QLD Championships, Prelims Day 3: Shayna Jack Sizzles in 100m Freestyle Heats in 53.03 Without Injured Olympic Champion Emma McKeon
by IAN HANSON - OCEANIA CORRESPONDENT
Shayna Jack (St Peters Western) has come out all guns blazing with a slick heat time of 53.03 on the third morning of preliminaries at the 2023 Hancock Prospecting Queensland Swimming Championships.
And it augurs well for a sub 53 swim in tonight’s final when she lines up against SPW teammate and world champion Mollie O’Callaghan, former world record holder Cate Campbell and fellow Australian 4x100m relay gold medallist Meg Harris (Rackley Swim Team).
Australian sprint girls, who have ruled the freestyle sprint lanes over the last eight years, will line up tonight without Olympic champion Emma McKeon (Griffith University) who has withdrawn from the meet on precautionary measures.
McKeon’s coach Michael Bohl confirmed to Swimming Queensland today that McKeon had been managing a minor tear under her armpit for some weeks and on the advice of her physio it was recommended to “err on the side of caution” and not to rush her back into competition. Bohl saying “it was a precautionary measure.”
Here is the Top 10 for tonight’s final:
Shayna Jack (St Peters Western) 53.03
Meg Harris (Rackley Swim Team) 53.37
Cate Campbell (Chandler) 53.73
Mollie O’Callaghan (St Peters Western) 54.06
Rikako Ikee (Japan) 54.12
Milla Jansen (Bond) 54.35
Olivia Wunsch (Carlile, NSW) 54.75
Laticia Transom (NZL) 54.97
Brianna Throssell ((St Peters Western) 54.98
Kaylee McKeown (Griffith University) 55.17
Meanwhile in the men’s heats Kai Taylor (St Peters Western) was the only swimmer under 49 seconds – winning his heat in 48.83 from 50m freestyle world champion Cameron McEvoy (Somerville House) 49.21, who has withdrawn from the final to prepare for the 50m freestyle, with last night’s 200m winner Max Giuliani (Miami) next on 49.26, followed by Jack Cartwright (St Peters Western) 49.47, Harrison Turner (Nudgee College) 49.73 and Cody Simpson (Griffith University) 49.75, qualifying for his second final off the night.
The women’s 100m breaststroke saw last night’s 200m breaststroke winner Jenna Strauch (Miami) back-up to clock the fastest heat time of 1:08.00, followed by Ella Ramsay (Chandler) 1:08.81 and visiting New Zealand 16-year-old whiz kid Monique Wieruszowski, 1:08.93.
Strauch, the 26-year-old World Championship and Commonwealth Games silver medallist from 2022, produced an impressive 2:23.94 (1:09.37) to hold off the fast-finishing Ramsay (2:24.28) and former Tasmanian Matilda Smith (2:26.66).
Encouraging signs for the Richard Scarce-trained Strauch, who sat out the 2023 World’s campaign to managing a nagging knee injury, showing strong early-season form, saying she was excited to be back and ready to launch her Paris Trials campaign.
The men’s breaststroke heats featured the majority of the recently returned select group of Australian breaststrokers who attended a race preparation week in a coaching collaboration in Tokyo.
WA’s Joshua Yong (UWA West Coast) clocked 1:00.70, the fastest time of the morning heats, ahead of Haig Buckingham (SOPAC, NSW) 1:00.78, last night’s 200m winner Matt Wilson (SOPAC, NSW) 1:00.86; Sam Wiliamson (Melbourne Vicentre, VIC) 1:00.95 and Nash Wilkes (Southport) 1:01.38.
Williamson produced one of the swims of the Japan Open Meet last week to set a new Australian record of 26.51 in the 50m breaststroke – clocking 59.26 to become the fifth fastest Australian All-Time.
The men’s 100m butterfly will see Cody Simpson (Griffith University) lead the field into tonight’s final, winning his heat in 52.11, followed by Shaun Champion (Abbotsleigh, NSW)_ 52.56 and Harrison Turner (Nudgee College) 52.98 and Ben Armbruster (Griffith University) 53.05.
In the women’s 100m butterfly it was Alex Perkins (USC Spartans) 58.26 ahead pf Brianna Throssell (St Peters Western) 58.66; Lily Price (Rackley Swim Team) 58.67; Isabella Boyd (Nunawading, VIC) 58.95 Elizabeth Dekkers (Chandler) 59.02 and Rikako Ikee (Japan) 59.05.
Ariarne Titmus (St Peters Western) was back in the water this morning for the heats of the women’s 400m freestyle after a busy opening day, where she finished second to Mollie O’Callaghan in the 200m freestyle before winning 800m.
It is now business as usual for Titmus after carefully managing her recovery from her abdominal surgery in September, heading the qualifiers into tonight’s final in 4:13.60 from New Zealand training partner at SPW, Eve Thomas (4:15.66), Abbey Connor (USC Spartans) 4:16.00 and Kiah Melverton (SPW)4:16.18.
The men’s 400m final will be a match race between Queensland’s two world champions, 2002 winner Elijah Winnington (SPW) and 2023 winner Sam Short (Rackley Swim Team) 3:49.94.
Winnington has already declared his availability for the World Championships in Doha in February, with the Dolphins squad to be finalised and announced before the end of the week.
Photo credit: Wade Brennan
