By Retta Race on SwimSwam
2024 AQUATICS GB SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS (OLYMPIC TRIALS)
- Tuesday, April 2nd – Sunday, April 7th
- Prelims at 10 am local (5 am EDT), Finals at 7 pm local (2 pm EDT)
- London Aquatics Centre
- LCM (50m)
- British Swimming Olympic Selection Policy
- Meet Central
- SwimSwam Preview
- Entries
- Prelims: Day 1 Recap/Day 2 Recap/Day 3 Recap/Day 4 Recap
- Finals: Day 1 Recap/Day 2 Recap/Day 3 Recap/Day 4 Recap
- Results
- Livestream: Channel 4 Youtube coverage
Day four of the 2024 Aquatics GB Olympic Trials brought the heat, with two women dipping under the qualification time in the 200m back while two men accomplished the feat in the 200m IM.
Honey Osrin fired off a time of 2:08.37 to establish a new lifetime best and check in as the 6th-fastest British performer in women’s 2back history.
Katie Shanahan wasn’t far behind, registering 2:08.53 as the runner-up, adding a silver in this event to the 400m IM 2nd place finish earned earlier in the competition.
Then the men’s 200m IM ended the session in style, with Olympic multi-medalist Duncan Scott getting the job done in an impressive 1:55.91.
That outing fell just over half a second outside Scott’s lifetime best and British national record of 1:55.28 notched en route to silver at the 2020 Olympic Games.
Tom Dean also nailed a performance under the Aquatics GB qualification time, touching in 1:56.44 for silver.
The men’s 100m fly event did not go as planned, however, as 25-year-old Joe Litchfield upset the field en route to topping the podium.
Litchfield of Loughborough put up a lifetime best of 51.71 to beat out James Guy and Jacob Peters, the respective #1 and #2 British performers in history.
Unfortunately for Litchfield, he did not dip under the QT of 51.56 mandated by Aquatics GB, nor did his result clear the World Aquatics ‘A’ cut of 51.67.
As a result, Litchfield has qualified for Paris for the medley relay but the individual men’s 100m fly now has a question mark in terms of who may swim the event at the Olympics.
Peters posted a prelims time of 51.56 today while Guy hit 51.43 at the 2023 World Championships, both under the World Aquatics ‘A’ cut and both logged within the Olympics qualification window.
Guy still has a chance to qualify in the 200m free both individually as well as as a member of the 4x200m free relay. If he indeed qualifies, the Aquatics GB brain trust may see fit to add the individual 100m fly to his Paris repertoire and retain Litchfield as relay-only.
Or, the same powers that be could discretionarily select Peters to the squad for the 1fly.
We’ll have to wait and see how things shake out as the remainder of the competition unfolds.
British Olympic Qualifiers Through Day 4 of Trials
The following swimmers finished 1st in their event and beat the Aquatics GB selection standard:
- Keanna MacInnes – women’s 200m fly (2:07.24)
- Freya Colbert – women’s 200m free (1:56.22), 4x200m free relay
- Adam Peaty – men’s 100m breast (57.94)
- Oliver Morgan – men’s 100m back (52.70)
- Kathleen Dawson – women’s 100m back (59.74)
- Daniel Jervis – men’s 1500m free (14:47.94)
- Freya Colbert – women’s 400m IM (4:34.01)
- Anna Hopkin – women’s 50m free (24.53)
- Max Litchfield – men’s 400m IM (4:09.14)
- Matt Richards – men’s 100m free (47.84)
- Honey Osrin– women’s 200m back (2:08.37)
- Duncan Scott– men’s 200m IM (1:55.91)
The following swimmers have provisionally qualified in relays:
- Abbie Wood – women’s 4x200m free relay
- Medi Harris – women’s 4x200m free relay
- Lucy Hope – women’s 4x200m free relay
- Duncan Scott – men’s 4x100m free relay
- Tom Dean – men’s 4x100m free relay
- Alexander Cohoon – men’s 4x100m free relay
- Joe Litchfield– men’s 4x100m medley relay
Other Qualification Notes
The following swimmers finished 2nd in their event and beat the Aquatics GB selection standard:
- Laura Stephens – women’s 200m fly (2:07.37)
- Abbie Wood – women’s 200m free (1:56.62)
- Jonny Marshall – men’s 100m back (53.03)
- Katie Shanahan– women’s 400m IM (4:36.67)
- Duncan Scott – men’s 100m free (47.92)
- Katie Shanahan– women’s 200m back (2:08.53)
- Tom Dean– men’s 200m IM (1:56.44)
The following 1st place finishers did not meet the Aquatics GB selection standard but did meet the World Aquatics Olympic Qualification Time (‘A’ cut):
- Kieran Bird – men’s 400m free (3:45.63)
Read the full story on SwimSwam: 2024 Aquatics GB Olympic Trials: Men’s 100 Fly Raises Qualification Questions