The Seebohm train keeps on rolling with sixth gold

  

Swimming Australia, November 6, 2016: Australia’s premier Olympic backstroker Emily Seebohm will set herself to swim at least six individual events at next month’s Fina World Short Course Championships in Windsor Canada.

The 24-year-old added gold medal number six, her 13^th career win, at today’s fifth session of the 2016 Hancock Prospecting Australian Championships in Brisbane with a narrow victory in the 50m backstroke.

And after some personal deliberation will also line up in  the final of the 200IM tonight in tonight’s final session – chasing an unprecedented title number seven before Swimming Australia announces the Dolphins team for the December 6-13  Championships.

Seebohm powered off the turn this morning to edge in front of  Brisbane Grammar training partner Minna Atherton to clock a new Australian All-Comers record of 26.28 – shading 0.02 off her own mark set in Sydney last year.

Sixteen-year-old Atherton clocked a personal best of 26.53 with Holly Barratt (Rockingham, WA) third in 26.83.

The multi-talented all-rounder will again set herself for a busy six-days of competition in Canada.

“My priorities will be the three backstrokes, the 100 individual medley and I love doing the 50s but I will have to wait and see how the program works out – I haven’t even had a look at it yet but I would not like to do any more than three (events) per day,” said Seebohm.

“The 200IM would be the first one to go, I haven’t really trained for that and would have to up my breaststroke training; I can get away with it in the 100IM – it’s a bit easier - it’s only a sprint.”

Seebohm said doing the Fina World Cup Series had been rewarding in more ways than one.

“It has been really good instead of training, the racing was easy and I came here and I was in the same mode, travel, rest day and competition day again,” said Seebohm.

“And it was almost like keep on going on that train. That’s been really good but I started to get tired in the last event in Hong Kong and I thought how am I going to do this.

“But being at home, sleeping in my own bed, having my dogs around, seeing my horse, it’s been really good to be able to pump myself up, and I told myself this is OK it’s in Brisbane, my home town. It’s easy and mum’s making my meals so it’s fine.

“The racing was a way of getting the kilometres up with warms ups, warm downs, races. It’s really good to get that solid work out.

“I haven’t really had a break since Rio. I had the second week. Then I did the World Cups, came home had the week off and then went back into training… If I had had a big break it would have been harder.

“I have enjoyed training in the mornings and then having the rest of the day to myself and maybe going riding and do something else other than swimming.

“I was happy with the way I handled Rio it definitely wasn’t what I wanted out of it and I thought well that’s what’s happened and not really dwell on it for a long time.

“I thought well that sucks but I’ll keep going. It’s good to have World Short Course there because it’s something I’ve been working towards. I’m now going to take every year as it comes and just see how my body is handling it and how I’m feeling mentally and physically. That is my priority before I decide I’m going to go for 2020.

“I’d love to say I can do it but I’m heading towards my 10^th straight year on the team…that would be 14 years on the team; maybe it’s a matter of working on a different routine for me and seeing how that works. 

Meanwhile rejuvenated Olympian Cameron McEvoy has set the stage for a sizzling finish to his program after clocking a slick 21.16 – 0.31 outside his own National record in the heats of the 50m freestyle ahead of butterfly champion David Morgan (TSS Aquatics) 21.74 and Andrew Abood (Marion) 21.87.

In the morning’s other finals:

Chandler’s 17-year-old Mikayla Messer held on to take out the women’s 1500m freestyle timed final in 16:06.10 from notable 10km open water star Mountain Creek Mooloolaba’s Kareena Lee (16:06.60) with TSS Aquatics Madeleine Gough (16:11.85)

Melbourne Vicentre’s Jack Gerrard (53.07) took out his first National title win in  the 100IM from backstroke king Mitch Larkin (53.28) with the bronze going to Trinity Grammar NSW’s James Traiforos (54.35).

Larkin had earlier topped the qualifiers in the 100m backstroke in 51.87 from Nunawading Rio Olympians Travis Mahoney (52.49) and Josh Beaver (52.63).

The women’s 50m breaststroke gold medal went to Sweden’s Jessica Eriksson (30.74) from Australians Jessica Hansen (Nunawading) and Georgia Bohl (SPW) who dead-heated in 30.93 and were crowned dual National champions with Tessa Wallace (Pelican Waters) the bronze..

Canberra’s Madeleine Scott took out the multi-class 50m butterfly in 31.88 from Cranbrook’s Prue Watt (32.11) and SLC Aquadot’s Amy Cook (33.36) with Chandler’s Rio Olympian Daniel Fox winning the men’s event in 27.44 from Mitchell Kilduff (27.58) and Tuggeranong Vikings Joshua Alford (27.71).

In other heats:

-       SOPAC’s defending champion Matthew Wilson is the fastest qualifier in the men’s 200m breaststroke in 2:07.95 while his namesake, Olympian and world championship silver medallist Madison Wilson (SPW) tops the qualifiers in the women’s 200m freestyle in 1:57.27.

-       London Olympian and silver medallist in the 100m freestyle here Tommaso D’Orsogna (Somerset) 51.16 is the top qualifier ahead of 50 and 200m champion Rio Olympian David Morgan (TSS Aquatics) 51.89.

-       Carlile’s 100m butterfly silver medallist Emily Washer has grabbed lane four in the absence of Rio Olympic silver medallist  Maddie Groves clocking 2:08.87 as she chases her first National title in the 200m butterfly.

-       Canberra’s Madeleine Scott is the top qualifier in the multi-class 100m breaststroke in 1:21.05 while in the men’s event Rio Paralympian Blake Cochrane (USC Spartans) leads the field with his 1:15.38.

-       SOPAC’s Thomas Elliott posted the fastest tie in the 400IM 4:07.51 while in the women’s 200IM Aisling Scott (2:12.29) and Calypso Sheridan (2:13.21) are two of four Brisbane Grammar swimmers alongside Seebohm (2:14.34) and Isabel Lampre (2:15.35) to qualify for the final and;

-       Cairns-based Grant Patterson (3:13.27) took the gold in the 150IM multi-class from Melbourne Vicentre’s Ahmed Kelly (3:00.63).