2023 AUSTRALIAN SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS
Ben Armbruster had another big session at the 2023 Australian Swimming Championships, scoring a pair of top-two performances in prelims. Armbruster was the quickest man in the 100 butterfly, hitting a 51.96, and second in the 50 backstroke with a 22.26. Thomas Nowakowski was the top man in the 50 freestyle, delivering a 22.05.
Armbruster’s 100 butterfly marked the first time he has swum under 52 seconds, improving upon the 52.41 that he swam at the 2022 Australian Championships. He also set a new PB in the 50 freestyle with his 22.26 to shave roughly half a second off hit 22.79 from March 2023.
On days one and two of this meet, respectively, Armbruster won the 50 butterfly (23.05) and the 50 backstroke (25.27). He’ll be gunning for another two gold medals during finals but will face the likes of Shaun Champion, Jesse Coleman, and Kyle Chalmers in the 100 fly, and Nowakowski, Cam McEvoy, Flynn Southam, and Jezze Gorman in the 50 butterfly.
The woman also had two sprint events on day three of the Australian Championships in the 50 backstroke and 50 butterfly. 100 backstroke runner-up Mollie O’Callaghan notched a 27.72 in the 50 backstroke as the only woman under 28 seconds. She holds a best time of 27.38 in the event from March 2023 and will attempt to hit that time or faster during finals. Bronte Job was the second fastest woman here with her time of 28.09, trailing her 27.62 entry time, and Jaclyn Barclay posted a 28.59 for third.
In the 50 butterfly, Alexandria Perkins swam a 26.42 to advanced in first place to the final by just 0.13 seconds as Lily Price was a 26.55 for second overall. Brianna Throssell and Kayla Costa were also faster than 27 seconds here, hitting a 26.80 and 26.90, respectively. #5 in the heats was Emma McKeon with a 27.04, which is more than a second slower than her 25.90 PB from the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
Ariarne Titmus swam the 400 freestyle on day three, putting up a very conservative time of 4:09.40. Her best time and former world record is a 3:56.40 meaning that she likely didn’t put her all into this race. She still managed to clock the top time of the heats, however, getting in ahead of Lani Pallister‘s 4:09.57. Pallister’s best time in a 4:02.21 from the 2022 World Championships. Eve Thomas also swam here, having recently qualified for World Championships at the New Zealand Championships. Thomas posted a 4:09.87 and was followed by Jenna Forrester (4:10.84) and Kiah Melverton (4:11.72).
The other woman’s event featured on day three of this meet is the 200 breaststroke wherein Ashleigh Oberekar delivered a 2:28.80, while Jenna Strauch trailed slightly in a 2:28.95. Thomas Neill was the top performer in the men’s 200 IM with a 2:00.48 and Ty Hartwell led the way in the 100 back with a 55.28.
