Cate Campbell’s world record splash back in Adelaide

 

  

Swimming Australia: October 26, 2017: She’s back! Cate Campbell has returned to the pool with a bang clocking a new short course world record in the 100 metres freestyle on the opening night of the Hancock Prospecting Australian Short Course Swimming Championships in Adelaide tonight.

 

The 25-year-old from Brisbane, who chose not to swim this year’s FINA World Championships, clocked a time of 50.25 seconds - to take 0.33 seconds off the previous short course world mark set by Swedish superstar Sarah Sjostrom in August.

 

Campbell wasted no time getting off the blocks at the SA Aquatic Centre, setting a cracking pace of 23.21 though the first 50 metres - 0.28 seconds  under world record pace.

She then powered away from fellow Olympic gold medal relay team mates sister Bronte (52.91) and Emma McKeon (52.25).

 

“She’s back!” said an excited Campbell after the race.

 

“And it’s exciting, it’s great to be swimming fast. I’ve put together some really good solid weeks of training and I’ve really been working hard.

 

“It’s great to see it’s really starting to pay off.

 

“There were a couple of times (when) I came back into training and I was thinking ‘oh man it’s a long way back.’

 

“But the body remembers and I’ve been doing this for a long time and taking a year off this year is the best thing I’ve ever done. 

 

“I’ve come back refreshed and I've got a new love for the sport, a new perspective and I’m more motivated than ever for the Commonwealth Games.

 

“Sarah Sjostrom (Sweden) is swimming incredibly fast and watching her in Budapest, I was very pleased I didn't gave to line up behind the blocks and race her then, but I’m now feeling a little better about the possibility of racing her in the future again now.

 

“She broke this world record just a couple of months ago and I was in that race and I was swimming next to her and I breathed and I saw her feet and it was a little demoralising.

 

“But it’s very motivating at the same time and I've been very motivated to get back in and give swimming 100 percent – I don’t feel I’m done with it yet.”

 

Earlier in the day Campbell won her first gold medal of the Championships in the 50 metres butterfly and hinted she may well “swim some more 50 metre butterfly events” now that her body is getting back together.

 

Later in the night Olympic 100m freestyle champion Kyle Chalmers made his successful comeback from his June heart surgery to win the men’s 100m freestyle in 47.72 in an all Marion  Swimming Club SA trifecta.

 

Chalmers powered away to beat Andrew Abood (48.06) and Rio Olympic 400 individual medley finalist Travis Mahoney (48.17).

 

The trio then combined with 21-year-old Grant Muller to give the Marion club the gold medal in the 4x100m freestyle relay in 3:16.35.

In other events:

The women’s 100m breaststroke saw Nunawading’s Jessica Hansen in 1:05.61 upset 2012 Olympic gold medallist Rūta Meilutytė 1:05.69 with a precision timed final 25 metres.

Olympian David McKeon (Griffith University) dug deep to overcame shoulder problems which curtailed his preparation to win his third Australian 400m title in 3:42.79 from fellow Queenslanders Josh Parrish (TSS Aquatic) 3:44.25 and fellow Rio Olympian Jack McLaughlin (Chandler) just a fingernail behind in 3:44.39.

North Sydney’s triple Paralympian Matthew Levy showed there is still plenty of fight in the old dog - setting a new world record for the SM7 class in the Multi-Class 200m individual medley.

The 30-year-old clocked a time of 2:32.34 to take 1.97 off the previous record set by Croatia’s Mihovil Spanja back in 2009.

Japan’s Daiya Seto won the men’s 200m butterfly in 1:51.60 from Rio Olympian David Morgan (TSS Aquatics) 1:53.37 and Nicholas Brown (Western Sprint) 1:53.66.

Emily Seebohm (Brisbane Grammar) took her lifetime National Short Course gold medal tally to 23 with a solid 2:02.72 to win the 200m backstroke and later won silver in the 400m individual medley behind Rio team mate Blair Evans.

The women’s 800m freestyle went to dual Olympian Jessica Ashwood (Chandler) in 8:20.41 from TSS Aquatics par Kiah Melverton 8:21.49 and Madeleine Gough 8:23.86.

Winners in the Multi-Class events were Daniel Fox (USC Spartans) who clocked 24.24 in the 50m freestyle; Katherine Downie (Perth City) 2:31.49 in the 200m individual medley; Jenna Jones (SOPAC) 28.28 in the 50m freestyle;

Sean Russo SM13 (MLC Marlins) 2:13.04 finished second with Liam Bekric  SM13 (Norwood) third.

In the women’s 200m individual medley it was Katherine Downie (Perth City) who won the gold in 2:31.49 from 13-year-old NSW South Coast find Jasmine Greenwood (Bay and Basin) 2:34.20 and Jenna Jones (SOPAC) 2:39.94.

Action begins at 11 am daily for the heats sessions with finals kicking off at 7pm each evening.

Tickets are available online here: http://bit.ly/2y3X8vq

The 2017 Hancock Prospecting Australian Short Course Swimming Championships will be livestreamed here: www.swimming.org.au

Kyle Chalmers - Fastest qualifier in Men's 100m Freestyle