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Duncan Scott ended the British Swimming Selection Trials with another record-breaking performance of 1:44.47 in the 200 free to head to the top of the rankings and ninth all-time.
The two-time Olympic relay silver medallist set the previous British record of 1:44.91 on the GB lead-off in the 4×200 relay at the 2019 World Championships in Gwangju where he won joint bronze with Martin Malyutin of Russia in 1:45.63.
On Sunday he sliced a further 0.44 with Tom Dean also under the old record in 1:44.58 with the pair occupying the top two slots in the world rankings displacing Japan’s Katsuo Matsumoto who went 1:44.65 earlier in April.
It also fired them to ninth and 10th-fastest performers in the all-time rankings.
Splits;
Scott: 24.45/50.25/1:16.88/1:44.47 (27.59)
Dean: 23.98/50.57/1:17.36/1:44.58 (27.22)
Matt Richards – the 18-year-old who qualified in the 100 – was third in 1:45.77, one place ahead of 2015 world champion James Guy (1:46.04) with Calum Jarvis also under the consideration time of 1:46.99 in 1:46.47.
All-Time Rankings
- 1:42.00, Paul Biedermann, 2009 World Championships
- 1:42.96, Michael Phelps, 2008 Olympics
- 1:43.14, Yannick Agnel, 2012 Olympics
- 1:43.90, Danila Izotov, 2009 World Championships
- 1:44.02, Ian Thorpe, 2001 World Championships
- 1:44.38, Danys Rapsys, 2019 FINA World Cup
- 1:44.39, Sun Yang, 2017 World Championships
- 1:44.44, Ryan Lochte, 2011 World Championships
- 1:44.47, Duncan Scott, 2021 British Swimming Selection Trials
- 1:44.58, Tom Dean, 2021 British Swimming Selection Trials
Duncan Scott: Photo Courtesy: Georgie Kerr, British Swimming
Scott has had a stunning meet, setting a British 200IM record of 1:55.90 and matching his 100 free mark of 47.87 although he was disappointed with his time.
On Sunday, he said of the 200 free:
“I’m delighted with the time, but just to get the win in that sort of field is really good.
“It was my first 200 free tapered since August 2019 so it’s been a while.”
“I believe Deano missed the 1:45s, he went straight from 1:46 to 1:44, fair play to him!
“It’s looking really good for the 4x200m, we need to just carry this on and that’d be great.
“It was just about trying to stay composed, trust what I’ve done in training and what I’ve done the last couple of years. I was just trying to put the strokes together because that was hurting!
Britain have enjoyed great success in recent years in the 4×200 relay with gold at the 2015 and 2017 World Championships where an anchor leg of 1:43.80 by James Guy propelled them to a British record of 7:01.70.
That lowered the mark of 7:03.13 en-route to silver behind the United States at Rio 2016.
Scott set the British individual record of 1:44.91 he subsequently lowered on Sunday on the lead-off at the 2019 worlds before the quartet finished fifth, 0.06 off the USA in bronze.
The University of Stirling swimmer said:
“We were a little bit disappointed with 2019 but it was a really strong field for the rest of the world, there were 1:45s everywhere, and we had a relatively young team as well.
“I’m really looking forward to the 4x200m, and I think everyone else in that race should be too, as well as British Swimming.
“We’ve got the European Championships and then some more events to work on it – I’m excited by that event!”
Tom Dean: Photo Courtesy: Georgie Kerr, British Swimming
It had been a tough week for Dean who finished second in the 400 free but outside the consideration time and then third over 100.
The 20-year-old – who trains at the Bath National Centre – said:
“I’m absolutely buzzing. I skipped through the 1:45, I wasn’t expecting that, I’d have been happy with a 1.45. I think Duncan pulled me through there and it feels like it’s been a long time coming.
“I knew I was on good form, with PBs in the 100m and 400m, so I knew something special was going to happen – but that was better than I could’ve ever expected.”
Of what lies in the weeks ahead, Dean said:
“Just have a solid block leading into the summer, really. Having got Covid twice, it’s been brutal coming into these trials with disruptions.”
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