Stephanie Rice, Alicia Coutts, Bronte Barratt and Kylie Palmer secured their second individual Olympic starts in London while Nick D'Arcy and Chris Wright ticked the Olympic nomination boxes in the 200 metres butterfly on day four of the Australian Swimming Championships in Adelaide.
Stephanie Rice, Alicia Coutts, Bronte Barratt and Kylie Palmer secured their second individual Olympic starts in London while Nick D'Arcy and Chris Wright ticked the Olympic nomination boxes in the 200 metres butterfly on day four of the Australian Swimming Championships in Adelaide.
Stephanie Rice claimed the 200 metres individual medley crown at the Olympic selection trials ahead of race favourite Alicia Coutts, and warned her best is yet to come.
Backing up from her impressive win in the 400IM, Rice came home strongly in the final 50m, clocking two minutes 9.38 seconds to overpower reigning national champion and 2012 100m butterfly champion Coutts (2:09.83).
The pair secured the two individual spots in the event at London, clocking the fastest two times in the world this year, with Emily Seebohm (2:12.37) missing out in third. Read Alicia Coutts' diary about the journey to London here>>>
"I'm really happy to have come away with a PB (personal best) in these suits," Rice said.
"The preparation has been so rough and it has been hard for me mentally to be confident."
Rice was adamant she would race faster at the London Olympics, where she will defend her 200IM and 400IM titles.
"I know if I get a good block (of training) in me, I know that I can improve on the times that I have done here," she said.
"I can't feel my shoulder when I'm racing because there are so many other things to focus on.
"The body always sings the last lap of whatever race you're doing," she said.
In the women's 200m freestyle Bronte Barratt (1:55.99) finally turned the tables on good friend and rival Kylie Palmer (1:56.04) in a thrilling finish. Both girls had already swam their way to London with top two finishes in the 400m freestyle on night one (with Palmer finishing first), and the 200m freestyle delivered another showdown.
"I knew it was going to be a close race but I'm pretty excited I got the touch on the wall this year," Barratt said.
Barratt has accepted she will have to control shoulder problems of her own in the lead-up to London.
"I have had two cortisone injections in the last six months, but that is just my shoulder. It's always going to be a bit sore and inflamed," she said.
"I have managed it really well over the last few months.
"When I'm racing, I don't feel it - just the adrenaline gets me going," Barratt said.
All eight women in the final swam under the "A" qualifying time, setting up strong hopes that the women can defend their 4x200m freestyle title from the Beijing Olympics. Gold Coast product Melanie Schlanger (1:56.73) was third with 17-year-old Brittany Elmslie (1:57.24) Jade Neilsen (1:57.70) and Angie Bainbridge (1:57.74) rounding out the top six.
Nick D'Arcy produced a dominant display to reclaim the national 200m butterfly title in one minute and 54.71 seconds- the fastest time in the world this year- ahead of Chris Wright (1:56.40), with both athletes swimming under the "A" qualifying time.
D'Arcy said he considered quitting along the journey to London, especially after a disappointing performance at the 2010 Commonwealth Games, but his hard work and perseverance had been worth it.
"It has been pretty tough and there have been some times when I wasn't sure if I was going to continue on but days like today make it all worth it," he said.
"It's a fantastic feeling to be able to go overseas and represent your country as part of the Australian swim team.
"I'm just honoured to be a part of it."
Meanwhile, James Magnussen is hoping he can threaten Cesar Cielo's 100m freestyle world record in Monday night's final after cruising through the semi-finals.
Magnussen clocked 47.93 seconds on Sunday night, the fastest time in the world this year, to lead a hot field into the decider and ominously described the swim as "pretty cruisey".
The 20-year-old has made no secret of his desire to break Brazilian Cielo's world mark of 46.91 seconds, set in a super suit at the farcical 2009 world championships in Rome.
"I'll certainly be going for it," Magnussen said after qualifying ahead of Matt Targett (48.56) and James Roberts (48.60).
Jess Schipper and Brenton Rickard topped the 200m butterfly and 200m breaststroke semi-finals respectively.
AOC with AAP
