Luke Campbell wins Men’s 100m freestyle heats: 2011 Irish Long Course Championships
17-year-old Luke Campbell has qualified as the fastest swimmer in the Men’s 100m freestyle heats, at the 2011 Irish Long Course Championships on April 29, 2011.
The Irish Championships provides a duo platform to national swimmers to defend their national titles and qualify for the 2011 World Championships in Shanghai during July.
Campbell occupied the fastest seat for the 100m event in a time of 52.84 seconds and was followed by ARDS’s Curtis Coulter and NY&MN’s Brian O’ Sullivan, who touched the wall for the second and third position in 53.58 and 53.86 seconds, respectively.
17-year-old Campbell controlled the event from the starting blocks. His distant dive placed him ahead of his competitors in the first 5 metres of the race. Campbell’s strong arm action, coupled with his fast legs enabled him to sustain his lead in the first
half of the initial lap. Campbell continued to demonstrate his great swimming skills and extended his lead to 0.35 seconds in the first lap of the race.
After the first lap, Coulter tried to narrow Campbell’s lead but Luke cruised his way to the finishing wall, clocking a time of 25.55 seconds to post 52.84 seconds on the board. His aggressive swimming stroke placed him 0.76 seconds ahead of his closest
swimmer, Coulter, who finished his swim in a time of 53.58 seconds.
Coulter managed to out-touch Sullivan by 0.28 seconds, as Sullivan posted a time of 53.86 seconds. KILK’s David Prendergast followed them in the semi-finals as the fourth fastest swimmer, posting a time of 54.00 seconds.
TEMP-LE-IRL’s John Martin and KILK-IRL’s Colm Dowling ended in a tie for fifth fastest spot, clocking a time of 54.26 seconds. GLN’s Fintan Meagher and Brian O’ Sullivan of NAC managed to finish seventh and eighth with a timing of 54.28 and 54.37 seconds,
respectively.
Campbell was extremely happy after his fastest qualification in the event and said that he will try to maintain his spot in the next rounds of the event. Campbell also said that he wants to represent his country at the 2012 London Olympic Games.
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