by IAN HANSON - OCEANIA CORRESPONDENT
12 December 2022, 05:53am
Cody Simpson Produces Impressive 100m butterfly Win In 51.78 At Queensland State Championships
Australia’s butterflying pop star Cody Simpson has kick-started his campaign for next year’s tilt at his first World Championships with an impressive victory in the 100m butterfly final on night two of the Queensland State Championships in Brisbane.
Simpson (Griffith University) clocked a personal best time of 51.78 (24.07/27.71) to beat Japan’s Kosuke Tsukamoto (52.48), Jack Carr (St Andrews (52.98) and Simpson’s Commonwealth Games team mate Bond Swimming’s Ben Armbruster (53.11).
Simpson’s previous best time of 51.79 was clocked last May at the Australian Trials when he made the Dolphins team for this year’s Commonwealth Games where he finished fifth in the 100m butterfly final, clocking 52.06.
Another outstanding swim for Simpson as he plots his goal for the 2024 Paris Olympics – and a time just marginally outside the Australian All-Time Top Ten.
The men’s 100m freestyle produced the closest race of the night at the Queensland State Championships with just 0.01 separating Commonwealth Games relay gold medallist Will Yang (SOPAC) who won the gold in 49.25 (23.78/25.47) and powered home, out-touching triple Olympian and fastest qualifier Cameron McEvoy (Sommerville House) 49.26 (23.54 25.72).
Chandler’s Dylan Andrea (49.58) finished third ahead of St Peters Western’s 2022 World Championship winning Mixed 4x100m freestyle relay gold medallist Jack Cartwright (49.68), Simpson next after backing up after his butterfly win in 49.84 ahead of 19-year-olds Kai Taylor (St Peters Western) and Maximilian Giuliani (Miami) dead-heating in 49.96 – just 0.71 between the first seven competitors.
With World Championship and Commonwealth Games relay gold medallist Shayna Jack (54.31/26.06) powering away to defend the women’s 100m freestyle from Bond’s Mia O’Leary (54.99/26.90) and the USA’s Linnea Mack 55.46 (26.84) with Throssell next in 55.63 (27.17).
Olympic champion and world record holder Ariarne Titmus (St Peters Western) scored a comfortable win in the 400m freestyle in 4:06.50 – adding her second gold for the meet after an impressive 200m freestyle win on night one.
New Zealand’s Eve Thomas finished second in 4:12.19 ahead of her St Peters Western and Dolphins team mate Kiah Melverton (4:12.48) and open water Olympian Chelsea Gubecka (Yeronga Park) 4:14.98.
An enthralling tussle unfolded in the men’s 400m freestyle with World and Commonwealth champion Elijah Winnington (St Peters Western) producing a sizzling final lap to overtake fellow Birmingham gold medallist Sam Short (Rackley Swim Team) who had led for 350 metres at the Queensland State Championships.
Winnington clocked 3:45.84 (54:55/1:52.45) to out gun Short in a brave performance by the 19-year-old who clocked 3:46.63 (54.31/1:52.29) with Malaysia’s Hoe Yean Khiew (3:49.61) third home ahead of Thomas Hauck (All Saints) 3:50.72.
While dual Olympian Brianna Throssell (St Peters Western) proved too strong n the women’s 100m butterfly clocking 59.07 to hold on for victory with Gemma Cooney (Brisbane Grammar) a close-up second in 59.41 with Kayla Costa (Southport) third in 59.65.
