British Swimming Trials Recap Entering newfound freestyle era in lead-up to the World Aquatics Championships - Fukuoka 2023

 

Written by:Andy Ross, World Aquatics Correspondent

Image Source: Clive Rose/Getty Images

The British appear strongest in the sprint freestyle events after a strong showing at World Trials on the backs of rising stars Matthew Richards and Lewis Burras, while Freya Anderson and Anna Hopkin continue to improve the British relay scene.

The Tokyo Olympic quad for the British swim team was all about building something special. After an underwhelming showing at a home Olympics in 2012 with just three medals, the team won six medals at the 2016 Olympics in Rio led by a team of swimmers in their early 20’s. Over the next five years, the team continued to get stronger, and by 2021, had its best team ever. The core group of Adam Peaty, Duncan Scott and James Guy, among others that included individual medal winners Tom Dean and Luke Greenbank, won a total of eight medals at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo - a record high in the pool for the nation.

Two years removed from that ultra-successful trip to Japan, the team has a new look ahead of the World Championships in Fukuoka, roughly an hour and a half flight south of Tokyo. But the strengths remain the same for the most part.

Most notably, the British swim team will be without breaststroke superstar Adam Peaty for the second-straight World Aquatics Championships as he cited some issues with mental health that have kept him at his best in recent months. Nevertheless, the team has bulked up in other areas.

The team will be led by reigning World champion in the 50m freestyle Ben Proud. The 28-year-old is swimming at the top of his game, putting up the top time in the world in the one-lap event with a 21.71 last week in Sheffield as he looks to be the guy to beat leading into Fukuoka. The time wasn’t as fast as the podium finishers from Budapest last year - Proud won gold at 21.32 while a 21.57 won the bronze, but Proud has proven he is on a mission and has gone faster than anyone in the world thus far in 2023.

Last year, Proud won both the World title and the Commonwealth Games gold after finishing a devastating fifth place at the Tokyo Olympics. Proud seems to be the very early favourite for Paris if he continues to swim the way he has.

Ben Proud’s chances for a medal in Fukuoka? Likely. Best chance? 50m freestyle.

Proud is leading a group of young up-and-coming sprinters that includes 23-year-old Lewis Burras, who was second in the 50m freestyle at 21.92 and also won the 100m freestyle at 47.99. Proud has been asked to do a fast 100m freestyle for relays in the past, but it does not appear the team will need him to race in relays, as the next generation has risen.

Burras won the 100m free final at Nationals ahead of Duncan Scott (48.00), Matthew Richards (48.02), and Tom Dean (48.32), setting up a 4x100m free relay capable of doing damage on the international scene.

Great Britain just missed a medal in the 4x100m free at the World Championships last year to finish fourth in a new national record of 3:11.14, two tenths away from bronze. That team returns Burras, Richards, and Dean, and with the addition of Scott, it could spell out a sub-3:10 performance which would make them dangerous for a gold medal. Both Richards and Burras are faster and more experienced than they were in 2022, while Dean and Scott have both been clutch on relays, splitting under 47 seconds in the past.

Richards also stood out at the British Swimming Championships last week in Sheffield as the first man to break 22 in the 50m free, 48 in the 100m free, and 1:45 in the 200m freestyle, a triple threat club that was created by him at age 20. Richards had gone quicker in the heats of the 100m free (47.72) only to finish third in the final and miss out on an individual spot. He repeated third in the 50m final with a 21.98, and in the 200m freestyle, he took down Britain’s stacked field with a 1:44.83, pulling the upset over Olympic champion Dean (1:44.93), 2015 World Champ Guy (1:45.85) and Olympic silver medalist Scott (1:45.90).

Despite creating this exclusive club, Richards will only be racing the 200m freestyle individually where he will be a medal favorite alongside the likes of reigning World champ David Popovici of Romania and the World Short Course champ Hwang Sunwoo of South Korea. Although Popovici did not race the 200m freestyle at his Romanian nationals, Richards swam faster than what Hwang did at the recent Korean Trials (1:45.36) so the Welshmen, coached by Ryan Livingstone at Millfield, currently leads the world rankings. Richards also swam quicker than what Dean swam to win the bronze at the World Championships in 2022, as Dean was a 1:44.98 in Budapest last year.

The only question mark surrounding Richards is his lack of individual racing in a big final. He raced the 200m freestyle in Budapest last year but finished 30th in the heats with a 1:48.74. He was clutch on Britain’s 4x200m free relay at the 2020 Olympics, splitting 1:45.01 in the final, but he doesn’t have the pedigree individually to match the likes of Popovici, Hwang, and Dean. Perhaps 2023 is his big breakthrough, and the 200m free final will be a big indication of how much of a threat he is as we inch closer to the Paris Olympics.

Matthew Richards’s chances for a medal in Fukuoka? High. Best chance? 200m freestyle.

The British men have been a global force in the 4x200m freestyle relay ever since the team won the gold medal at the 2015 World Championships. Since then, the team won gold at the 2017 Worlds and 2020 Olympics, as well as a silver in the 2016 Olympics and a bronze at the 2022 Worlds.

This year, the team could very well win both the 4x100m and 4x200m freestyle relays thanks to the emergence of Richards and Burras, as well as the sustained success of both Dean and Scott. Add in the veteran presence of Guy and the Brits have the best freestyle core they’ve ever had. Last year, the team won bronze in the 4x200m freestyle relay without Scott and with Dean splitting a monstrous 1:43.53 on the anchor leg. Both Guy and Scott have split 1:43’s on relays in the past, as well as Dean. That would leave Richards - the national champion, as the only one to have not split that fast. If those big three replicate a 1:43 - or even split 1:44, it could be game over for the rest of the world, and a chance at the world record that has stood since 2009 (6:58.55) could be in play as well.

Despite an emergence in the 100m freestyle, the best chance for a British relay gold medal lies with the 4x200m freestyle. A showdown with the reigning World champions in the United States, who used the same four swimmers to win gold at both the long course and short course global events last year awaits them. The times by the top four at British Trials add up to a 7:01.51 which is already faster than the 7:04.00 the team swam to get bronze last year. As of now, the Brits are the co-favourites alongside the United States and will be looking to stand at the top of the podium again.

Great Britain’s chances for a relay gold medal in Fukuoka? Likely. Best chance? Men’s 4x200m freestyle.

Although Olympic champion Tom Dean was beat to the wall in his best event - the 200m freestyle, he still remains a medal threat in that event with the emergence of Richards. Dean has proven to be a racer and a gamer when the lights come out, winning bronze at last year’s Worlds in Budapest and the Short Course Worlds in Melbourne. Both Popovici and Hwang will have the targets on their back heading into Fukuoka, especially after Popovici’s 1:42.97 last year at the European Championships, the fastest time anyone has swum in 13 years, and Hwang’s gold at the World Short Course Championships over Popovici. That could be enough for Dean to fly under the radar, like he did at the Olympics when his gold medal in the final came as a surprise.

Dean also qualified to swim the 200m IM, where he will be racing alongside Scott after the former was fifth at last year’s World Championships. Dean got the head-to-head win over Scott in Sheffield with a 1:56.65 to Scott’s 1:56.72.

The main question moving forward is if Scott elects to race both the 200m IM and the 100m freestyle in Fukuoka - the only two individuals where he finished in the top two. Both finals fall on the same night, meaning he will have to race both events in the same session three total times. The double is not preposterous, but it could lead Scott, coached by Steven Tigg at the University of Stirling, to rethink his options and race just the 200m IM and perhaps open the door for Richards, who swam faster than Scott in the heats of the 100m freestyle, as the next man up to race the blue-ribbon event.

Scott’s best chance for a medal between those two events appears to be in the 200m IM, where he was the Olympic silver medalist two years ago. Last year it took a 1:56.22 to make the podium in Budapest as both Dean and Scott are within reach based on their times at the national championships. The only issue for Scott doesn’t seem to be as sharp at age 26 as he was when he won four medals at the Tokyo Olympics. Two years ago he was one of the best swimmers in the world, but in 2023 he isn’t as dominant. He is still a medal favorite, but it may be harder for him in 2023. However, he has proven to step up when it counts, and we will be expecting more of the same from him.

Duncan Scott’s chances for a medal in Fukuoka? High. Best chance? 200m IM.

Dean will once again take on a heavy event load as he qualified to swim both the 200m freestyle and the 200m IM and will likely be heavily relied upon in relays. Dean’s best shot for a medal appears to be in the 200m freestyle as his best time puts him seventh all-time, while he doesn’t quite have the IM speed to match with reigning World champ Leon Marchand or silver medalist Carson Foster.

Dean won three bronze medals in Budapest last year in the 200m freestyle, 4x200m freestyle, and the 4x100m medley relay. The Brits will also have a strong contending team in both mixed relays as well as the men’s 4x100m freestyle where Dean may be called upon for a fast 100m freestyle. The depth of men’s 100m freestylers is strong right now in Britain so Dean might have a rest, but he was reliable last year at the World Championships, Commonwealth Games, and the Europeans every time he raced.

Tom Dean’s chances for a medal in Fukuoka? Likely. Best chance? 200m freestyle.

 

The star for the British women ahead of this summer’s World Championships appears to be newcomer Freya Colbert. The 19-year-old was under the A-cut times in the 400m freestyle (4:06.80), 800m freestyle (8:35.02), 200m backstroke (2:08.73), and 400m IM (4:35.50). Time will tell which events she chooses to compete in, but Colbert broke out in a big way in Sheffield.

Fresh off a bronze at the Europeans last summer in the 400m IM, Colbert finished ahead of Katie Shanahan (4:36.74) to start the post-Hannah Miley + Aimee Willmott era for British Swimming as those two carried the nation since the 2012 Olympics in that event, winning medals at both the world and European level.

Colbert appears to be a worthy successor as her time in the 400m IM at Trials was faster than the bronze medal-winning time from last year (4:36.00). Colbert swam in three events at the World Championships last year but only finished as high as 12th in the 400m IM on the final day of competition. She has the experience of last year under her belt where she raced at Worlds, Commonwealths and Europeans, so 2023 could be her big breakout.

The field for the 400m IM right now is dominated by Summer McIntosh of Canada, as the rest of the world will be scrambling behind her to get on the podium. But with the 400m IM on the last day of competition, momentum plays a big factor, and if the British team performs well, perhaps it could spur Colbert to an inspired swim that leads to a podium.

Freya Colbert’s chances for a medal in Fukuoka? Moderate. Best chance? 400m IM.

The sprint duo of Anna Hopkin and Freya Anderson also secured qualification for the World Championships with Anderson winning the 200m freestyle (1:55.89) and the 100m (53.48) over Hopkin (53.52) who won the 50m (24.51).

Both Anderson and Hopkin have raced in big spots for British Swimming in the past, with Hopkin anchoring the mixed medley relay to the first-ever gold medal in Tokyo, and Anderson finishing fourth in the 200m free final in Budapest last year. Hopkin will be 27 at the end of April and Anderson is still only 22 and they are hitting their strides as we move forward in the march to Paris 2024.

Anderson’s 200m freestyle time at Nationals is faster than what she swam at Worlds where she was the top seed after the semi-finals. Anderson was the World Juniors champ in 2017 in the 100m freestyle and has progressed into a strong senior swimmer but is still missing that individual accolade that has eluded her. Anderson has won medals at the Olympics and Worlds as a part of the mixed medley relay and will certainly have an opportunity to contribute there once again, but her best shot at an individual medal appears to be in the 200m freestyle where she swam a lifetime best at the meet in Sheffield last week. Traditionally, the British team races better on the international level than domestically so that could spell good things for Anderson.

Both Anderson and Hopkin qualified to race the 100m freestyle but their best chances for medals appear to be in the 200m for Anderson and the 50m for Hopkin. Last year, Hopkin was seventh in Budapest in the 50m freestyle and also finished the year with an individual bronze in the event at the World Short Course Championships in Melbourne. Last year it took a 24.38 to make the podium at the Worlds while Hopkin ws a 24.51 in Sheffield, leaving some room for herself to improve and make her first individual podium.

Freya Anderson’s chances for a medal in Fukuoka? High. Best chance? 200m freestyle.

Anna Hopkin’s chances for a medal in Fukuoka? Moderate. Best chance? 50m freestyle.

The big question surrounding the British team is its medley relays. Without Adam Peaty, the both the men’s medley and the mixed medley are significantly weaker, having won gold in the mixed and silver in the men’s event at the last Olympics in Tokyo. Subbing in James Wilby for Peaty leaves the team without a guaranteed sub-58 breaststroke option. A medal is still possible in both races however, with the men claiming bronze last year with the likes of Greenbank, Wilby, Guy and Dean.

This year, the men’s medley relay looks way different with Oliver Morgan (53.92), Wilby (59.94), Jacob Peters (51.16), and Richards (47.72) as the fastest relay based on flat starts. Regardless, the team still has the pieces to win a medal based on the strengths of its back half in Peters, who is ranked fourth in the world, and Richards, who is ranked second. The mixed freestyle relay may be Britain’s stronger of the two mixed relays with the likes of Richards and Dean and/or Scott for the men, and Anderson and Hopkin for the women. The team was fourth in Budapest last year in both, getting closer to the podium in the medley. The main key is getting either both women to split 52 in the freestyle and/or one man to split 46 to get on the podium in the freestyle while the mixed relay may need a sub-59 lead-off from Medi Harris, who was a 59.82 to win the British Trials.