British Swimming Championships 2022 - Day 4

W 100 Freestyle

Team Bath alumna Anna Hopkin admitted she had ‘exceeded her expectations’ as the sprint specialist claimed a second British Swimming Championships national title – and achieved a FINA World Championships consideration time in the process.

The Loughborough National Centre swimmer admitted she was ‘really happy’ after clocking 53.45 to take top spot in the Women’s 100m Freestyle ahead of a hectic year of major international events.

Hopkin got off to a flying start and was comfortably ahead at the halfway stage and held off Bath National Centre’s Freya Anderson, who was second in 53.92. The bronze medal went to University of Stirling’s Lucy Hope with 55.14 and Millfield's Tamryn Van Selm, one of the two youngest swimmers making the A Final, clocked 55.68, another Millfield Senior School record.

Hopkin, who added the 100m gold to the 50m Freestyle title she won on day three of the Championships, said: “It feels amazing. I think that might be quicker than what I did last year at trials to qualify for the Olympics. So the fact that this year it hasn’t been the main focus and we’ve not been fully tapered, it bodes really well for the summer. That gives me a lot of confidence moving forward.

“You just have to take one event at a time. Worlds is first, so it’ll be taper for Worlds, go for that and then we have three weeks before Commies, so that’ll be the biggest point, how we transition from one to the next – and then Europeans after that. That might just be see what we have left.

“It’s going to be tough, I’ve never done three majors in a row, but it’s going to be a good learning experience. Getting as much racing as we can is never going to be a bad thing.”

Hopkin was quick to praise her current coach Mel Marshall and former mentor Neil Harper (Arkansas Swimming) for their role in boosting her belief and confidence. She added: “We have such a good group (at Loughborough National Centre). It’s a small group, but everyone in there is really motivated, works really hard but we have a lot of fun as well. 

"I think Mel and my previous coach Neil are probably the most motivational people I’ve had in a leadership role. That has helped a lot with my belief and confidence – that’s something I struggled with before. I feel a lot more confident in myself now.”

Freya Colbert continued her fine form as she won a closely-contested B Final in 55.41. The Nova Centurion swimmer was 0.07s ahead of University of Stirling’s Emma Russell (55.48), while City of Sheffield’s Kate Clifton was third in 55.94. Millfield OM Jess Podger (Loughboro Uni) clocked 56.62.

Jemima Hall (Bath Univ, 56.63) came third in the Priority Paris race won by Borough of Stockton’s Harriet Rogers in 56.01 – only 0.02s ahead of Sevenoaks Eva Okaro (56.03) who claimed the title of British Junior Champion.

Nicole De Pree (Millfield,58.61) finished seventh in the junior final which was by Mount Kelly’s Hollie Widdows in 56.50. Emma Croker (South Lincs, 57.24) and Skye Carter (Basildon Ph,  57.56) were second and third respectively.

M 100 Butterfly

James Guy had achieved the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games consideration time in the morning’s heat as he qualified quickest for the final in 51.68. And he took the British title from his Bath National Centre team-mate Jacob Peters in 51.69 – narrowly outside a FINA World Championships consideration time. 

Guy showed his class as he went out quicker in the first 50m than his morning’s heat and had done enough to touch home first by 0.24s. Peters had to settle for the silver with 51.93, while City of Manchester Aquatics’ Jamie Ingram was third in 52.46. Edward Mildred (Bath NC, 52.55) and Joshua Gammon (Bath Univ, 53.33) finished in fourth and sixth places respectively..

Guy said: “I think, compared to this morning, I over-revved a bit – it was more in the first half, a relaxed swim. I probably got a bit excited at the front and haven’t quite the speed I’d like to have. But it’s just finding that balance of where you are. It’s very similar to last year at trials, I was 51.4 and then dropped 0.5 at Europeans a month later. It wasn’t a bad swim, I’d have liked to have gone a bit faster but it’s job done. Trials is get the ticket and move forward.”

Edinburgh University’s Archie Goodburn clocked 54.19 to take top spot in the B Final, by 0.17s from the youngest swimmer in the race, Millfield’s Evan Jones (54.36) who was crowned British Junior Champion. Pymouth Leander’s Thomas Beeley was third after clocking 54.38 in a race which saw all eight competitors go under 55s.

There was yet more Somerset interest in the Priority Paris final in which Aaron Fox (City of Sheffield, 54.94) and Ned Sharp (Skipton, 54.97) delighted Yorshire fans with their 1-2. Fine margins saw Taunton's Dylan Gallagher (Swansea Uni, 55.18) finish fourth, just 0.05s behind Michael Klimaszewski (Camden Swiss).while sixth placed Lewis Maxwell (Bath Univ, 55.23) was just 0.02s behind Antonio Rodriguez (Swansea Aq, 55.21).

Millfield's Solomon Williams (56.10) finished fifth in the junior race won by in form Rueben Rowbotham-Keating (City of Manchester Aquatics, 55.15).  James Cleaver (Beckenham, 55.53) and Jonathon Marshall (Fast, 55.64) came second and third respectively..

M 200 Breaststroke

Commonwealth Games champion James Wilby went under the consideration time for Birmingham 2022 as he dominated the Men’s 200m Breaststroke race. It was a thoroughly impressive swim from Wilby, who triumphed by by 2.69  as he clocked 2:09.48 to finish comfortably ahead of Adam Chillingworth (Plymouth Leander) and Gregory Butler (Loughborough National Centre)..

He said: “I’d had enough rest to put in some fast swims, but our priority is we want to swim fast because it’s first time we’ve done something fast since the summer, but at the same time, it’s a shortened cycle between now and World Champs. So it’s not a full rest because we can’t afford to have that time of getting back to it. So it’s basically a little dip in the training load to get us swimming fast here.”

Street's Chillingworth was involved in a real fight for second spot with Butler with the Plymouth Leander swimmer taking the silver in 2:12.17 – 0.13s ahead of Butler who clocked 2:12.30. Fourth placed Harvey Freeman (Northampton) was rewarded for his 2:16.07 swim becoming British Junior Champion.

Loughborough University’s Robbie Jones was the B Final winner as he finished in 2:17.55 – 0.33s ahead of Edinburgh University’s Ross Young (2:15.88). Fifth placed Millfield OM Will Ellington (UniOfStirl, 2:18.71) finished just 0.06s behind team mate Angus Allison (2:18.65) in thid and 0.01s off Bradley Newman (Co Cardiff 2:18.70) in fourth..

Top three in the Priority Paris final were City of Hereford’s Oscar Bilbao (2:18.33), Freddie Laws (West Norfolk, 2:19.33) and Joseph Buxton (Reading, 2:19.59).

Another impressive performance by Millfield's Elliot Woodburn (2:19.88) saw him finish second in the junior race behind City of Leicester’s Alexander Casey (2:19.09). Isaac Hall (Bo Stockton,  2:20.28) came third.

W 200 Backstroke

Katie Shanahan produced a thrilling comeback to be crowned British champion with a late surge in the Women’s 200m Backstroke. City of Glasgow’s Shanahan won by 0.59s after finding herself trailing early pacesetter Honey Osrin.

She claimed the gold medal in 2:11.25 ahead of Heart of Midlothian’s Holly McGill (2:11.84) who earned the title of British Junior Champion. Osrin had to settle for the bronze medal as the Loughborough University swimmer clocked 2:12.12. 

Team Bath AS' Somerset 2022 county champion in the event Niamh Ward clocked 2:16.04.

Shanahan, who said: “I’m really happy with that. That’s my first senior national title. I knew I had to put on a good race with the girls because I knew they’d come back strong. I definitely could see all the girls coming for me. That last 5m, I tried to hold my ground and push as hard as I could to the wall, because Hollie is such a good talent, she got a massive PB there. I’ve still got the 200m IM tomorrow, we’ll see how that goes.”

In the B Final, Leyland Barracudas’ Pia Murray triumphed in 2:14.39 – 0.48s ahead of City of Newport’s Scarlet Major who finished in 2:14.87, while Alexandra Waller, of Birmingham University (2:15.08) denied Millfield OM Rachel Anderson (Loughboro Uni) third place by just 0.01s.

Newcastle’s Amelia Robertson (2:15.62) was the winner of the Priority Paris race with Kidiest Hodgson (Co Leeds, 2:16.87) and Iona Colbert (Nova Cent'n, 2:17.19) next to finish.

More Team Bath AS prowess was on display with opportunities for learning, reflections and arena experience. Rue Fowler clocked 2:20.38 to finish seventh in the junior race which was won by Annabelle Wilkinson (Co Sheffield, 2:17.24).

This evening’s session featured four finals across the below events - a Junior Final, a Priority Paris Final, a B Final and the A Final (whose winner will be declared British champion),

Order: W 200 Backstroke, M 100 Butterfly, W 100 Freestyle and M 200 Breaststroke.

James Wilby looked in promising form again and a trio of Bath National Centre swimmers set up an exciting men's butterfly showdown on the fourth morning of heats at the British Swimming Championships in Sheffield. 

On a fast-paced morning at Ponds Forge, Olympic and World Championship medallist Wilby - fresh from a new personal best in the 50m event on Wednesday - produced a controlled heats swim in the Men's 200m Breaststroke to qualify fastest, with plenty seemingly left in the tank for the final. 

Earlier in the session, the Men's 100m Butterfly served up some strong heats efforts, with three Bath-based competitors leading the pace ahead of the evening. James Guy, with a British title in the 200m already under his belt, went sub-52 seconds for the morning to secure himself lane four. Either side of him will be training partners Jacob Peters and Ed Mildred, who qualified second and third-fastest respectively and ensured this evening's showpiece will be an eye catcher. 

The Women's 200m Backstroke heats were led by Katie Shanahan ahead of the afternoon session, which dives into action at 1pm. Shanahan - who trains at the City of Glasgow - looked comfortable throughout her four lengths of the pool, and she will be aiming to move things on in the final, with Holly McGill (Heart of Midlothian) and Chloe Golding (City of Sheffield) chasing her down from lanes five and three. 

Anna Hopkin backed up her Women's 50m Freestyle gold from Thursday evening with a heats-leading swim in the 100m Freestyle heats after a strong opening 50m. Hopkin received her Mixed 4x100m Medley Relay world record certificate and her 50m title on the podium last night - and that is where she will want to be this evening. Freya Anderson qualified second and Abbie Wood third, meaning there will be three Olympians across those middle lanes in a final that is not to be missed. 

Block A

Fastest seeded heats. Order: W 200 Backstroke, M 100 Butterfly, W 100 Freestyle and M 200 Breaststroke.

Block B

Conclusion of heats in the following events: W 200 Backstroke, M 100 Butterfly, W 100 Freestyle and M 200 Breaststroke.

Please note only Partial results for W 100 Free were available at the time of compilation 5.38pm. To be updated.