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Rattlers From Rice & Evans At Aussie Trials
Mar 16, 2010 - Craig Lord
The first finals at the Australian Commonwealth Games trials in Sydney produced some tight thrillers, with Blair Evans causing upset in the 200m free and Robert Hurley holding on to his 400m free crown. Stephanie Rice past the test of a difficult double with flying colours with a 2:10.07 win in the 200m medley, the second-best time ever by a clean woman in a textile suit (Katie Hoff, USA, clocked 2:10.05 in 2006 on her way to the world crown in 2007). Nick D'Arcy raced in a class of his own over 200m 'fly to book a return ticket to the Dolphins. The trials at Homebush Olympic Park run until March 21. Race reports below.
Australia makes a particularly interesting surface study on the impact of shiny suits in the sport of swimming: in 2008 it was the first nation, team-wide, to show the effects of the original LZR Racer on the clock, those effects obvious at domestic trials which saw a noticeable divide open in many a final between those who had access to the LZR and those who did not; in 2009 its swimmers overwhelmingly wore the LZR at trials on the way to Rome, allowing 2008-09 trials times comparison; in Rome at the 2009 world championships, many swam significantly faster, having shed their loyalty to Speedo in order to be competitive in '100% non-textile' suits that buoyed performances in a starkly significant way and provided more advantage to some than others.
Such suits, and the bodysuit cut, have been banned since January 1, 2010. FINA rules allow the use of suits made of a specific definition of 'textile', while the cut is waist to above knee for men and shoulder straps to above knee, with no fasteners or zips allowed, for women. At the foot of each race report during nationals in Sydney, we'll take a look at how the transition to textile suits in the post-bodysuit era is going.
Australian Nationals and Commonwealth Games Trials - Day 1
Women 200m free
Blair Evans (good name for a freestyler), an 18-year-old from Perth, upstaged five Olympic team members to win a very tight 200m free final, the first of the trials, in a swift 1:57.38. Just 0.08sec behind on 1:57.46 was Bronte Barratt, with Kylie Palmer on 1:57.69 and triple Olympic gold winner of 2008, Stephanie Rice, booking her place on the 4x200m quartet in 1:58.13.
The times on the clock are heartening for Australia: Evans's time is the second-best textile effort ever by an Australian after a 1:57.06 from Libby Lenton in 2005 and ahead of 2000 Olympic champ Susie O'Neill's best of 1:57.47.
Reserve team members are Felicity Galvez, racing in lane four to a 1:58.23 fifth place in the final, and Meagen Nay, on 1:58.62. Of those six, all but Rice turned behind Evans at the 100m mark. Down the third length, Evans edged ahead of Nay, before passing all others with the fastest home-coming split of the final, a 29.84, for victory. The first three home clocked the top 3 times in the world this year: understandable given that no other nation has yet raced tapered. Evans had given warning of a good season when she clocked a best time of 1:58.51 to lead the world rabnkings in January with a time 0.2sec inside her best shiny suited performance. Last month, world champion Federica Pellegrini (ITA) took charge of the world best list on 1:58.13 (her shiny suit world record stands at 1:52.98). Evans moved up the Australian ranks to 7th in her country over 200m free last year after a 2:03 effort as a 16-year-old in 2008.
Caoched by Matt Magee at Beatty Park in Perth, Evans was diagnosed with cancer at the age of 12. The disease had been found in her hip joint. "It ended up being an infection that had to be cut out and I took 6-8 months out of the water. It now remains as a degenerative condition," says Evans in her official biog, which notes her admiration of Lance Armstrong, a light in the lives of do many who struggle with cancer. Evans took up swimming at 5 because her big brother was already a swimmer. Grant Hackett is the inspiration of her career so far and her notable quote is this: "Throw your head off the block and the rest will follow."
The Times Transition (Aussie trials top 3, 2008, 09, 10 and Rome 2009 top 2 Aussies):
The Aussie 4x200m free relay is in good shape
Men 400m free
Robert Hurley, 21 and coached by Ron McKeon at Wests Illawarra, retained the Aussie 400m free crown in 3:47.67 after a tight tussle with Ryan Napoleon and Patrick Murphy, respectively second and third on 3:48.70 and 3:49.43. All three were on the cusp of their best times from the shiny suit era. At 200m, Hurley and Murphy could not be split, on 1:53.18, with Napoleon just 0.05sec away and 18-year-old Thomas Fraser-Holmes a fingernail behind. Hurley made his move on the third 100m, Napoleon producing the better response than Murphy, though the splits talk of a "nothing in it" battle. Fraser-Holmes broke 3:50 for the first time, with a 3:49.56 for fourth in a final that featured some fine prospects, including 17-year-old Ned McKendry, on 3:52.85.
The Times Transition (Aussie trials top 3, 2008, 09, 10 and Rome 2009 top 2 Aussies):
Some work to do to ape the days of Thorpe and Hackett but the closeness of the fight among young swimmers holds promise
Women 200m medley
Olympic champion Stephanie Rice handled a difficult double with flying colours: back in the race pool 40 mins or so after securing a place on the 4x200m free quartet, the 21-year-old coached by Michael Bohl at St Peters Western took the helm of the 2010 world rankings over 200m medley with a sizzling 2:10.07 effort that is the second-closest any clean woman (2:09.72 world record of Wu Yanyan, CHN, was followed by a doping suspension) has come to cracking 2:10. Katie Hoff (USA) clocked 2:10.05 in 2006 on her way to the world crown in 2007. Rice was pushed all the way by Emily Seebohm, 17, and Alicia Coutts, 22, second and third respectively in 2:10.75 and 2:11.97.
Third after 'fly, Rice lagged backstroke ace Seebohm badly at half-way, 59.89 to 1:01.17, with Coutts on 1:01.05. But on breaststroke the Olympic champion edged ahead of Coutts and came within 0.3sec of catching Seebohm. The scene was set for a last-length decider on freestyle: Rice put on a show of strength with a 30.62 homecoming split that was almost a second faster than Seebohm's free split, while Coutts hung on for a strong third place.
Rice, who believes "whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve", is proving an inspiration for the next generation of Aussie girls, just as Susie O’Neill proved to be one for Rice. Rice cites O'Neill as ber favourite swimmer "because she was an amazing athlete and person".
The best two times in shiny suits were set by Ariana Kukors (USA), on 2:06.15, and Rice, on 2:07.03, at Rome 2009 world titles. Last month, Kukors laid down a textile era marker with a time of 2:10.34.
The Times Transition (Aussie trials top 3, 2008, 09, 10 and Rome 2009 top 2 Aussies):
Slower at the peak than shiny best, of course, but the prospect of Aussie medley medals on a world stage is obvious, with silver and bronze won in times faster than they were at 2008 and 2009 trials and inside second Aussie best at Rome 2009.
Men 200 Butterfly
Nick D'Arcy, coached by Brian Stehr at Noosa, rattled his shiny suit best of 2009 (1:54.46) with a storming 1:54.61 win in the 200m 'fly. A month after a 1:56.82 effort to get his textile season underway, D'Arcy, 22, was in a class of his own from gun to pad, turning in 54.32. The 2nd and 3rd Commonwealth berths went to Chris Wright, 21 and on 1:56.23, a lifetime best, and Jayden Hadler, just 16 and on a 1:57.07, a lifetime best up from a 1:58.67 as a 15-year-old in December 2008. Just outside selection were Grant Irvine, on 1:57.47, and Lachlan Staples, on 1:57.81. A terrific battle behind the man out in front, then.
D'Arcy is back on the Aussie team in the wake of a period of penitence following his serious assault on former Dolphin Simon Cowley. Delhi in October is a date, but the swimmer with a tricky record must still secure a US visa if he is to compete at the Pan Pacs before the Commonwealth Games. His time in Sydney today is the best in the world this year, though all such reference carries an early season warning, Australia the first nation to race tapered.
The Times Transition (Aussie trials top 3, 2008, 09, 10 and Rome 2009 top 2 Aussies):
Solid progress in the Aussie ranks
Semi-finals
Leisel Jones led the way into the 50m breaststroke final on 30.99 to 31.15 for Sara Katsoulis (Aussie record holder on 30.16 from the poly suit era); Hayden Stoeckel and Ben Treffers, 18, led 50m back qualifiers, both on 25.18 (not sure how they decide who gets lane 4 at this stage), with Ashley Delaney (Aussie record holder in 2009, on 24.81) on 25.37; and world champ and Commonwealth record holder of 2009 (25.48), Marieke Guehrer led the 50m 'fly pack through on 26.34, with Swedish visitor Therese Alshammer (world record holder in 2009 on 25.07 but unable to race in finals at a championship closed to foreigners for the last-8 showdown) having clocked a swift 25.96 in prelims.
Best Newspaper Coverage From Down Under - Day 1:
The Australian
Sydney Morning Herald
