Champion puts heartache of disqualification in the past to win 200m crown.
Thomas Fraser-Holmes overcame the disappointment of disqualification from the 400m freestyle heats to win his third straight 200m title at the Australian world championship trials Sunday.
Fraser-Holmes, 21, who was automatically disqualified when he broke the start in his 400m heat on Friday, reeled in Cameron McEvoy to win the 200m freestyle and book his place on the world championships team to compete in Barcelona.
He shaved more than a third of a second off his personal best time to touch in 1min 45.79sec, with McEvoy (1:46.03) also qualifying for an individual swim at the worlds in Spain, which start in July.
“I missed out on qualifying for the team on the first day, but to swim a PB (personal best) and qualify tonight is great,” Fraser-Holmes said. “I definitely had to dig deep over that last lap.”
Olympic silver medallist Emily Seebohm swept to her sixth Australian women’s 100m backstroke title and set the world’s second quickest time of the year in the final.
The four-time Olympic medallist, who had already secured her place in the world championship team after finishing second in the 200m individual medley, was untroubled to win in 59.17sec.
Seebohm beat Belinda Hocking, whose time of 59.63 also put her on the plane to Spain.
Beijing Olympian Ashley Delaney returned to the Australian team in style with victory in the men’s 100m backstroke in 53.63 from 2011 title holder Ben Treffers (54.15).
Sally Foster stormed home to win her first 100m breaststroke national title, overhauling Samantha Marshall in the final strokes to win by just 0.03sec in 1:07.46.
Results of finals Sunday from the third day of the Australian Swimming Championships and world championship trials in Adelaide:
Men
200m freestyle: 1. Thomas Fraser-Holmes 1min 45.79sec, 2. Cameron McEvoy 1:46.03, 3. David McKeon 1:46.96
100m backstroke: 1. Ashley Delaney 53.63sec, 2. Benjamin Treffers 54.15, 3. Daniel Arnamnart 54.61
Women
100m backstroke: 1. Emily Seebohm 59.17, 2. Belinda Hocking 59.63, 3. Meagen Nay 1:00.78
100m breaststroke: 1. Sally Foster 1:07.46, 2. Samantha Marshall 1:07.49, 3. Leiston Pickett 1:07.70
1500m freestyle: 1. Chelsea Gubecka 16:22.35, 2. Leah Cutting 16:51.51, 3. Bonnie MacDonald 16:56.97
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