Japan Open: Paris Olympic Hopefuls Sam Williamson and Bradley Woodward Grab Aussie Gold On Night Two

SMILING SAM: Sam Williamson is raising the bar for Aussie breaststrokers in countdown to Paris Trials.Photo Courtesy Delly Carr.

Japan Open: Paris Olympic Hopefuls Sam Williamson and Bradley Woodward Grab Aussie Gold On Night Two

Australian Olympic hopeful Sam Williamson has swum within a fingernail of the decade long National record in winning the men’s 50m breaststroke on night two of the Japan Open in Tokyo.

The Birmingham Commonwealth Games silver medallist, Williamson was one of two winners by Australian swimmers on the night, with fellow Paris Olympic hopeful Bradley Woodward (Mingara Aquatic, Coach Adam Kable) winning the 100m backstroke in an impressive early season swim of 53.72.

While Tokyo Olympian Chelsea Hodges showed encouraging signs to finish second in the women’s 50m breaststroke in 30.57, just 0.01 away from first and Brittany Castelluzzzo (Tea Tree Gully, SA; Coach Peter Bishop) finished second in the 200m freestyle in 1:58.89.

For 25-year-old Williamson it was his second fastest time ever in an impressive time of 26.77 – the only swimmer under 27 seconds and just 0.01 outside his best and 0.09 outside Olympic silver medallist Christian Sprenger’s 2014 Australian record.

It follows Williamson’s impressive B final win in the 100m on the opening night in a personal best time of 59.26, under the World Aquatics Championship standard set by Swimming Australia for the 2024 World’s in Doha in February.

Williamson (Melbourne Vicentre VIC; Coach Craig Jackson) and his fellow breaststroke cohorts have relished the competition off the back of a collaborative week-long training camp with the top Japanese coaches at the Tokyo Institute of Sport.

The Australian men were also to the fore in the 50m breaststroke B final with Nash Wilkes (Southport, QLD: Coach Sean Eels) finishing second in 27.73, Joshua Yong (UWA West Coast; Coach Ben Higson) third in 27.74; Joshua Collett (Bond, QLD; Coach Chris Mooney) fifth in 27.86 and Matthew Wilson (SOPAC, NSW; Coach Adam Kable) eighth 28.07.

Hodges (Southport; QLD; Coach Sean Eels), who swam the breaststroke leg in the gold medal-winning medley relay in Tokyo, will be buoyed by her progress as she sets her sights for the June, 2024 Olympic Trials announced yesterday for the Brisbane Aquatic Centre.

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