British Swimming Championships 2024: Duncan Scott and Honey Osrin shine brightly on Day 4 of Paris 2024 trials
Duncan Scott and Honey Osrin were the biggest winners in the finals on Day 4 of the Aquatics GB Swimming Championships (formerly British Swimming Championships) at the London Aquatics Centre on Friday 5 April.
Scott, a six-time Olympic medallist, was head and shoulders above the field in the men's 200m IM, leading from the first length to last to win the British title and - pending official selection - a place on the GB team for Paris 2024.
"It's a real competitive field with some fast PBs (personal bests) in it, so I knew it was going to be pretty tough," said Scott in a pool-side interview before receiving his gold medal. "That's the thing about IM (Individual Medley), you know, people swim it in so many different ways, with different strengths, I think that's what makes it so exciting - but also why I love it."
The 26-year-old is one of the most successful swimmers in British history and will now be hoping to go one better than he did at Tokyo 2020 when he won silver in the 200m IM - one of four medals he came home with from those Games. His time of 1:55.91 in these British trials was well inside the nomination time, which was also achieved by second-place Tom Dean who will now wait for the selectors' decision as to whether he will join Scott in the event on the British Olympic team.
In the race before, Honey Osrin stormed to victory in the women's 200m backstroke, hitting the vital nomination time with a mark of 2:08.37. As with the men's 200m IM, the second-place finisher Katie Shanahan also has a strong chance of making the team for Paris after a gutsy swim that saw her finish in 2:08.53.
Osrin seemed in disbelief as she saw her time pop up on the board and realised that the British crown was hers. She seemed almost lost for words during the post-race interview - such is the importance of this victory and her chances of now shining on the Olympic stage in the capital of France in less than four months.
"It felt relaxed, but I think that was just the nerves carrying me through," Osrin said of the final length of a race that saw Shanahan chasing her down as they headed almost neck-and-neck towards the wall. "I'm glad I just held on."
As National Olympic Committees have the exclusive authority for the representation of their respective countries at the Olympic Games, athletes' participation at the Paris Games depends on their NOC selecting them to represent their delegation at Paris 2024.
Holly Hibbott and Joe Litchfield win memorable British titles but fall just short of nomination times
In the first final of the evening, Joe Litchfield produced a rapid swim to win the men's 100m butterfly in 51.71 seconds and claim British championships gold. In a close-fought race, he was followed home by Joshua Gammon in 51.82 and Jacob Peters who won bronze in a time of 51.88.
The other final of the evening saw Holly Hibbott crowned British champion in the women's 400m freestyle with a final time of 4:11.67 however, the victory was anything but easy. 14-year-old phenom Amelie Blocksidge, who won the 1500m freestyle title on Wednesday to become a two-time British champion, pushed her all the way to the finish of the shorter event, finally ending the race less than half a second behind in 4:12.09.
Blocksidge will be one British name to keep a close eye on in the future, with the teenager having a championships to remember, despite her young age. But today the plaudits belong to Hibbott who raced courageously from the front to claim gold in front of a cheering home crowd.
Tomorrow's evening action continues with the men’s 800m freestyle, as well as finals in the women’s 100m butterfly, men’s 200m breaststroke men’s 50m freestyle and women’s 200m Individual Medley.