Bond’s Alex Graham puts his hand up for Commonwealth Games Swim Team

  

Swimming Australia: February 28, 2018:  Gold Coaster Alexander Graham has thrown a large spanner in the works in the helter-skelter race for places on the Australian Commonwealth Games Swim Team on the Gold Coast today on day one of the Hancock Prospecting Australian Swimming Trials at the Optus Aquatic Centre.

Graham, 22, who represented Australia as a relay swimmer at the 2013 World Championships and the 2016 World Short Course Championships and the 2017 FINA World Championships is the fastest qualifier for tonight’s all-star 200m freestyle final on what will be a scorching opening finals session.

Graham, one of three Bond University swimmers under Richard Scarce in the top eight, clocked a personal best time of 1:46.72 in the first of the three seeded heats with Olympic 400m champion Mack Horton (Melbourne Vicentre) second in 1:47.06 and former Australian champion Cam McEvoy (Bond) 1:47.48.

It sent a clear message to the next two heats. “Catch us if you can?”

Dual Olympian David McKeon (Griffith University) then took heat seven in 1:47.83 from rising star Elijah Winnington (Bond) 1:48.26 and Jack Cartwright (SPW) 1:48.36.

With Olympic 100m freestyle champion Kyle Chalmers in the eighth and final heat he knew he had to be on the money and he duly delivered in 1:47.41, just ahead of Clyde Lewis (SPW) 1:47.76 and Rio Olympian Dan Smith (Griffith Uni) 1:48.29 – leaving 2017 World Championship team member Cartwright just outside the top eight.

Just 1.64 separates the top eight with Cartwright missing the final by 0.24.

Horton’s words from yesterday that “making an Australian final was sometimes harder than making a Commonwealth Games final” certainly rang true.

The top three finishes will be looking for individual places on the team with the whole field in the hunt for relay spots.

In other events 10-time Australian champion Emily Seebohm (Brisbane Grammar) set the fastest time of the day in the women’s 100m backstroke heats of 58.90 ahead of Hayley Baker (Melbourne Vicentre) 1:00.26, Kaylee McKeown (USC Spartans) 1:00.70 Minna Atherton (Brisbane Gram) and Sian Whittaker (Melbourne Vicentre) 1:02.64

Griffith University’s “Miss MVP” Emma McKeon qualified in two finals from two swims in the 200m freestyle and 200m butterfly.

But it was teenage freestyle whiz kid Ariarne Titmus (SPW) 1:56.5 who sizzled in her 200m freestyle heat clocking  ahead of McKeon 1:57.90 and Mikkayla Sheridan (USC) 1:58.08 with the final on tonight.

McKeon then topped the qualifiers in the 200m butterfly in  2:08.50 ahead of NSW State Champion Laura Taylor (TSS Aquatic) 2:09.41 and Meg Bailey (Hunter) 2:10.66 with Olympic silver medallist Maddie Groves (Griffith University) in 2:11.09.

(Visiting Korean swimmer Sehyeon An was clocked the second fastest time of the day in 2:08.93 but as an international is ineligible to swim the final).

 

Greek born Theo Benehoutsos (Melbourne Vicentre) 1:57.94, who is now eligible to swim for Australia, is the top qualifier for the Men’s 200m butterfly in 1:57.94 from Nicholas Brown (UWA West Coast) 1:58.54 and Bowen Gough (Nunawading) 1:58.74).

The Men’s 200m breaststroke sees top seed, the boy from the Blue Mountains Matthew Wilson (SOPAC) grab lane four in tonight’s final winning his heat in 2:10.57 from Alex Milligan (UWA West Coast) 2:12.23 and Zac Stubblety-Cook (West Brisbane) 2:12.90.

While in the women’s event, defending Commonwealth Games champion from Glasgow Taylor McKeown (USC Spartans) turned in a dominant heat showing in the in 2:25.80 ahead of Georgia Bohl (Griffith) 2:27.17 and Tessa Wallace (Pelican Waters) 2:29.40.

While in the men’s 200m backstroke it was former world champion Mitch Larkin (SPW) with his mojo back who is the fastest qualifier in 53.90 ahead of Bradley Woodward (Mingara) 54.59 and Ben Treffers (Somerset) 54.76.

 

To download the VNR from today’s heats session please follow this link: https://spaces.hightail.com/space/HyR0kcmSLE

 

Order of vision: 

 

- Women's 200m Freestyle - Ariane Titmus

 

- Men's 100m Backstroke - Mitch Larkin

 

- Women's 100m Backstroke - Emily Seebohm

 

- Men's 200m Freestyle - Elijah Winnington / Mack Horton / Kyle Chalmers

 

#AustraliaSwims