Fast swims galore in Australia

SYDNEY, Australia, March 2. ON the last day of the NSW State Championships in Sydney, Australia it was again a flood of fast times.

Starting off the afternoon was the women’s 200m butterfly won by Madeline Groves in a new world’s best time of 2:06.81. She won ahead of the Japanese Miyu Nakano (2:10.30) and Misuzu Yabu (2:12.15). Nakano’s time puts her at number eight in the world.

Kenneth To then won the men’s 100m butterfly with a time of 53.19 ahead of Nathaniel Romeo and Takaya Yasue who both hit the wall at 53.39. To’s time puts him ninth in the world. In the prelims of that race Nathaniel Romeo had swum a 53.08 which makes him eighth in that event in 2014.

Sweden’s Jennie Johnson went on to win the women’s 50m breaststroke in 30.84, which now makes her fastest in the world. Johnson won ahead of Lorna Tonks who posted a 31.52 and Georgia Bohl who hit the wall at 31.72. Aside from Johnson, it was also Tonks who is now sixth fastest of 2014, and Alica Coutts who finished the race fourth with a time of 31.74 which is the ninth fastest in the world this year.

The men’s 200m breaststroke was won by Japanese Ippei Watanabe. He finished the race in 2:11.81, fifth fastest in the world this year. He won ahead of Lennard Bremer (2:13.99) and Kohei Goto (2:14.31).

The next world’s fastest time was swum in the women’s 200m freestyle. Emma McKeon won in 1:56.23. Second of the race was Bronte Barratt who hit the wall with the world’s second fastest time of 1:57.16. The third place went to Kylie Palmer who finished in 1:58.37 which puts her ninth fastest in the world.

Local hero James Magnussen then went on to win the men’s 50m freestyle in 21.95, which is just off the world’s best time he set earlier in the year. The second place of the race went to Andrew Abood who posted a 22.39 who is now seventh fastest of the year. Third to hit the wall was Matthew Abood who swam a 22.56.

Alicia Coutts then added her name to the list of world’s fastest swimmers this year for a second time. She won the women’s 200m IM in a 2:10.23 which was the fastest time swum in this event this year. Second of the race was Japan’s Kanako Watanabe who finished in 2:10.65 and the third place went to Emily Seebohm who swam a 2:13.59. Seebohm is just off the top ten, but Watanabe is now fourth fastest in the event in 2014.

Next race was the men’s 400m IM, which Thomas Fraser-Holmes won in 4:15.85 which puts him at third fastest in the year. He won ahead of Kazuk Utsonomiya (4:23.61) and Jared Gilliland (4:26.37).
Just shortly after swimming the 200m IM, Emily Seebohm then went ahead to win the women’s 50m backstroke in a time of 27.98 which places her fourth in 2014. She touched the wall ahead of Madison Wilson who swam a 28.66 and Alicia Coutts who posted a 28.85.

In the last race of the day it was again Korean Tae Hwan Park battling it out with a swimmer of Team Australia. In the men’s 1500m freestyle it was then Mack Horton who ended up outtouching Park with a time of 15:03.29. This is the fastest time set this year, four seconds faster than the previous mark set by France’s Yannick Agnel set at the Grand Prix in Austin in January. Park’s finishing time of 15:03.38 (with an astonishing final lap of 25.42, compared to Horton’s 27.56) also puts him ahead of Agnel at the fastest in this event in 2014. Third of the race was Jordan Harrison who posted a 15:42.06.

You can find all results of the final day of the NSW State Championships here.

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