Backstroke specialists Minna Atherton and Mitch Larkin have added to Australia’s medal tally on night three of the World Swimming Championships in South Korea, claiming silver and bronze respectively in the 100m backstroke events.
For only the second time in her career, Atherton recorded sub 59 seconds in the 100m backstroke to claim silver in 58.85. In the tightest of finishes, the 19-year-old was only 0.25 behind gold medallist and defending champion Kylie Masse of Canada. Fellow teenager and Dolphin Kaylee McKeown, who raced from lane two, posted a personal best of 59.10 to place fifth overall.
A delighted Atherton said taking home a medal had exceeded her expectations heading into the competition.
“I'm really happy and really stoked, I was just aiming to make the team so this is the icing on the cake,” she said.
“I did a PB yesterday and I was just a bit off that tonight, but I was really happy to go under 59 again.
“I don't really get a lot of nerves, so it wasn't too bad. Coming into the final second gave me confidence and I did the best I could and raced my own race.”
The following race saw Larkin secure bronze in the corresponding event for the men. Going stroke for stroke with American world record holder Ryan Murphy in lane three, Larkin showed his class and clocked 52.77 to take the podium finish by only one one hundredth of a second. In a hotly contested battle, China’s Xu Jiayu took the gold in 52.43, while Russian Evgeny Rylov received silver in 52.67.
Speaking post-race, Larkin said he knew he was in for a tough challenge and had to “dig deep” in the final stages.
"I knew Murphy and the Brazilian were going to be out quick, so I just said try and go out with them and let them draw you out, but I knew with 25m to go it was going to be a dog fight and who wanted it more,” he said.
“I did a double take after I got Murphy on the wall because I thought he was going to be the one who won it, so I’m over the moon. I have never won an individual world’s bronze, so I can tick that one off the list, mum always jokes that it is nice to have the set.”
After smashing his personal best in the semi-final of the Men’s 200m Freestyle on Monday night, Clyde Lewis took his place in lane four as the fastest qualifier for the final. Leading through the first 100 metres, the 21-year-old pushed himself all the way to the wall, ultimately placing sixth in 1:45.78.
Two Dolphins featured in the Women’s 1500m Freestyle final, with Maddy Gough and Kiah Melverton diving in from lanes one and two respectively. Gough finished fifth in 15:59.40 – placing her eighth on Australia’s top ten all-time fastest list – while Melverton clocked 16:01.38 to place seventh overall.
In semi-finals action, Tasmanian Ariarne Titmus returned to the pool to battle it out for a position in the Women’s 200m Freestyle final. Having already secured gold in the 400m freestyle, the 18-year-old recorded 1:55.36 to head into the final as the second fastest qualifier and have the chance to vie for her second podium finish.
David Morgan and Dolphin debutant Matthew Temple also featured on the third night of the competition, competing in the Men’s 200m Butterfly semi-finals. After clocking a personal best in the heats this morning, Temple touched in 1:56.52 to place fifth in his race, while Morgan posted 1:59.57 to finish eighth. The duo missed out on a spot in the final, placing tenth and 16th overall.
At the conclusion of night three, Australia sits third on the medal tally with two gold, two silver and three bronze medals.
Tomorrow’s heats kick off at 11am (EST), with finals starting at 9pm (EST).
To watch LIVE and FREE download Swimming Australia’s iSwim app and click on the orange livestream button when it’s time to watch. Available now for FREE in the Apple and Android stores.
