Aussie now the quickest across 200m for the year in the lead-up to worlds.
Australian Grant Irvine clocked the fastest 200m butterfly time in the world this year at the national world championship trials in Adelaide on Monday.
Irvine, 22, shaved more than one second off his personal best time, coming home in 1:55.32 to book his place in the Australian team for the Barcelona world titles in July. His time was the second fastest ever by an Australian.
He came home well ahead of London Olympian Chris Wright (1:57.79), whose time left him just outside the benchmark for selection.
Irvine, who missed a place on the 2012 Olympic team by just 0.27 of a second, said last year’s disappointment had made him stronger.
“It’s been on my mind,” Irvine said. “Bohly (coach Michael Bohl) reminded me of it every second day in training. It made me work that little bit harder.”
Triple Olympic medallist Bronte Barratt won her fourth women’s 200m freestyle national title, with the London bronze medallist booking her second individual swim at the world championship.
Barratt set this year’s second-fastest time internationally, touching in 1:56.05 ahead of current Australian record holder and 2011 world championship silver medallist Kylie Palmer (1:56.66).
Olympic silver medallist Christian Sprenger set a new Australian record in the men’s 50m breaststroke.
Sprenger, who secured his third 100m breaststroke title earlier in the week, shaved 0.05 of a second off Brenton Rickard’s former mark, hitting the wall in 26.90.
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