British Trials, Day 3 Finals: Max Litchfield Goes 4:09.14 For British 400IM Record & Ticket To Third Games

Max Litchfield: Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

British Trials, Day 3 Finals: Max Litchfield Goes 4:09.14 For British 400IM Record & Ticket To Third Games

Max Litchfield took 0.04 from Duncan Scott’s British 400IM record to go 4:09.14 and book his ticket to a third Olympic Games.

Litchfield split 56.46/2:00.22/3:10.93 and reached the final turn in 3:40.37 before a 28.77 last 50 propelled him well inside the qualification time of 4:11.90.

It also elevated him to the top of the 2024 rankings, 0.58 inside the 4:09.72 in which New Zealand’s Lewis Clareburt won the world title in Doha in February one place ahead of Litchfield, who swam 4:10.40 on his return to the British fold after a two-year absence.

Loughborough teammate Charlie Hutchison was second in 4:15.72 with George Smith next home in 4:17.31.

Litchfield will now compete at his third Games, hoping to go at least one better after fourth at Rio 2016 and again finishing one place off the podium five years later in Tokyo.

He said:

“A bit overwhelmed to be honest.

“The goal coming here was to qualify and that’s been ticked off – to get the British record back is amazing.

“Me and Duncan said this morning that we’ve never actually raced this long-course together, somehow, I don’t know how we’ve made it.

“To get that back off him is awesome and hopefully we can get to race that together for the first time at some point in the next couple of years.”

Litchfield reclaimed the record he held for almost five years after going 4:09.62 at the 2017 worlds in Budapest before Scott lowered it to 4:09.18 in April 2022.

He added:

“But now, just really happy and it’s exciting looking forward to the summer.

“If i want a medal in the summer I’ll need to be a bit faster than that still again I think so there’s plenty to improve on.

“But to do that time now after such a terrible couple of years and to PB for the first time since 2017, just really happy and looking forward to the rest of the meet.”

The trials are Litchfield’s first national championships since the 2021 Olympic selection trials in the same Aquatics Centre.

He told Swimming World:

“To be honest, the last two years have been terrible, for want of a better word.

“It’s been awful to be away from everything and not be able to swim in these meets and not be able to swim for GB.

“So now I’m back in a situation where I can and to be able to be here and be in this amazing arena and (with) this amazing crowd and swimming to qualify myself for my third Olympics is amazing stuff.”

The four-time European medallist didn’t want to expand further, saying:

“If I’m honest, I don’t really want to talk about it. It’s been a terrible two years.

“Right now, I don’t really want to, especially mid-meet, I don’t really want to go into it.

“It’s been a horrible two years and i am just happy to be away from that now, and I can be back to being me again and swimming for my country hopefully.”

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