Oliver Morgan, Angharad Evans Spin A Cut Times to Open Edinburgh International

Oliver Morgan: Photo Courtesy: Morgan Harlow/British Swimming

Oliver Morgan, Angharad Evans Spin A Cut Times to Open Edinburgh International

Englishman Oliver Morgan opened the 25th annual Edinburgh International Swim Meet Friday by going 53.69 seconds in the 100 backstroke. That’s a meet record and is under the Olympic A cut.

Morgan, 20, set the meet record in the morning by going 54.77, taking down the mark set in 2016 by Chris Walker-Hebborn at 54.94. He found another second at night to nip under the Olympic A standard of 53.74. It sets him up well for next month’s British Olympic Trials meet in London.

Brodie Williams was a distant second in a time of 55.38 seconds.

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He wasn’t the only one with a massive swim Friday. Angharad Evans, the 21-year-old from Cambridge and former University of Georgia swimmer, continued a precipitous drop in time in the 100 breaststroke.

Evans went 1:06.25 to win, not just hitting the A standard but clearing it by a clean half-second. Evans has been on a roll, from 1:10 when she left Georgia in the summer of 2021 to 1:08.05 at British Trials for the 2023 World Championships just 11 months ago. She was within .04 seconds of Molly Renshaw’s national record.

Scotland’s Kara Hanlon, vying for her first Olympics at age 27, was second in 1:06.90, which is an Olympic B cut. The A cut is 1:06.79.

Plenty of other big names were in action in the first day of three. Duncan Scott fired off an A cut of 1:46.14 to win the men’s 200 free at the beginning of the sessions, then left the field in ruins in winning the 200 individual medley to end it.

The owner of the meet record in the 100 free, he was just .11 off the meet mark the 200 free belonging to Tom Dean.

His 200 IM performance was mighty impressive, going 1:57.73. That clears the A cut by 1.5 seconds, and it lowers his meet record from 2022 (1:59.35) by a sizeable margin.

Ireland’s Jack McMillan swam an impressive 1:47.06 to finish second in the 200 free, four tenths off his national record from Tokyo. Joe Litchfield was the runner-up in the 200 IM.

James Wilby won the 200 breaststroke in 2:12.03, his winning margin more than 2.5 seconds.

Keanna McInnes secured an Olympic B cut with her time of 2:08.52. She’s just .09 off the A cut, and she’s within a half-second of her best time, a 2:08.05. She was more than four seconds ahead of Laura Stephens to get the victory.

Dutchman Jesse Puts set a meet record in the morning by going 23.36 in the men’s 50 fly. That took down Ben Proud’s 2022 mark of 23.46. Puts was slightly slower at night but still under the Proud mark to win in 23.45 with Danish international Casper Puggard second in 23.90.

Danielle Hill won a stellar race in the women’s 100 back. The top four finishers were all clustered within .43 seconds, the Irishwoman Hill taking the win in 1:00.37. That’s just off the Olympic B cut of 1:00.29. Katie Shanahan finished second in 1:00.70, followed by Kathleen Dawson (1:00.76) and Medi Harris (1:00.80).

Hill added a second medal as the runner-up in the 50 free, going 25.38. The win went to Milou Van Wijk of the Netherlands in 25.31.

Michaela Glenister won the 400 free in 4:15.26.

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