Fourth day final round of the 2011 Telstra Australian Swimming Championship
The final session of fourth day of the 2011 Australian National Swimming Championship comprises the finals and semi-finals of the Men's and Women's freestyle, back-stroke and butterfly events. The championship saw the alluring performance of various Australian
stars trying to obtain their spot in the team to compete at the 2011 Shanghai World Championships.
The Men’s 100m freestyle semi-final was the pioneer event of the day, where the defending champion Eamon Sullivan once again finished the race in fifth place. The fastest qualification spot in the finals was reserved by Melbourne’s Matt Targett with a timing
of 48.66 seconds. Sydney’s Matthew Abood and Sopac’s James Magnussen emerged as the second and third fastest swimmers to qualify for the finals in a time of 48.69 and 48.71 seconds respectively.
The next event was the Women’s 50m back-stroke semi-final, where Melbourne’s Grace Loh and Sophie Edington appeared as the top contenders for the gold medal and the silver medal in a time of 28.31 and 28.50 seconds respectively. Edington was only 0.01 seconds
ahead of her fellow swimmer Albury’s Belinda Hocking, who touched home in 28.51 seconds.
Next was the Men’s 200m butterfly final where the second fastest swimmer into the finals, Chandler’s Jayden Hadler won the gold medal in a time of 1:56.28 minutes and confirmed his spot for China in July. City of Perth’s Travis Nederpelt and King Swim’s
Lachlan Staples followed him on the podium for the silver medal and the bronze medal in a time of 1:56.31 and 1:58.98 minutes respectively.
In the Women’s 200m freestyle, Chandler’s Kylie Palmer confirmed her spot for Shanghai by conquering the gold medal in an Australian record time of 1:55.73. With her beautiful timing, she beat Bronte Barratt, who occupied the silver medal in a time of 1:55.74
minutes. Miami’s Jade Nielsen followed them on the podium for the bronze medal in an outstanding time of 1:57.20 minutes.
During the Men’s 50m breast-stroke final, Southport’s Brenton Rickard demonstrated a dazzling swim in the arena, clocking a time of 27.60 seconds for the gold medal. Indooroopilly’s Chris Sprenger and Aqua Burn’s James Stacey followed him on the podium for
the second and third spot with a timing of 28.02 and 28.53 seconds respectively.
The last event of the day was the Men’s 800m freestyle final, where the defending champion Robert Hurley produced a disappointing swim and failed to defend his title. Peters Wester’s Ryan Napoleon conquered the top of the podium in 7:55.20 minutes, but failed
to meet the Shanghai qualification criteria by exactly one second. Wests Illawarra’s Robert Hurley touched the wall in a time of 8:00.94 minutes to secure the silver medal while Miami’s Matthew Levings earned the bronze medal in 8:02.74 minutes.
The championship will continue for four more days to complete the Australian team for Shanghai.
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