Olympic swimming trials: James Magnussen fastest in 50m freestyle heats, after 100m Rio heartbreak

JAMES Magnussen responded to the disappointment of missing a 100m freestyle berth for Rio by clocking the fastest time in 50m qualifying on Tuesday.

James Magnussen looks on prior to swimming in the Mens 100m Freestyle Final on day 5 of the Australian Swimming Championships at the SA Aquatic and Leisure Centre in Adelaide, Monday, April 11, 2016. (AAP Image/Dave Hunt) NO ARCHIVING, EDITORIAL USE ONLY

JAMES Magnussen has responded to the disappointment of last night’s 100m freestyle final by clocking the fastest time in 50m qualifying in Adelaide this morning.

‘The Missile’, who was denied an individual 100m freestyle swim in Rio after finishing fourth in the final on Monday night, refocused and executed a strong swim to go 22.39 secs ahead of Matthew Abood (22.54) and Cameron McEvoy (22.60).

The 50m freestyle semi-finals will be held tonight and the final on Wednesday which represents Magnussen’s last chance to land an individual swim at the Olympics.

“From now on it might be my main focus,” Magnussen said.

“I don’t have to have that endurance in my shoulder which I clearly haven’t quite got, so I can just go hell for leather and know it’s going to hold up, I don’t have to worry about limping through that back 50m.

“It was good to get back out there and on the blocks. I felt pretty good this morning so I’m looking forward to the rest of this 50m campaign.

“This might be the one, I’m hoping.”

Teenage sensation Kyle Chalmers, who was second in the 100m freestyle on Monday night, was 13th fastest in 22.95 to progress to the semi-finals.

Magnussen is confident his body will hold up to the shorter distance sprint.

The 17-year-old admitted he struggled to sleep on Monday night after booking his ticket to Rio.

“It (heat swim) was pretty good considering I had no sleep last night, I wasn’t expecting a whole lot, just making it through to the semi tonight which is all I have to do,” Chalmers said.

“I’m always like that after a big race, I tend to get on a pretty big high and didn’t have much sleep and last night I tried to stay calm in my head but it was a bit hard.”

No sooner was McEvoy out of the water from the 50m freestyle heats he was back in for the 100m butterfly in which he was the 13th fastest qualifier and made it through to tonight’s semi.

“I didn’t get much sleep last night and recovery wasn’t too great, I got in the water this morning and felt really heavy but I did a job in the heat and got through,” McEvoy said.

“Like the 100 I imagine it will probably progress through the heat, semi and the final.

“And I’m excited for the 50m final, I showed great speed last night so my 50 should on paper look pretty good for another best time.”

In women’s 800m freestyle qualifying, Jessica Ashwood was fastest in 8mins 31.60 secs from Tamsin Cook (8:36.84) and Kiah Melverton (8:37.13) ahead of their final on Wednesday night.

The top qualifier in the women’s 200m backstroke was Belinda Hocking who went 2:10.90.

Meanwhile, five-time Olympic medallist Melanie Wright has announced her retirement from swimming.

Wright (nee Schlanger) confirmed the news on social media after failing to make the 100m freestyle final at the Rio Olympic trials in Adelaide on Monday night.

“And with that I wave goodbye to a competitive swimming career that spanned more than 15 years,” the 29-year-old dual Olympian wrote on her Facebook page.

Melanie Wright has called time on her illustrious swimming career.

The two-time Olympic gold medallist had battled a rib complaint ahead of the Rio trials, costing her seven weeks of training. A similar rib injury forced her to miss the 2013 world titles and contemplate retirement.

Wright’s highlight was anchoring the 4x100m freestyle relay team at the London 2012 Olympics, keeping at bay surging defending champions Netherlands and securing Australia’s only gold medal in the pool.

Wright — married to fellow Olympian Chris Wright — said she would soon begin studying medicine on the Gold Coast

Originally published as Olympic swimming trials: James Magnussen fastest in 50m freestyle heats, after 100m Rio heartbreak