Swimming: Seebohm back in winning form

World backstroke champion Emily Seebohm has bounced back from surgery to show she is on track for the Australian team.

Emily Seebohm at the Brisbane Aquatic Centre last year. Picture: Liam Kidston

World backstroke champion Emily Seebohm has bounced back impressively from two bouts of surgery to demonstrate that she is on track for a tenth year on the Australian team.

Seebohm, 24, won the 100-metre backstroke at the NSW titles on Saturday night, downing a national-strength field in 59.28 seconds, the fastest time in the world so far this year.

World championships silver medallist Madison Wilson finished second in 1:00.02.

Seebohm, who had surgery for endometriosis just after Christmas and then had her wisdom teeth removed in January, said she was encouraged by her performances in Sydney but still not convinced she would be fit enough to earn a place in the world championships team next month.

“I was happy with that time considering the training that I’ve done, which is a bit little for me normally, it’s nice to get that under the belt,’’ she said.

“It’s good to get back into racing. I’m feeling refreshed. It’s my first 100m backstroke for a while against some really solid competitors so I was actually a bit nervous tonight.’’

“Making the team is going to be a hard ask with what I’ve been going through the last couple of months so I’m not expecting too much. The next month will be about putting in as much effort as I can and saving up what I can for trials and giving it a real good go.’’

Her Olympic teammate Jess Ashwood has also had a late start to her training season after a series of bouts of illness but she managed to overcome the woman who shapes as the main threat to her national supremacy in the 400m freestyle, by the slimmest margin of 0.01sec.

Ashwood, who had a viral infection, anaemia and four bouts of tonsillitis during the summer, has only had a clear run since January, but she still found the strength to win in 4:08.06, just a touch ahead of national 5-kilometre openwater champion Kiah Melverton (4:08.07).

With her hair dyed pink to match her swimsuit, Ashwood had to fight for the win and she expects to have to fight at next month’s trials too.

“My main focus is the Commonwealth Games next year because I wasn’t sure how I was going to go this year,’’ she said.

“This was a lot better than I expected but I’m not sure I’ll be fit enough to hit the qualifying times at the trials (4:07.58 and 8:26.96).’’

World 100m freestyle record-holder Cate Campbell maintained her record of domestic supremacy adding the 50m freestyle to her 100m victory.

The Campbell sisters and their teenaged training partner Shayna Jack combined to dominate the podium. Cate won in 24.47sec from Bronte (24.60) and Jack in 25.00.

National champion Cameron McEvoy also had to hold off two of his new training partners at Bond University to complete the 100m-200m freestyle double.

McEvoy led clearly at the last turn of the 200m, but admitted he had “spent all my bikkies’’ on the third lap and only just got to the finish before the hunting pack closed on him.

He won in 1:48.36 from the resurgent Alex Graham (1:48.62).

Fellow Olympian Tom Fraser-Holmes, who has also joined Bond, sat out the race after aggravating a rib injury.

McEvoy, 22, took an extended break after a disappointing Olympic campaign but said the additions to his training squad had left him nowhere to hide since his return and he felt better for it.

In other results, teenager Matt Wilson broke his own NSW record to win the 100m backstroke (1:00.23) and Emma McKeon won the 100m butterfly (58.02sec).