Sam Short Lines Up As World-Title Contender With 7:42 Australian Title Win
Sam Short, a 3:42 400m free and a relative ‘swim-down’ 14:58 1500m in the bag, sped to the helm of the 2023 World ranks over 800m in 7:42.96 on the third day of racing at Australian Championships.
A personal best by almost 6sec, Short’s time got inside the 7:44.45 of Ireland’s Daniel Wiffen at the Stockholm Swim Open last weekend and today kept World 400m freestyle champion Elijah Winnington at bay in the fray at the Gold Coast Aquatic Centre:
- Sam Short 19, Rackley
26.88 55.60 (28.72)
1:24.41 (28.81) 1:53.42 (29.01)
2:22.53 (29.11) 2:51.79 (29.26)
3:21.21 (29.42) 3:50.45 (29.24)
4:19.72 (29.27) 4:49.26 (29.54)
5:18.57 (29.31) 5:47.93 (29.36)
6:17.05 (29.12) 6:46.25 (29.20)
7:15.26 (29.01) 7:42.96 (27.70) - Elijah Winnington, 22, St Peter Western
26.46 55.52 (29.06)
1:24.86 (29.34) 1:54.01 (29.15)
2:23.25 (29.24) 2:52.78 (29.53)
3:22.30 (29.52) 3:51.88 (29.58)
4:21.72 (29.84) 4:51.87 (30.15)
5:21.99 (30.12) 5:52.45 (30.46)
6:22.66 (30.21) 6:52.86 (30.20)
7:22.21 (29.35) 7:49.81 (27.60) - Matthew Galea, 21, SOSC – 7:58.64
Sam Short is now 18th swiftest all-time and the fourth fastest Australia an arm-swing shy of the 7:42.51 clocked by now-retired Jack McCloughlin at nationals in 2021 on his way to Olympic silver in the 400m freestyle at Covid-delayed Tokyo 2020 in 2021.
The Commonwealth record has stood at 7:38.65 to Grant Hackett since July 2005, when he claimed the World titles over 400, 800 and 1500 in Montreal; and the Australian All-Comers mark stands at 7:41.59 to Ian Thorpe since March 2001, at trials on his way to the World title later that year in a then world record of 7:39.16 in Fukuoka ahead of Hackett.
Australian trials for the World Championships, which will return to Fukuoka in Japan this July, are scheduled for June.
In other day 3 action, Kaylee McKeown was found working on the parts of a medley sum that may add up to an Olympic medal at Paris 2024 next year. The double Olympic backstroke champion clocked 2:24.18 to dent the pride of breaststroke specialist in the 200m final, with Abbey Harkin and Jenna Strauch both own 2:25s. McKeown took the lead down the third length:
33.64 1:10.22 (36.58) 1:47.28 (37.06) 2:24.18 (36.90) McKeown
33.17 1:09.89 (36.72) 1:47.34 (37.45) 2:25.72 (38.38) Harkin
33.30 1:10.45 (37.15) 1:47.63 (37.18) 2:25.94 (38.31) Strauch
In the 400m freestyle, Olympic and World champion Ariarne Titmus, who lost her World record to Canadian Summer McIntosh a couple of weeks back, stopped the clock in 4:00.49 for the win today ahead of Lani Pallister (4:05.86) and New Zealand’s Eve Thomas (4:06.10), daughter of Britain and England distance ace Sarah Hardcastle, the 1984 Olympic silver (400) and bronze (800) medallist who made a comeback to claim the 1995 World short-course 800m title on Copa Cabana in Rio.
Hardcastle claimed Commonwealth titles for England in the 400 and 800m freestyle in 1986. Her 400m time was 4:07.68. That remained the family record – until today, courtesy of Eve, 37 years on.
Titmus summed up the meaning of the meet for those aiming for bigger moments at trials and then the World Championships when she she said: “It’s hard to know where you are at the moment with training being pretty tough. This meet is more about going out there and seeing what you’ve got while you are a bit tired, but that’s fun to have a bit of a mental reprieve and to come here and race and that’s why we do it.”
Day 3 podiums at a glance (first time = heats or entry time; second time = final time )
M 200IM
1 NEILL, THOMAS 20 RACKL 2:00.48 1:58.99
2 KNOX (V), FINLAY 22 CAN 2:02.46 1:59.19
3 PETRIC, WILLIAM 18 NUN 2:00.73 2:00.84
W 200 breaststroke
1 MCKEOWN, KAYLEE 21 GUSC 2:30.63 2:24.18
2 HARKIN, ABBEY 24 STPET 2:30.32 2:25.72
3 STRAUCH, JENNA 26 MIAMI 2:28.95 2:25.94
M 50 free
1 MCEVOY, CAMERON 28 SOMAQ 22.27 22.11
2 NOWAKOWSKI, THOMAS 22 SOMGC 22.05 22.17
3 SOUTHAM, FLYNN 17 BOND 22.61 22.32
W 50 back
1 O’CALLAGHAN, MOLLIE 19 STPET 27.72 27.42
2 JOB, BRONTE 20 RACKL 28.09 28.21
3 BARCLAY, JACLYN 16 STPET 28.59 28.23
M 100 ‘fly
1 TEMPLE, MATTHEW 23 MARI 52.93 51.49
2 ARMBRUSTER, BEN 20 BOND 51.96 51.96
3 CHAMPION, SHAUN 23 ABBT 52.22 52.01
(4 CHALMERS, KYLE 24 MARI 52.69 52.09)
W 400 free
1 TITMUS, ARIARNE 22 STPET 4:09.40 4:00.49
27.75 57.45 (29.70)
1:27.68 (30.23) 1:58.27 (30.59)
2:28.88 (30.61) 2:59.74 (30.86)
3:30.55 (30.81) 4:00.49 (29.94)
2 PALLISTER, LANI 20 GUSC 4:09.57 4:05.86
3 THOMAS (V), EVE 22 NZL 4:09.87 4:06.10
M 100 back
1 WOODWARD, BRADLEY 24 MING 55.34 54.66
2 NIKOLAEV (V), MARK 25 BOND 56.03 54.76
3 HARTWELL, TY 22 CHAND 55.28 54.83
W 50 ‘fly
1 THROSSELL, BRIANNA 27 STPET 26.80 26.06
2 PERKINS, ALEXANDRIA 22 USCS 26.42 26.26
3 PRICE, LILY 20 RACKL 26.55 26.46
M 800 free
1 SHORT, SAMUEL 19 RACKL 7:48.65 7:42.96
2 WINNINGTON, ELIJAH 22 STPET 7:45.30 7:49.81
3 GALEA, MATTHEW 21 SOSC 7:58.36 7:58.64