British Swimming has placed an extremely high standard on its athletes aiming for a place on the world championship roster, setting qualifying times much faster than the FINA cuts. Many of the qualifying times are faster than or equal to British records. Only three of the country\u2019s top stars met that standard to set themselves up for medals in Russia this August.<\/p>\n
The time needed to qualify for the world championships in the 400 free is 3:44.58. That\u2019s a time James Guy knows well, as it is equal to his national record set at last year\u2019s Commonwealth Games. Guy beat both times in the final with a 3:44.16 to land on the world championship team and lower his national record. Indicating the level of swimmer that British Swimming wants to take to worlds, Guy\u2019s time puts him second in the world, behind the 3:42.84 by Australian Mack Horton.<\/p>\n
James Guy 400 free splits (by 100)<\/strong> Nicholas Grainger tried to keep pace with Guy, turning five tenths back at the 250-meter mark. But Grainger was unable to put together any 50-meter splits faster than 28-high, and settled for second with a 3:45.89. That time is much faster than FINA\u2019s \u201cA\u201d cut, but Grainger would have needed to swim faster than 3:43.36 under Great Britain\u2019s selection policy in order to earn qualification. Grainger can take solace in knowing that his time is sixth in the world, which might help Team GB staff pick him for the worlds team. Dan Wallace, fresh off the NCAA championships, was third with a 3:46.15, ranked eighth in the world.<\/p>\n Fran Halsall looked in control to win the women\u2019s 100 free final, but Siobhan-Marie O\u2019Connor made a surge in the final 10 meters to take the title with a 53.83 over Halsall\u2019s 54.10. That could be viewed as a bit of an upset, as Halsall has been Britain\u2019s top freestyle sprinter for more than five years. Neither time is as fast as the British standard of 53.43, but they are well ahead of the FINA \u201cA\u201d cut of 55.05, so the two will have to wait to see if they will swim the event in Russia. O\u2019Connor\u2019s swim ranks her 10th in the world while Hasall, last year\u2019s Commonwealth Games bronze medalist, ranks 14th.<\/p>\n Chris Walker-Hebborn continued his reign as the top British backstroker while Liam Tancock works his way back to post-injury form, posting a 52.88 in the 100 backstroke. That\u2019s his first swim under 53 seconds and nearly took down Tancock\u2019s national record of 52.73 from the 2009 world championships. Walker-Hebborn joins Japan\u2019s Ryosuke Irie as the only two under 53 seconds so far in 2013, with Walker-Hebborn\u2019s time ahead of Irie\u2019s 52.99. Tancock was just outside Great Britain\u2019s qualifying time for worlds with a 53.98 for second, just a bit slower than his best since returning from double shoulder injury.<\/p>\n Hannah Miley will be one of the busiest women at nationals, as she swims lots of events in addition to her individual medley specialties. She took down reigning national champion Jemma Lowe in the 200 fly final today with a 2:08.63, good for 11th in the world but not good enough for world championship placement as the British qualifying time stands at 2:06.81. Lowe was about an arm\u2019s length ahead of Miley through the race, but faltered in the final 50 to place second with a 2:09.36. Aimee Willmott was also in the hunt, placing third with a 2:09.66.<\/p>\n Perhaps the most anticipated race of the night was the men\u2019s 200 breaststroke. The field of eight featured Michael Jamieson, the reigning 200 breast Olympic silver medalist; Ross Murdoch, the reigning Commonwealth champion; and Adam Peaty, the world record holder in the 50 breast. Add in Olympic finalist Andrew Willis and this had the makings of a possible horde of British swimmers in the top 10 in the event. The priority was qualifying for worlds and beating the 2:08.34 qualifying time.<\/p>\n Ross Murdoch fired the opening salvo with a 2:09.48 in prelims that ranked him second in the world going into finals. But Peaty set the pace early, going out in 29.08 at the 50. Willis took over the lead at 100 meters with a 1:02.21, while Jamieson and Murdoch were not in the hunt at the halfway point. Peaty got the win with a 2:08.34 to equal the time needed to qualify for the world championships. That potentially gives Peaty three events at worlds, given that he is likely to qualify in the 100 breast and earn the right to swim the 50 in Russia as a result. Peaty\u2019s time ranks him second in the world behind the 2:07.77 by Japan\u2019s Yasuhiro Koseki. Willis might get a chance to swim in Russia with a second-place time of 2:08.59 that makes him third in the world. Similar to his race to win gold at the Commonwealth Games, Murdoch had a strong final surge but had to settle for third with a 2:08.90. That gives Great Britain three of the top five times swum so far in 2015 \u2026 but potentially, only one will swim at worlds.<\/p>\n
\n53.62
\n1:50.76 (57.14)
\n2:48.00 (57.24)
\n3:44.16 (56.16)<\/p>\n