Ashwood’s Australian record the icing on the cake in Santa Clara

 

  

Swimming Australia, June 6 2016: Jessica Ashwood's Australian record swim in the 800m freestyle has added the icing to the cake in what has been another outstanding display by Australia’s Dolphins at the Arena Pro Swim Meet in Santa Clara today.

Rio-bound in the 400 and 800m freestyle, the 23-year-old set a new National mark of 8:18.14 – improving on her own time to maintain the second-fastest time in the world this year behind reigning world champion and world record holder, American Katie Ledecky.

 

It set the tone for a rewarding day for the Australian team with a total of five victories to Ashwood, world champions Emily Seebohm and Mitch Larkin in their respective 200m backstrokes and Emma McKeon and James Magnussen in the 100m freestyle finals - making it 12 victories in three days.

 

Ashwood looked on top of her game right from the gun, after yesterday’s impressive 400m freestyle win and produced an eye-catching negative split in the final.

 

The Sydney-born Ashwood, fourth in the FINA World Championships in this event last year, split 4:10.39 through the first 400m before turning on the after-burners to come home in the second 400m in 4:07.75 to take 0.27 off her own National mark of 8:18.41 set at those world championships in Kazan.

 

To give you some idea of just how good this swim was, Ashwood split 29.04 for her first 50m and 29.49 for her final lap – 1:01.76 for the last 100m, in encouraging signs for her Rio campaign.

 

Her record made up for the agonisingly close 8:18.42 she swam at this year’s Hancock Prospecting Australian Championships, to qualify for Rio.

 

Asked by triple Olympic gold medallist and US swimming expert Rowdy Gaines after her race what the difference has been over the past four years since London, Ashwood was quick to answer: “There is no doubt that I have grown both as a person and as a swimmer and it’s always pleasing to put together a good race like that – my aim is to always try and negative split my races – that’s the way I like it.”

 

The Australians continued on their winning ways with:

 

EMILY Seebohm producing a sizzling final 50m to win the women’s 200m backstroke in 2:08.57 with her Brisbane Grammar School training partner, 16-year-old Minna Atherton third in 2:10.83.

 

MITCH Larkin (1:55.38) powering over US rivals and likely Rio combatants Ryan Murphy (1:56.10) and Jacob Pebley (1:56.38) in a well-constructed 200m backstroke win.

 

EMMA McKeon adding the 100m freestyle (53.30) to her earlier wins in the 50 and 200m freestyle in what was another Australian 1-2 with her Olympic team mate Brittany Elmslie (53.77) a fast finishing second and only 0.23 outside her best.

 

JAMES Magnussen taking advantage of the withdrawal of Olympic champion Nathan Adrian from the final to take the win in 48.99 in a quinella to the Australians with 17-year-old Olympic debutant Kyle Chalmers second in 49.16.

 

In other events: Chandler’s Rio-bolter Jack McLoughlin (15:19.15) was a strong second to Canada’s two-time Olympic medallist Ryan Cochrane (15:09.97) in the 1500m freestyle; 400IM winner Keryn McMaster (2:14.04) finished third in the 200IM; team mate Jared Gilliland  (2:04.85) fourth in the 200IM and fifth (2:01.58) in the 200m backstroke; Bronte Barratt (54.45) and Madi Wilson (54.78) 5^th and 6^th respectively in the 100m freestyle; and Andrew Abood (49.92) 6^th in the 100m freestyle.

 

The Australians chalked up 12 wins, eight seconds and four thirds over the three days in what has been an encouraging campaign for Australia’s Olympic swimmers, some who elected to swim in Japan last month and those who swam in Santa Clara.

 

National Head Coach Jacco Verhaeren was again full of praise for his swimmers.

 

“It’s been very encouraging indeed and to see the team produce such good results and to see them doing it for themselves and sticking to their own race plans, devised by their coaches, is so important,” said Verhaeren.

 

“We created a great team atmosphere last year and we are continuing to build on that and at this stage of the preparation it is vital to have this international competition.

 

“Jess Ashwood set the scene with a well deserved National record. Whenever you see a swim like that it is very special and she had to do it by herself and battle herself to get the job done and that’s what she did.

 

“I thought both Emily and Mitch did a great job in the backstrokes as did the girls Emma and Brittany and the boys James and Kyle in the 100 freestyles.

 

“There was some strong competition here and that’s why we came here for.”

 

While some of the team will head straight home to Australia, Michael Bohl and Peter Bishop’s squads will extend their stay to train in the US and Hawaii before heading back next week.

Brisbane’s Sleeman Aquatic Centre at Chandler will host a farewell Grand Prix, featuring the Olympic team on July 1 and 2.