MELBOURNE, Australia, January 13. THE first night of action at the Victorian Open Long Course Championships came to a close with Ian Thorpe missing finals, while Michael Klim earned an evening swim. Meanwhile, Matt Targett and Melanie Schlanger claimed the sprint freestyle victories for the night.
Matt Targett walked away with the men's 100 free crown in 48.71 after watching Ian Thorpe continue to struggle in his return to competitive swimming during prelims. Competing in Australia for the first time since 2006, Thorpe missed making finals in the 100 free with a 13th-place 51.05, which would not have made the Top 150 in the long course rankings last year. Meanwhile, Cameron McEvoy touched second in 49.66, while James Roberts earned third in 49.77. Also on the comeback trail, Michael Klim placed seventh in 50.46 after posting a 50.15 during prelims.
Melanie Schlanger ripped off a 53.87 to win the women's 100 free. That effort came up just short of her lifetime best of 53.85, which ranks her 28th all time in the event's history. Kelly Stubbins took second in 55.18, while Alicia Coutts earned third in 55.75.
Jarrod Killey topped the men's 400 free in 3:55.61, while Jack Burnell took second in 3:57.90. Dylan Warren picked up third in 3:59.30. Ellen Gandy took home the women's 50 fly title in 26.54. Alice Mills (26.81) and Yolane Kukla (27.17) finished second and third in the sprint fly.
Chris Wright hit the wall in 1:57.97 to easily claim the men's 200 fly title. Yuki Tezuka (2:00.39) and Roberto Pavoni (2:00.53) finished second and third. Sarah Katsoulie won the women's 100 breast in 1:08.18. Leiston Pickett (1:08.36) and Samantha Marshall (1:08.73) rounded out the top three.
Brenton Rickard posted a 28.28 to win the men's 50 breast, while Chris Fox took second in 29.00. Jeremy Meyer picked up third in 29.01. Rika Omoto placed first in the women's 400 IM with a 4:48.76, while Hayley Baker (4:49.58) and Siobhan Marie-O'Connor took third in 4:50.31.
Jordan White captured the women's 200 back in 2:14.12, while Penelope Marshall took second in 2:14.58. Hayley White wound up third in 2:15.52. Ashley Delaney stopped the clock in 25.59 to win the men's 50 back. Ben Treffers took second in 25.61, while Joshua Beaver earned third in 25.92.
Lauren Boyle cruised to victory in the women's 800 free with an 8:32.53, while Belinda Parslow picked up second in 8:45.19. Gandy podiumed again with a third-place 8:47.43.
In multiclass competition, Matthew Levy was listed first in the men's 100 free with a 1:03.42, while Jacqueline Freney was listed first in the women's 100 free with a 1:09.40. Sam Bramham was listed first in the men's 50 fly with a 28.69, while Freney was listed first again, this time with a 35.12 in the women's 50 fly. Ahmed Kelly was listed first in the men's 100 breast in 1:58.59, while Tanya Huebner was listed first in the women's 100 breast with a 1:46.96.