a strong battle in the finale. Jessica Dickons (2:10.33) and Elena Sheridan (2:11.72) grabbed third and fourth.

Tilly Gray (2:12.21), Amanda Nugent (2:12.78), Alys Thomas (2:12.79) and Kate Hutchinson (2:13.96) earned the final transfer spots into the championship heat. Hutchinson had to knock off Libby Mitchell, 2:14.58 to 2:15.30, in a swimoff for the final spot. In the international prelims, Spain's Mireia Belmonte posted a swift time of 2:08.81 to move to fourth in the world rankings in the event.

Men's 200 breast
FINA A: 2:11.74; British Second-place Qualifier: 2:11.50
Michael Jamieson turned on the jets in the semifinal rounds with a 2:11.47. That swim pushed him from fifth in the world rankings to third, behind only Laurent Carnol (2:09.78) and Eric Shanteau (2:10.47). Andrew Willis followed up with a second-seeded 2:11.87 to push to sixth in the world rankings.

Kristopher Gilchrist (2:13.22), Russell Smith (2:13.27), James Broady (2:13.49), Richard Webb (2:13.85), Daniel Sliwinski (2:13.91) and Ross Murdoch (2:14.90) also swam their way into lanes in the finale.

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