Australian Swimming Championships: Mitch Larkin gunning for 100m backstroke world record

MITCH Larkin is poised to set a new world record in Saturday night’s 100m men’s backstroke final at the Australian Swimming Championships in Adelaide.

The competitors in Saturday morning’s heats session of the Olympic swim trials in Adelaide were all swimming for second.

Their performances were all vital to their chances of making the team for Rio, but in terms of public interest the big news was always going to be the evening’s 100m men’s backstroke final, with talk around the pool that Queensland’s Mitch Larkin will be out to break the world record.

World number one Larkin hits the water around 9pm and, all going to plan, will be touching the wall less than 51.94 seconds later, breaking the record set by American Aaron Peirsol back in July 2009.

Larkin, the current World Swimmer of the Year and reigning 100m and 200m backstroke world champion, swam his best time over 100m of 52.11 last year but is in great form and by all reports, ready to have a red hot crack at Peirsol’s mark.

With that as the background, the heats session saw the usual cast of big names and up and comers working their way into position for a semi-finals berth and ultimate seat on the plane to Rio.

In the women’s 200m freestyle Queenslander Alicia Coutts was the fastest qualifier into the semi-final ahead of Victorian Kotuku Ngawati, as well as Ellen Fullarton and Keryn McMaster, both coached by Vince Raleigh at Brisbane’s Chandler club.

Queenslander Chris Wright was the fastest qualifier into the 200m butterfly semi-final, followed by the ACT’s Hugo Morris and Queensland’s Grant Irvine.

Bronter Barratt and Emma McKeon, team-mates under Michael Bohl’s coaching in Brisbane, were the first two into the semi-final of the 200m freestyle, ahead of Brisbane Grammar’s Brittany Elmslie and another of Bohl’s squad, Madelaine Groves.

Originally published as Australian Swimming Championships: Mitch Larkin gunning for 100m backstroke world record