Aussie cooks up 2nd best breaststroke time

ADELAIDE • Zac Stubblety-Cook yesterday powered to the second-fastest 200m breaststroke in history, narrowly missing the world record, while Kyle Chalmers comfortably booked his ticket to defend his Olympic 100m freestyle crown at the Tokyo Games.

Stubblety-Cook earned his maiden Olympic berth with an electric swim at the Australian trials in Adelaide, tracking under world record pace until the final few metres to touch home in 2min 6.28sec.

It was a Commonwealth record and only a fraction outside the all-time best 2:06.12 that Russia's Anton Chupkov posted to win the event at the 2019 world championship in Gwangju, South Korea.

The man Chupkov beat to that title, Australia's Matt Wilson, was second in 2:08.52, but narrowly outside the tough qualifying standard, leaving him in tears.

"I'm just ecstatic," Stubblety-Cook, 22, said. "I went into tonight just looking to execute a process and I swam well.

"I was pretty happy with where my 100m was at and knew that my forte was the back end. Matt going out pretty fast was helpful in the end. It'll be great to race someone like Chupkov at the Olympics because we race quite similar."

Apart from Stubblety-Cook, only Chupkov and Japan's Shoma Sato have dipped under 2:07 this year and will be key rivals, as will Kazakhstan's defending Olympic champion Dmitriy Balandin.

Chalmers, who stunned the swimming world when he claimed gold in Rio as an 18-year-old, stormed to the third-fastest 100m free time this year, hitting the wall in 47.59sec as he steps up preparations for an expected showdown in Japan with Caeleb Dressel.

While Chalmers outpaced Dressel in Rio, he was pipped to the 2019 world title by the American.

"A lot of pressure on that one. I was relieved after qualifying in the 200m, but to get my main race and swim just 0.1sec slower than (my time) was in Rio is pretty good. It was my first 47 in a while," he said.

"It's exciting."

The 22-year-old had already ensured he would be in Japan by winning the 200m and he will be joined in the 100m by Matthew Temple (48.32sec), who will also race the 200m butterfly.

Maddy Gough smashed the Australian record by six seconds in the 1,500m free, touching in 15:46.13, second only to American great Katie Ledecky this year in an event that will make its Olympic debut.

"So happy," said the 22-year-old, who will be at her first Games. "I knew I'd done a lot of good training but it's amazing to swim such a good race."

Brianna Throssell qualified for her second Olympics by winning the 200m fly in 2:07.63, although that time is still some way off China's Zhang Yufei, who leads the pace this year with 2:05.44.

Rio 200m fly silver medallist Maddie Groves did not race, sensationally pulling out over "misogynistic perverts" in the sport.

In Omaha, Nebraska, five-time Olympic gold medallist Katie Ledecky is on her way to a Tokyo showdown with Australian Ariarne Titmus, locking up her 400m free spot with a 4:01.27 win at the US Olympic trials on Monday.

Torri Huske led a one-two of teenagers in the women's 100m fly, nabbing her first Games berth in sensational style with a world-leading time of 55.66sec, stamping herself as a legitimate threat to reigning Olympic champion Sarah Sjostrom of Sweden.

The 18-year-old will spearhead a youthful US challenge in the event after 16-year-old Claire Curzan finished second in 56.43sec.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE