Dual Commonwealth Games gold medallist Geoff Huegill flew to his 16th national title, while Belinda Hocking continued her backstroke dominance with a new Australian record over 200m.
Dual Commonwealth Games gold medallist Geoff Huegill flew to his 16th national title tonight in the final of the men’s 100m butterfly at the 2011 Telstra Australian Swimming Championships in Sydney, while Belinda Hocking continued her backstroke dominance with a new Australian record over 200m.
Huegill turned in the lead and held off a late challenge from 22-year-old Victorian Sam Ashby (52.48) to win in a time of 52.36, the second quickest time recorded in 2011 behind American superfish Michael Phelps, while fellow NSWIS swimmer Joseph Carty finished third in 52.91.
It was Huegill’s first title in the 100m butterfly since the 2004 Australian Swimming Championships and adds to the momentum the 32-year-old continues to build ahead of the 2012 London Olympic Games.
Huegill’s swim fell outside the benchmark selection time however, so he will need to wait until swimming concludes on the final night of competition tomorrow to see if he is selected for the 2011 FINA World Championships in Shanghai.
Huegill said he faced a nervous wait but would back the decision handed down.
“I’ll wait earnestly like everyone else but it’s one of those things, benchmarks are set and once they go through and pick the team and see what results are left over, you wait and see from there,” Huegill said.
“Long term I am really happy tonight even though it would have been good to sneak under 52 seconds.
“It’s been seven years since I won my last 100 fly and I’m really going to enjoy this one.”
Hocking continued her superb meet by smashing the Australian record in the women’s 200m backstroke final, in a time of 2:06.88.
The 20-year-old Albury swimmer, who had already won the 100m backstroke and bronze in the 50m backstroke this week, shaved 0.53 of a second off Meagen Nay’s old Australian record and only missed out on Great Britain Gemma Spofforth’s Commonwealth record by a meagre 0.22 of a second.
Nay, the Delhi Commonwealth Games gold medallist in this event, touched second in a time of 2:08.88 to secure her place on the Australian world championship team, while 16-year-old Mikkayla Sheridan was third in 2:09.82.
Expectedly, Hocking was ecstatic with her record breaking swim which capped off a fantastic week for the AIS based backstroker.
“That’s my first Australian record but for me tonight was not only about getting the record but also keeping the title,” Hocking said.
“I’ve kept it for three years now so it’s looking good for next year.”
In the men’s 50m freestyle it was 24-year-old Matt Abood who emerged from the white water to set the third quickest time of 2011, touching in 22.02 and edging out 50m butterfly champion Matt Targett (22.15) and Australian record holder Ashley Callus (22.35).
Abood and Targett had already secured places on the men’s 4x100m freestyle relay team after finishing 5th and 4th respectively in the men’s 100m freestyle final, but will now have the chance to swim for individual gold in Shanghai.
Abood banished his demons from twelve months ago when he missed out on qualifying for the Australian Commonwealth Games team after a disappointing meet at the 2010 Telstra Australia Swimming Championships.
The 2009 title holder said a lot of self-belief and motivation drove him to success.
“There was obviously disappointment missing out last year but to come back and win tonight is a great feeling,” Abood said. “I’ve improved my times a lot from last year.
“It would have been good to see a 21 up there but it leaves some room for improvement and hopefully I can do that in Shanghai.”
Marike Guehrer reclaimed her Australian title in a nail-biting final of the women’s 50m butterfly, pipping Alice Mills (26.43) by 0.01 of a second to win in a time of 26.42.
The 2009 world champion prevented Mills from winning her first Australian title since 2005, while Victorian Sophie Edington (26.76) finished in third place.
Guehrer said she was happy with the race but was focused on the women’s 50m freestyle final tomorrow night. “You know what, a win is a win, even though it’s not a selection event,” Guehrer said.
“I’ve still got another chance in the 50m freestyle which I’m really looking forward to. “I’ve just got to make sure I stop thinking and just go for it.”
Defending Australian Champion Katie Goldman has retained her Australian title in the final of the women’s 800m freestyle, with a time of 8:28.49. Five-time Australian champion Melissa Gorman (8:30.85) and Commonwealth Games gold medallist Blair Evans (8:33.71) were unable to reign in the 18-year-old Goldman, who finished just shy of the qualifying time for the Australian team.
