Dolphins leap into swim world titles without a No 1 ranking

The Australian team will go into the world titles without a single top seed in contrast to last year’s Olympics.

Emma McKeon, one of the few Australian swimmers ranked in the top three going into this month’s world championships in Budapest. Picture: AAP.

The Australian team will go into this month’s world championships without a single No 1 ranking in contrast to last year’s pre-Olympic tally of eight.

The magic eight created hype around the Dolphins that ultimately did them no good in Rio. Not one of those No 1 rankings was converted into an Olympic gold medal in Rio as world leaders including Cate Campbell and Cameron McEvoy felt the crushing weight of expectations from their homeland.

Instead the gold medals came from Olympic debutants Mack Horton and Kyle Chalmers who arrived with clear minds and swam without baggage to weigh them down.

It remains to be seen if the alternate approach of not showing all Australia’s cards before the major championship of the year will result in a better showing in Budapest at the world titles.

Emily Seebohm, Mitch Larkin and Bronte Campbell will all go into the meet as defending world champions but Seebohm is currently the only one of them ranked in the top three in the world.

She was No 1 in the 200m backstroke until the weekend, when Kathleen Baker set the new benchmark of 2min6.38sec at the US trials, a fraction faster than Seebohm’s best of the year (2:06.66).

In the 100m, Baker (58.57sec) also pushed Seebohm (58.62sec) down to third in the pecking order,

However Seebohm is a highly experienced athlete these days and appears to be staging a resurrection after surgery in December to correct some ongoing health issues that may have undercut her Olympic campaign.

But she is one of the few Australians who hold a ranking in the top three going into Budapest.

Australia’s most successful Rio Olympian Emma McKeon is the only other Australian woman ranked to win a medal in Budapest. She holds the third-fastest time in the 200m freestyle (1:55.68) but has work to do to get on terms with Olympic champion Katie Ledecky, who clocked 1:54.84 at the US trials.

McKeon underlined her multiple medal credentials by winning three events at the French Open in Chartres over the weekend.

She touching out hometown favourite Charlotte Bonnet to take the 200m freestyle yesterday in 1:57.31, and returned today to win a difficult double, starting with the 200m butterfly (2:07.49) and finishing with the 100m freestyle (54.24sec).

Among the men, Cameron McEvoy is ranked No 2 in the 100m freestyle (47.91sec) in a bunched field as the top four men are all within a tenth of a second of each other, while Olympic 400m freestyle champion Mack Horton is third in that event (3:44.18) and in the 1500m (14:51.21).

McEvoy chose not to contest the 100m in Chartres, opting to work on his endurance by contesting the 400m freestyle heats.

In his absence, France’s Meydy Metella won in 48.46 sec, while former world champion James Magnussen struggled to find his speed, finishing third in 49.54 sec, the slowest outing of his five-meet tour, which finishes today.

He is skipping the world titles as he searches for his previous best form.

The national team’s oldest rookie Holly Barratt, 29, is showing a liking for international competition. She won the 50m (27.81sec) and 100m backstroke (1:00.05) in Chartres.

One cause for optimism is the swell of Australians ranked just outside the top three.

They include McEvoy (4th, 50m freestyle), Bronte Campbell (4th, 100m freestyle), 16-year-old Ariarne Titmus (4th, 400m and 800m freestyle), Barratt (4th, 50m backstroke), McKeon (5th, 100m butterfly) and Taylor McKeown (5th, 200m breaststroke).

Titmus claimed her first senior international victory in the 400m freestyle at the French Open, clocking the second fastest time of her career (4:05.21). She also finished second in the 800m (8:28.51) behind Spain’s Olympic 200m butterfly champion Mireia Belmonte (8:27.33).