ADELAIDE, Australia, March 16. WHILE a Paralympic world record and a national record were set today at the Australian long course championships, the biggest news of the day was Ian Thorpe's inability to advance to the finals of the 200 freestyle.
Thorpe, the Olympic champion in the 200 free in 2004 and former world record, could only muster an 12th-place finish in semifinals with a 1:49.91 after posting a 1:49.16 in prelims. Thorpe retired from the sport in 2007 and made an official comeback about a year ago.
FINALS
Women's 100 fly
Alicia Coutts, the world championship silver medalist from 2011, secured her spot on the Olympic team with a winning time of 57.59. Jessicah Schipper, the reigning Olympic bronze medalist, finished second in 57.88 to earn a return trip to the Games. The times give Australia two places in the top five in the world rankings, with Coutts fourth and Schipper fifth.
Placing third in the race — and swimming faster than the FINA A standard used to qualify athletes — was reigning Olympic champion Libby Trickett with a 58.64. Trickett was second at 50 meters but was passed by Schipper in the final meters.
“I'm just really proud of the way I performed tonight,” an emotional Trickett said. “When you have come through the last 18 months or two years that I have come through, and to perform as well as I did and put everything out of my mind and just focus on what I needed to do, I'm just incredibly proud.”
Rounding out the championship final was Britta Elmslie (58.92), Alice Tait (59.00), Yolane Kukla (59.19), Marieke Guehrer (59.45) and Brianna Throssell (59.96).
Men's 100 breast
Christian Sprenger and Brenton Rickard renewed their rivalry in the sprint breaststroker, with Sprenger posting the win and an automatic berth on the Olympic squad with a time of 59.91. It's the first swim under the one-minute barrier in 2012, bumping Daniel Sliwinski of Great Britain off the top of the world rankings. Rickard, a mutli-time national champion, was second with a 1:00.13, also under the FINA A standard and third in the world behind Sprenger and Sliwinski.
Finishing third in the race was Jeremy Meyer in 1:01.82, just ahead of fourth-place finisher Nicholas Schafer's 1:01.85. Also placing in the championship heat was Nikolai Pregelj (1:02.17), James Stacey (1:02.35), Joshua Palmer (1:02.63) and Kenneth To (1:03.07).
Women 400 free finals
Kylie Palmer, who finished 2011 as the fourth-fastest 400 freestyler in the world with a 4:04.29, broke the Australian record of 4:04.16 set in 2008 by Bronte Barratt. Palmer is now the third-fastest in the world with her swim, and is the reigning silver medalist from the 2011 world championships.
“I just had to get my confidence up and I didn't want it to be as close this year as it was last year,” Barratt said, “so I am really happy I could pull away once in that last 100 metres because she [Barratt] has a great back end.”
Barratt may have lost her record, but she gained a spot on the Olympic team with a second-place time of 4:05.74. Barratt finished 2011 with a best time of 4:04.36.
Remy Fairweather, just 14 years old, placed third with a 4:08.63, under the FINA A standard of 4:09.35. Blair Evans, coming off a runner-up finish in the 400 IM yesterday, was fourth in 4:08.92.
Katie Goldman (4:10.24), Leah Neale (4:10.80), Melissa Gorman (4:11.24) and Amy Levings (4:11.94) also raced in the finals. Notably, Gorman already has her ticket to London, as part of the 10K marathon race.
Women 50 back finals
Despite being a non-Olympic event, the women's 50 backstroke held a finals, with Emily Seebohm winning in 28.03, after posting a 27.93 in yesterday's semis. Sophie Edington was second in 28.04, and Hayley Baker placed third with a 28.87. Tayliah Zimmer (28.90), Rachel Goh (29.05), Holly Barratt (29.21), Madison Wilson (29.35) and Wan Ruqui (29.44) also swam in the final.
Men 50 fly final
Also a non-Olympic event, the men's 50 butterfly final featured a winning swim by Christopher Wright with a 23.79. Daniel Lester was second in 23.81 and Papua New Guinea's Ryan Pini was third in 23.87. Ben Lindsay (24.03), Sam Ashby (24.12), Andrew Lauterstein (24.28), Joseph Carty (24.29) and Nie Varoy (24.38) also raced in the championship final.
Men's 400 free relay
While Olympic selection was not made from this event, nine teams fielded relays tonight. Cranbrook won with a 3:21.18, while Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Club was second with a 3:21.84. Sydney's team included Olympic medalist Eamon Sullivan, who split 49.88 on the third leg. Third place went to Melbourne with a 3:24.60.
Semifinals
Women's 100 breast
Leiston Pickett will go into tomorrow's final as the top seed with a 1:07.41, falling just short of the 1:07.36 she swam last month to rank fourth in the world. Leisel Jones, the reigning Olympic champion, placed second with a 1:08.44. Both times fall under the FINA A standard of 1:08.49.
Also qualifying for tomorrow's final were Lorna Tonks (1:08.66), Sarah Katsoulis (1:08.72), Taylor McKeown (1:09.25), Sally Foster (1:09.41), Rebecca Kemp (1:09.68) and Jessica Hansen (1:09.81).
Men's 200 free
Ryan Napoleon, fresh off making the Olympic team in the 400 free, qualified first with a 1:47.51. Thomas Fraser-Holmes, also on the Olympic team after his national record 400 IM swim last night, posted the second-fastest time with a 1:47.57. Both times fell under the FINA A standard of 1:47.82. Kenrick Monk, fresh off his public troubles following a skateboarding accident, qualified in third with a 1:47.92.
Tommy D'Orsogna (1:48.03), Robert Hurley (1:48.30), Ned McKendry (1:48.34), David McKeon (1:48.35) and Cameron McEvoy (1:48.35) will also be in the final. Spots for the individual 200 free and the 800 free relay will be determined from tomorrow's final.
Men's 100 back
After cruising through prelims with a 56.06, Olympic bronze medalist Hayden Stoeckel turned on the jets in semifinals with a top time of 53.73. The time puts him in a tie for fifth in the world with USA's David Plummer. Ashley Delaney qualified second in semis with a 54.07, and Benjamin Treffers was third in 54.36. All three swimmers posted times under the FINA A cut of 54.40.
Also swimming in the final will be Daniel Arnamnart (54.72), Joshua Beaver (54.82), Ben Edmonds (55.12), Matson Lawson (55.49) and Bob Jovanovich (55.64).
Women's 100 back
After posting a 59.89 in prelims to become the third female under the one-minute mark in 2012, Belinda Hocking lowered her time even further in semis with a 59.39. She almost surpassed Emily Seebohm's 59.36 that stands as the fastest in the world. Seebohm cruised through semis with a second-place time of 1:00.06, and Sophie Edington was third with a 1:00.64. All three swims dipped under the FINA A cut of 1:00.82.
Also qualifying for tomorrow's final were Meagan Nay (1:01.03), Grace Loh (1:01.62), Rachel Goh (1:01.78), Madison Wilson (1:02.17) and Shani Burleigh (1:02.90).
MULTI-CLASS FINALS
Kayla Clarke posted the fastest time in the women's 50 freestyle with a 28.66. Taylor Corry was second in 28.87 and Annabelle Williams was third in 29.63.
In the men's 50 freestyle, Mitchell Kilduff posted the win with a 24.84, while Daniel Fox was second in 25.12. But it was Matthew Cowdrey who stole the show, recording the first world record of the meet with a 25.28, breaking his own world mark in the S9 division by .05.
“I'm looking forward to the rest of the meet, and I'm really looking forward to London and swimming fast,” Cowdrey said.