Jazz Carlin took two wins at the head of a group of British swimmers competing in the second round of the Mare Nostrum tour in Canet as preparations for Rio continued apace with two days of tough racing.
The Welsh lady’s campaign started well on the opening day with a solid 8:25.23 to win the 800m freestyle, followed soon after by a swift 1:58.60 in the final of the 200m freestyle. That combination of speed and endurance was again on show on the second day of competition, as Carlin easily held of Katinka Hosszu in the final of the 400m free, winning in 4:04.67, a touch quicker than the time she recorded for silver at the European Championships.
In the men’s middle distance, James Guy took on a tough double with the 200m and 400m freestyles both on the first day of competition. He swam solid in-season times of 1:47.71 and 3:47.01 less than an hour apart, for 4th and 2nd places respectively, but well in the race in both events. In the shorter race, Guy was joined in the final by Stephen Milne who recorded an encouraging 1:47.83 to touch just behind his team mate.
Who puts the 200 and 400 free on the same day? #Goosed
— James Guy (@Jimbob95goon) June 8, 2016
Further down the 200m field there was a fillip for Guy’s Millfield teammate Cameron Kurle, who recorded 1:49.85 in the B final, much quicker than he had posted in London, to indicate he shouldn’t be written off as a relay prospect just yet. That B final also saw Calum Jarvis swim 1:48.85, a hint of what might have been for him, and Dan Wallace post 1:50.86. His best result, though, came in the 200 medley with a 2:01.44 for 4th place. But the 200 free went without both Robbie Renwick and Duncan Scott who used this meet to swim some off events, although Scott’s 1:08.62 in the 100m breaststroke won’t be worrying his Stirling teammate Ross Murdoch just yet.
Murdoch himself swam well, with 1:00.46 for 4th in the 100m breaststroke and 27.94 in the 50m splash and dash. Another Stirling man, Craig Benson finished 6th in the 200m breaststroke, just ahead of Andrew Willis in 8th. Both were slower than Charlie Attwood however, the Bath man winning the B final in 2:13.84. Meanwhile, Chris Walker-Hebborn, posted 54.95 for 4th in the 100m backstroke,
The British team now moves on to the final Mare Nostrum round in Barcelona, where all 26 Rio-bound swimmers will compete.
Full results from Canet are available here
I think if Guy had only swum the 200 on Day 1 he would have likely gone a similar time as he did in London (1.46 mid) and beaten Agnel convincingly. Particularly as Guy went out so fast in the 400, even if the 1.50 first split looked relatively easy, he definitely paid the price at the finish. Swimming it like that would have hurt him more than a more even race, and therefore made the 200 final afterwards even harder!