SWIMMING: Three rookies will join 11 members of Australia’s successful Commonwealth Games team and seven Olympians in a 20-strong Australian Swim Team named tonight for next month’s FINA World Short Course Swimming Championships in Doha (December 3-7).
The team was announced on Sunday night after a record-breaking five days of competition at the 2014 Australian Short Course Championships at the SA Aquatic & Leisure Centre in Adelaide.
Australian short course record holders Mitch Larkin and Emily Seebohm will headline the team and be joined by nine of their Commonwealth Games teammates Cameron McEvoy, Bronte Campbell, Matt Abood, Leiston Pickett, Madison Wilson, Travis Mahoney, Sally Hunter, Jordan Harrison and Grant Irvine.
Larkin set the pool alight again tonight, breaking his own Australian record in the 200m backstroke.
Queenslanders David Morgan (TSS Aquatics), Daniel Smith (Miami) and Leah Neale (Indooroopilly) will make their Australian senior team debut while Neale’s training partner, dual Olympian Kylie Palmer will head to her fourth World Short Course Championships after first making the team in 2006.
At 29, Olympian Sally Hunter is the oldest and one of the more experienced swimmers on the team with 18-year-old Youth Olympian Brianna Throssell the youngest.
The team will be looking to cap off a successful year in the pool in Doha, following on from their recent performance at the Hancock Prospecting Pan Pacific Championships on the Gold Coast and their record gold medal haul at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
Harrison, who served notice on the world tonight with his world number one ranking performance of 14:26.21 in the 1500m freestyle is one of seven survivors of the 2012 World Short Course Team that also included Hunter, Mahoney, Ellen Fullerton, Brianna Throssell, Irvine and D’Orsogna.
Seebohm is one of seven Olympians including 100m freestyle gold medallist from tonight, McEvoy, Larkin, Hunter, Campbell, D’Orsogna and Palmer.
Queensland swimmers dominate the team with 16 with one each from NSW, South Australia, Western Australia and Victoria.
Swimmers selected to represent Australia at the FINA World Short Course Team to compete in Doha this December:
Athlete - Club - State
Matthew Abood, Sydney University, NSW
Bronte Campbell, Commercial, QLD
Tommaso D'Orsogna, Commercial, QLD
Ellen Fullerton, Nudgee Brothers, QLD
Katie Goldman, St Peters Western, QLD
Jordan Harrison, Miami, QLD
Sally Hunter, Marion, SA
Grant Irvine, St Peters Western, QLD
Mitchell Larkin, St Peters Western, QLD
Travis Mahoney, Nunawading, VIC
Cameron McEvoy, Palm Beach Currumbin, QLD
David Morgan, TSS, QLD
Leah Neale, Indooroopilly, QLD
Jake Packard, Indooroopilly, QLD
Kylie Palmer, Indooroopilly, QLD
Lesiton Pickett, Southport Olympic, QLD
Emily Seebohm, Nudgee Brothers, QLD
Daniel Smith, Miami, QLD
Brianna Throssell, Perth City, WA
Madison Wilson, St Peters Western, QLD
Highlights of the 2014 Australian short course swimming championships held in Adelaide from November 5th - 9th, 2014.
Night One - Wednesday 5th November
London Olympian Mitch Larkin set the standard on Wednesday's opening night of the Australian short course swimming championships in Adelaide, recording a new national and Commonwealth record in the men's 100m backstroke semi-final and finishing just half a second off the world record of 48.94 seconds.
Larkin's time of 49.44 eclipsed the previous record (49.92) set last year by Bobby Hurley. The 21-year-old holds the backstroke record double after last month setting an Australian short course record in the 200m backstroke at the FINA World Cup in Beijing.
Youth Olympic medallist Brianna Throssell again impressed in the women's 200m butterfly final, winning gold in 2:04.73 to finish more than four seconds clear of the field.
With the long course 200m freestyle title to his name from April, Olympian Cameron McEvoy added the short course title to his tally, picking up gold in 1:43.09. Coming in second was David McKeon (1:43.43), just ahead of Dan Smith (1:43.50).
In the women's 400m individual medley final, Keryn McMaster won in 4:29.24 from Ellen Fullerton (4:31.15) and Jessica Pengelly (4:37.06).
Night Two - Thursday 6th November
Brisbane's record breaking backstrokers Mitch Larkin and Emily Seebohm have sent a clear message they mean business at December's world short course swimming championships in Doha, challenging the short course world records in the 100m backstroke finals in two spectacular swims at the SA Aquatic and Leisure Centre.
Twenty-one-year-old Larkin, the London Olympic 200m backstroke finalist and Commonwealth Games gold medallist, improved Wednesday's Commonwealth record time again on Thursday night, clocking 49.25 to win gold - just 0.31secs outside American Nick Thoman's 2009 world mark of 48.94.
"To go 49.25 is pretty amazing... I've got the 200 later in the week so I'm really looking forward to seeing what I can do in that one," Larkin said.
Dual-Olympian Seebohm only just missed the 2009 world record of Japan's Shiho Sakai by just 0.24secs - a record she'll hunt in Doha.
Seebohm, 22, smashed her own Australian record by 1.11secs and the 2009 Commonwealth record set by South African Channelle Van Wyk by 1.09secs, relegating Madison Wilson (56.97) to silver and Hayley Baker (57.45) to bronze.
The Australian team for the Doha world championships from December 3-7 will be named on Sunday night.
Night Three - Friday 7th November
Swimming's brother and sister act Emma and David McKeon bagged gold medals at will on Friday night at the 2014 Australian short course swimming championships in Adelaide.
Triple Commonwealth Games gold medallist Emma started proceedings in the 100m freestyle, then added the 50m butterfly before completing a rare treble in the 400m freestyle.
She demonstrated her dominance and experience gained on the recent FINA World Cup circuit, coming from behind to beat fastest qualifier Bronte Campbell in the 100m freestyle final.
McKeon swam 51.83s (just outside her PB of 51.69) ahead of Campbell (52.14) and Brittany Elmslie (52.66).
Back in the water 20 minutes later, Emma out-touched Elmslie and former long course world champion Marieke D'Cruz to win the 50m butterfly in 25.78.
Big brother David then took out the prestigious 400m freestyle final in a personal best time of 3:38.17.
But Emma then won a surprise gold in the corresponding women's 400m freestyle, finishing in a personal best time of 4:00.63 - the fourth fastest time by an Australian behind Blair Evans and Beijing Olympic 4x200m freestyle relay gold medallists Kylie Palmer and Bronte Barratt.
A noted 100 and 200m swimmer, she admitted she had never enjoyed swimming the 400m, but maybe would reluctantly consider swimming it again.
"I entered it here and thought I would give it a shot. I usually don't race it to plan but tonight I did stick to the plan and put some effort into it from the start and it paid off.
"I looked up and saw my time 4.00.63 and, although I was impressed, it would have been nice to go under four minutes. I guess I'll have to do another one now which I know I won't be too keen on."
McKeon said she would go back to Brisbane to prepare for next year's Australian (long course) titles and world championship selection trials in Sydney (April 3-10).
She held on to win her third gold of the night from Jessica Ashwood (4:01.76) and Leah Neale (4:02.24).
Madison Wilson held on for a last-gasp win over dual Olympian Emily Seebohm to claim the 200m backstroke final in a personal best time of 2:01.75 - 0.12 ahead of Seebohm (2:01.87) and Mikkayla Sheridan third (2:04.65).
But Seebohm later won gold in the 100m individual medley in 58.45 ahead of Kotuku Ngawati (1:00.06) and Hayley Baker (1:00.19).
Night Four - Saturday 8th November
Dual Olympic gold medallist Emily Seebohm added her third gold medal of the meet with an all-the-way victory in the 200m individual medley on night four of the Australian Short Course Swimming Championships at the SA Aquatic & Leisure Centre in Adelaide tonight.
Seebohm (Nudgee Brothers, QLD) used all her strength to swim away from the field in the butterfly, backstroke and breaststroke legs, hanging on in the freestyle to win in a time of 2:07.54.
She proved too powerful for training partner Ellen Fullerton (2:09.84) with Aisling Scott (Indooroopilly) third in 2:10.26.
The win comes after her victories in the 100m backstroke in a new Commonwealth record and 100m individual medley earlier in the meet.
Larkin (St Peters Western, QLD) who smashed his own 100m backstroke Commonwealth record two nights ago used the turn his advantage and took the title in a personal best time of 23.33secs – 0.29secs outside Bobby Hurley’s Australian record.
Hurley finished second in 23.46 with Commonwealth Games gold medallist Ben Treffers (Burley Griffin, NSW) third in 23.61.
Gold Coaster Leiston Pickett (Southport) joined the likes of Leisel Jones and Sarah Katsoulis – as the only swimmers over the past decade to claim the 50-100m short course breaststroke double when she clocked a personal best time of 1:05.21 to win the 100m breaststroke final.
It followed her gold medal defense of her 50m breaststroke title on night two.
Pickett held on to beat the fast finishing defending champion and dual Olympian Sally Hunter (Marion, SA) 1:05.34 with Victorian teenager Jessica Hansen (Nunawading, VIC) third in a personal best time of 1:05.76 – moving her into the Australian All-Time Top 10.
Night Five - Sunday 9th November
Two world class swims by emerging stars Jordan Harrison and Mitch Larkin and a fifth gold medal to Commonwealth Games golden girl Emma McKeon highlighted an exciting final night’s competition at the Australian Short Course Swimming Championships at the SA Aquatic & Leisure Centre in Adelaide tonight.
Miami’s emerging 1500m freestyler Harrison carved a massive 17 seconds off his personal best time to clock the fastest time in the world over the past two years to win the 1500m freestyle in 14:26.21 – making him the second fastest Australian 1500m short course swimmer in history.
The only Australian to have swum faster is dual Olympic champion and short course world record holder Grant Hackett, his current training partner, who set the world record of 14:10.10 in Perth in 2001.
Harrison’s time clipped 0.31secs off the great Kieren Perkins best short course time of 14:26.52 swum in Auckland back in 1993.
Coming into the meet Harrison, from the Denis Cotterell stable at Pizzey Park had clocked 14:43.26 in Perth last year.
Harrison went through the 400m in 3:47.85 and the 800m in 7:39.55 – four seconds under his own personal best and the fourth fastest time ever by an Australian – with only Hackett, Perkins and Daniel Kowalski, who was poolside to witness tonight’s swim, clocking a faster time.
Earlier in the evening Commonwealth Games gold medallist and London Olympic finalist Larkin (St Peters Western) produced a crowd-pleasing 200m backstroke time, setting a new Australian and Australian All-Comers record of 1:47.72 – the sixth fastest time in history.
Larkin, who had set the previous Australian record at 1:48.69 at the FINA World Cup in Beijing just last month, went out after it again and was a touch under world record pace, splitting 52.33 at the 100m turn.
The world record of 1:46.11, set by Russia’s Arkady Vyatchanin was set in the body suit era in 2009. Larkin blitzed the field with silver going to defending champion Matson Lawson (Tigersharks, VIC) 1:54.03 with Travis Mahoney (Nunawading) third in 1:54.40.
Both Harrison and Larkin were named in the 20-strong Australian team for next month's FINA World Championships in Doha.
And with a total of five gold medals, from five events, rising star Emma McKeon, who was unavailable for Doha, collected a clean sweep over the five nights.
With the 50m butterfly, 100m and 400m freestyle titles to her name from earlier in the meet, McKeon added both the 100m butterfly and 200m freestyle to her tally tonight.
The four-time Commonwealth Games gold medallist backed up after the 100m butterfly to set a new short course all comers record, previously held by Libby Trickett at 1:53.29, to hit the wall in a time of 1:52.59.
The silver medal went to world championship silver medallist in this event Kylie Palmer in 1:54.05 with Brittany Elmslie adding a bronze to her collection in 1:54.44.
McKeon’s gold in the 100m butterfly saw her stop the clock in 56.21 from Elmslie (57.06) and Marieke D’Cruz (57.49).
Meanwhile in the 100m freestyle, Palm Beach Currumbin’s Pan Pacific champion, London Olympian Cameron McEvoy jumped out of the blocks like a rocket, splitting 21.88 in a catch-me-if-you tactic and only just held on to take the title in 46.85.
He held off fellow Olympian Tommaso D’Orsogna (46.86) by the barest margin, 0.01 of a second. Commonwealth record holder and three-time winner Matt Abood was third in 47.14. All three will represent Australia in Doha.
Commonwealth Games silver medallist Grant Irvine (St Peters Western, QLD), swam his way onto the Australian team when he became only the third Australian under 1:53.00 in the 200m butterfly.
Irvine clocked a new personal best of 1:52.37 to win the gold medal in an all-the-way victory.
The 2012 champion proved too fast for 200m freestyle star Thomas Fraser-Holmes (Miami, QLD) in a personal best of 1:53.53 with 100m butterfly winner David Morgan taking the bronze in 1:54.67.
Commonwealth Games and Pan Pacific Championships gold medallist Bronte Campbell took the sprint queen crown in the final of the women’s 50m freestyle with a speedy time of 23.88 – just under her previous personal best of 23.91 and sitting fourth on the Australian all-time top ten.
St Peters Western swimmer Brittany Elmslie was just behind, hitting the wall in 24.27 for silver ahead of Marieke D’Cruz (24.54) with the bronze.
AAP & Swimming Australia
