When Sally Met Ben On The Deck After Her Son Had Done The Family Proud In 21.25
Ben Proud punched a 21.25 ticket to Paris and a shot at the biggest prizes in his sport with a majestic blast that posted his third-swiftest dash to the mast at the London Aquatics Centre.
Proud, based for a while at Bath University in the program run by Dave McNulty, is now back full-time at his home from home in Turkey at the Gloria performance training centre, and under the guidance of coach James Gibson and others. His career highs of 21.11 (only Olympic champion Caeleb Dressel has ever swum faster in textile, at 21.04 in 2021) and 21.16 dates back to 2018. Since then, 21.30 had been his fastest. Now it’s 21.25, with “some things to fix” after today’s scorcher on the penultimate day of British Championships and Olympic trials.
There was never any doubt that Proud would win: he’d got there long before the clock stopped, starting with one of his magnificent starts. His dashing dash to dominance was followed by 200m World champion Matt Richards, of Millfield, on a lifetime best of 21.83, 0.05sec inside the Paris cut, in a race of four sub-22s. In Britain.
Third place went to Loughborough’s Alex Cohoon, the fourth man home in the 100m and on the train to Paris for the 4x100m free come July, in 21.90. Edinburgh’s David Cumberlidge made it four inside 22, on 21.98, with Lewis Burras, on 22.09.
Proud: “Good Thing Is … I Have Some Things To Fix”
Proud’s mum, Sally, was on hand to not only hug her towering son but present him, Richards and Cohoon with their medals. The sprint ace and champion once more after more than a decade as Britain’s fastest human in water node to 21.25 and said:
“Nice surprise; being in the London home pool and tonight is really special because for only the second time in my whole career I have my whole family is under one roof and I really wanted to show them what I can do. … Every opportunity to get a good swim in, I’m going to take it. Tonight was just about putting in a fast race. The good thing is that I have some things to fix.”
Ben Proud
Gallery: When Sally met Ben after her son had done the family Proud
Great to see parents being invited to hand out medals, the Bank of mum and dad the biggest hidden subsidy and the love of real ‘family’ in Olympic sport. I first suggested it with a guaranteed VIP seat for any parent with a qualifier in a big final back in 1993 … good to see some of that happening at last.
One little slip in the dash and the day goes down. Proud was relieved that this was am up sort of day on the long roller-coaster of a stellar career that saw him become the first swimmer ever to claim the World, Commonwealth and then European 50m free titles in one season. Booking his place in Paris and the time on the clock were “fantastic”. He added:
“Honestly, coming into this meet, I wasn’t stressed, I just thought it was ticking the box. Seeing the quality of the guys making the team this year and realising this was my only shot to make it, I did get a little overwhelmed by the fact that it’s no mistakes, just get it done. So I’m super happy to have swum as I should have, and to be honest, the time was something really fantastic. There have been ups and downs, some people know, some people don’t.
“I am just trying to love the sport. In 2022, I was swimming quick and it was quite surreal, because it just came so quickly, but I think that was off the back of the work I was doing before the last Games. I was getting a little worried that I couldn’t get under 21.5 for a little while. Now, this is one of the fastest swims I’ve done, that’s a massive credit to the team around me, my swimming family that have kept me going.
“I’m now fully based out in Gloria (in Turkey), and it’s really proving. I love the lifestyle. I was considering retirement a few years ago, but now I want to keep swimming! I said after the last Olympics, I can’t chase Olympic medals any more, it’s far too stressful. So right now, I am just loving the process, working day in and day out. This is a lifestyle that I really enjoy, and if it pays off at the Olympics then great, but there will be some really fast guys at the Games.
Ben Proud– photo by Patrick B. Kraemer
Proud had swum inside the Olympic cut in heats, on 21.70, noting that speedy heats at events where he could afford to go slower was al part of preparation for Paris and the “easy speed” but fast pace required to get through the rounds and into the showdown.
In other words, there’s more to come.
From Richards, too. Champion in the 100 and heading into the 200m showstopper tomorrow as 2023 World champion, he now has a 50m string to his bow alongside likely berths in the Paris 4×100 and 4×200 freestyle and 4x100m medley. Of the dash, the Olympic 4x200m free champion, who is still 21, said with a nod to Proud: “It was great fun. I kind of just wanted to dive into Ben’s lane and hold on. To see so many people under 22 was fantastic. I’m really pleased with that.”
Cohoon’s take: “The plan coming in tonight was just to be relaxed. I got the job done earlier in the week and tried to get on this big man’s wave but he’s so far ahead of me off the start. I’m glad to who under 22, I wanted to go quicker tonight but it sets me up well for the summer.”
The ranks of British men’s freestyle sprinting has never been so flush with speed and potential to do damage on the biggest of occasion in the 50, 100 and 200m.
Men’s 800m Freestyle – Robinson Dominates For Debut British Title
Tobias Robinson is a British champion for the first time. Oddly, he has no profile and a search for his name on the Aquatics GB website returns “no result”. Perhaps, that may change now that he’s delivered several fine results, including the 800m freestyle crown in London this evening, holds a ticket to the Olympic Marathon in the Seine this August and was a hand away from the qualification target for the 1500m this week in a fight with Dan Jervis.
Robinson’s 7:51.51 in a race with the clock as pace-setter way out front, was yet another big lifetime best and a credit to him and all those he works with at Loughborough. The podium was completed by two teens whose battle got them inside the 8-minute mark, Robinson’s teammate Tyler Melbourne Smith on 7:59.59, Stockport’s Reece Grady on 7:59.71.
Robinson emerged with a message to British audiences:
“Please tune into to the [marathon] open water at the Games because it’s so, so exciting.” Indeed it will be, particularly in the Seine, in a grand river with crowds on the banks and the French capital city as the backdrop to the drama in the water.”
Tobi Robinson – image: An artists’s impression of the Seine as one of the focal points of the Paris 2024 Olympics Games – courtesy of the official tourist office of Paris, Paris Je T’Aime – https://parisjetaime.com/eng/article/olympic-days-a661
Women’s 100m Butterfly – Keanna Macinnes At The Double
There were no automatic qualifiers in the solo ‘fly, and the GB women’s medley relay has not made the grade for Paris. The British champion will be in Paris, however: Keanna Macinnes, who stamped her Olympic ticket as 200m champion earlier in the week, took the two-length race in 57.92, a Scottish record 0.05 inside her own previous best from a year ago. The podium was rounded off by the winner’s University of Stirling teammate Lucy Grieve, in 58.31, and Laura Stephens, Loughborough’s 200m World champion and second-berth candidate for the longer event inside cut behind Macinnes, on 58.68.
Men’s 200m Breaststroke – James Wilby At The Mercy Of Selector Discretion
James Wilby is the national 200m champion once more after taking the lead on the third length and enduring a last-length battle with Loughborough teammate Gregory Butler that ended 2:10.03 to 2:10.48 in his favour. The Paris cut: 2:08.95.
Wilby looked heavenward in despair more than joy. He emerged to say: “It’s a challenging one when you touch the wall first but don’t get the time.”
The bronze went to George Smith, of Stirling, in 2:12.79, the man who led to the half-way mark, Edinburgh’s Archie Goodburn, fourth in 2:13.64.
Wilby later noted that he’d felt the joy of having both prizes in the same race but was disappointed that this day was different. His Paris 2024 ambitions are now dependent on selector discretion. He was a whisker away from the qualifying time in the 100m when Adam Peaty demonstrated his return to the 57-sec zone last Tuesday, and a back-up for the men’s medley relay in Paris is always wise given the demands and vagaries of nine days of ultimate racing once every four years.
Trials Information:
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