Australian Trials: Ariarne Titmus Turns Clock Back For Paris Motivation And Wins 400m In 3:58.47 As Eight Dolphins Make Fukuoka Cut
Olympic champion Ariarne Titmus will turn the clock back to “why she swims” to help motivate herself for Paris after winning the 400m freestyle in 3:58.47 on the opening night of the Australian World Trials in Melbourne tonight.
Titmus (St Peters Western, QLD) and World Short Course champion Lani Pallister (Griffith University, QLD) in 4:02.43 were among eight swimmers who booked automatic places on the Australian Dolphins Team for next month’s Fina World Championships in Fukuoka (JPN) from July 14-30.
FUKUOKA HERE WE COME: Ariarne Titmus and Lani Pallister. Photo Courtesy: Delly Carr Swimming Australia
Also booking their places on the team after night one at the Melbourne Sports And Aquatic Centre were:
Commonwealth Games 1500m freestyle gold medallist and world number one Sam Short (Rackley Swim Team, QLD) 3:43.38 and World and Commonwealth champion Elijah Winnington (St Peters Western, QLD) 3:43.48, who staged a thrilling finish in the men’s 400m freestyle – undoubtedly the race of the night.
Tokyo Olympic golden girl Emma McKeon (Griffith University, QLD) 56.74 and Brianna Throssell (St Peters Western, QLD) 57.66 in the women’s 100m butterfly with McKeon saying she was “relieved to make the team on the first night” and;
Dual Olympic backstroke gold medallist Kaylee McKeown (Griffith University, QLD) 2:07.60 and 19-year-old emerging star Jenna Forrester (St Peters Western, QLD) 2:09.29pb in the women’s 200m individual medley.
For Titmus, it is the second fastest time in the world this year, behind Canadian Summer McIntosh’s world record of 3:56.08 that she took from Titmus’ in April and for Pallister it ranks her sixth in the world and just outside her best time.
But asked how she would keep her motivation up for the next 12 months leading into next year’s Paris Olympics, Titmus admitted she would turn the clock back to when she first started swimming.
“I think you have to re-set your mindset and find new things to give you that feeling of accomplishment,” Titmus told poolside commentator, two-time Olympian Matt Welsh.
“I actually read something the other day that you have to make yourself that child-like swimmer again (and find) that original feeling like when you won your first State title and your first National Age.
“Trying to get back to the roots and remember why you swim and (I find) that’s good to keep you going and (of course) winning on the international stage keeps you motivated as well.”
It was Titmus who took control of the race from the first 50m turn and as hard as Pallister and third place getter Kiah Melverton (St Peters Western, QLD) tried, it was all Titmus as she went through the first 100m in 56.73 and the 200m in 1:56.68 – Pallister desperately trying to hang on in 1:58.82 and Melverton in 1:59.37.
The backend showed why Titmus will fill a key lane in the build-up to the much talked about
“Race of the Century” with McIntosh and US great Katie Ledecky in Paris next year.
And even though she would have liked to have swum faster Titmus admitted “that every swim under four minutes is a fast swim.”
“Tonight was all about getting on the team so I ‘m glad I’ve ticked that off and we have a few more weeks to get things going even more now,” said Titmus.
“The last two months I feel like I’ve put in a lot of good work, similar to what I did prior to the Olympics, so I had confidence coming in here and I would have preferred to have swum a little bit faster tonight but that means there is always things to work on, so you have to take the positive (out of that).”
The opening event of the night, the women’s 200m individual medley saw both Kaylee McKeown (Griffith University, QLD) 2:07.60 and 19-year-old Jenna Forrester (St Peters Western) in 2:09.29 book the first two tickets on the plane to Fukuoka.
EYES WIDE SHUT: Kaylee McKeown and Abbey Harkin are Fukuoka bound. Photo Courtesy: Delly Carr Swimming Australia
Twenty-one-year McKeown – the world’s leading female backstroker – won silver in the IM at last year’s World Championships and now gets the opportunity to build on the event as she decides her program going forward top Paris 2024.
For Forrester, who has been in career best form all season, she has been rewarded with a place on her first ever World Championship team as she too eyes Paris next year.
McKeown admitted it was a nice relief (to qualify) on the first night of the meet.
“I’m now looking forward to the rest of the week; it is always good to get in and blow out those cobwebs; sitting in the marshalling room listening to the music; it was so loud and we thought ‘what is going on (out there) ? But (coming out onto pool deck) is (always) a lot of fun,” said McKeown, who heaped praise on coach Michael Bohl.
“I have had a lot of good results with coach Michael Bohl and obviously the legacy of the coaching he has done in the past speaks for itself.”
The men’s 100m breaststroke was the only race where the automatic time wasn’t reached, with 200m breaststroke world record holder Zac Stubblety-Cook (Chandler, QLD) winning the final in 59.68 – marginally outside his best and the QT of 59.49, saying it was a good confidence swim.”
“It was just off my best, so I can’t complain with that as I’m building into that 200 on Saturday…. we have rested a good amount and I’m excited to race,” said Stubblety-Cook.
RESULTS, Day One, 2023 Australian World Championship Trials, Melbourne Sports And Aquatic Centre:
Event 1
Women’s 200m individual medley
Kaylee McKeown (Griffith University, QLD) 2:07.60 (Q)
Jenna Forrester (St Peters Western, QLD) 2:09.29 (Q)
Ella Ramsay (Chandler, QLD) 2:11.89
Kaylee McKeown and Abbey Harkin. Photo Courtesy: Delly Carr Swimming Australia
Event 2
Australian Trials: Men’s 100m breaststroke
Zac Stubblety-Cook (Chandler, QLD) 59.68
Sam Williamson (Melbourne Vicentre, VIC) 59.86
Joshua Yong (UWA West Coast, WA) 1:0034
Sam Williamson and Zac Stubblety-Cook. Photo Courtesy: Delly Carr Swimming Australia
Event 3
Women’s 100m butterfly
Emma McKeon (Griffith University, QLD) 56.74 (Q)
Brianna Throssell (St Peters Western, QLD) 57.66 (Q)
Lily Price (Rackley Swim Team, QLD) 57.78
Emma McKeon. Photo Courtesy: Delly Carr Swimming Australia
Event 4
Australian Trials: Men’s 400m freestyle
Sam Short (Rackley Swim Team, QLD) 3:43.38 (Q)
Elijah Winnington (St Peters Western, QLD) 3:43.48 (Q)
Mack Horton (Griffith University, QLD) 3:46.71
Sam Short. Photo Courtesy: Delly Carr Swimming Australia
Event 5
Women’s 400m freestyle
Ariarne Titmus (St Peters Western, QLD) 3:58.47 (Q)
Lani Pallister (Griffith University, QLD) 4:02.43 (Q)
Kiah Melverton (St Peters Western, QLD) 4:05.05
Ariarne Titmus. Photo Courtesy: Delly Carr Swimming Australia