British Swimming Championships 2024

[Cinnamon Bun 911]

5 minutes ago, RussB said:

I think Jacob would be incredibly unfortunate if the selectors take Bird and not him if he beats Bird tonight. I don’t see why we would take Bird and Whittle in that scenario, would seem a bit excessive!

Well Jacob would have a job as him and Bird are in 2 different finals. I think it's more practical to take both, as Whittle would be a good reserve for the 100 and Bird would be a good reserve for 200 + can do the 400 as well. Furthermore, I believe Dan Wiffen is his training partner so it could be beneficial for Wiffen, as well as Bird, if he's picked for Paris in the sense that they can push eachother towards the same common goal. 

[RussB 189]

8 minutes ago, Epic Failure said:

Jacob would do well to beat Bird tonight, as Jacob didn't make the A final! I suppose it is possible that he does a quicker time in the B final.

My bad - I thought he had made the A final. I thought he needed to be genuine relay cover in both the 4x1 and 4x2 to be selected. So, looking far less likely if the times from the heats hold. I was routing for him, without Burras I thought the 4x1 could really do with another 100m specialist, as opposed to 200m specialists dropping down.

Edited April 7, 2024 by RussB

[Cinnamon Bun 911]

8 minutes ago, Epic Failure said:

Eh, that team could make the final but I'm not sure easily.

 

I can't see them only putting 1 of the final swimmers in the heats - in Tokyo they swam 3 of them. Same in Fukuoka. In Budapest they only swam 2 and they were much closer to not making the final.

 

So I think you bank on 2 of the big 4 in the heat and 2 substitutes.

Given our depth, I still reckon only swimming Guy in the heats would still send us through as the depth we have in this event is crazy + there's not many countries that have 8-10 guys that can go sub 1.48. Dean tends to be alright swimming the relay heats so I reckon they could still go Dean, Guy, Bird and J Litchfield if they wanted to be sure.  

[Orangehair43 315]

26 minutes ago, Epic Failure said:

The more I read the selection policy, the more I think people are worrying too much about the relays and the relay time.

 

I accept I could be wrong here, but for me the policy is pretty clear - if the top 4 collectively meet the time, they will go, no questions asked. That's even if Aquatics GB might not have chosen those specific swimmers themselves. Joe Litchfield is an example of that. He might not be their preferred candidate but he took the decision out of their hands.

 

The first paragraph after the relay selections says the following:

 

"Following the selection of athletes under 5.1, 5.2 and 5.3 additional nominations may be made at the complete discretion of the PD and the GB Head Coach. As well as other considerations, the PD and GB Head Coach may use performance against times listed in Table 1 as a guide to assist the exercise of their discretion. In the event the PD and GB Head Coach are unable to agree then the PD’s nomination decision shall be final."

 

There's nothing there that says they won't pick a relay team if they miss the time. There's just no guarantee that they will.

 

The women's 4x100m free missed the time at the British Champs in 21 and they still took part in Tokyo. The policy was slightly different in 21 so it's not exactly the same, but I think the result will be similar.

 

Hopefully the swimmers will take the decision out of the selectors hands anyway.

 

Personally, I will say this - if Jacob Whittle gets on the train, he's a lucky boy. He's had a pretty terrible week. Conversely, if Kieran Bird does not go, he's super unlucky.

 

 

Maybe but they seem to be even more stricter this time. 

[Epic Failure 364]

8 minutes ago, Cinnamon Bun said:

Given our depth, I still reckon only swimming Guy in the heats would still send us through as the depth we have in this event is crazy + there's not many countries that have 8-10 guys that can go sub 1.48. Dean tends to be alright swimming the relay heats so I reckon they could still go Dean, Guy, Bird and J Litchfield if they wanted to be sure.  

It's not that many other countries have that many sub 1.48 swimmers, it's that the other countries won't drop as many of their swimmers in the heats!!

 

To make the final last year and in Tokyo took an average split of just under 1.47 (if my maths is right!)

 

We'll see tonight where we're at but there's playing it safe and playing it *too* safe.

[Epic Failure 364]

8 minutes ago, Orangehair43 said:

Maybe but they seem to be even more stricter this time. 

I mean, it's possible that they will be. But until the team is announced, that's supposition. We all think they are going to be strict but there's no actual hard evidence they will be yet.

[Orangehair43 315]

1 minute ago, Epic Failure said:

It's not that many other countries have that many sub 1.48 swimmers, it's that the other countries won't drop as many of their swimmers in the heats!!

 

To make the final last year and in Tokyo took an average split of just under 1.47 (if my maths is right!)

 

We'll see tonight where we're at but there's playing it safe and playing it *too* safe.

2008 Women’s 4 x 200

[Orangehair43 315]

Just now, Epic Failure said:

I mean, it's possible that they will be. But until the team is announced, that's supposition. We all think they are going to be strict but there's no actual hard evidence they will be yet.

They did reject a quota in 2021 so have history of doing so. 

[Cinnamon Bun 911]

3 minutes ago, Epic Failure said:

It's not that many other countries have that many sub 1.48 swimmers, it's that the other countries won't drop as many of their swimmers in the heats!!

 

To make the final last year and in Tokyo took an average split of just under 1.47 (if my maths is right!)

 

We'll see tonight where we're at but there's playing it safe and playing it *too* safe.

I still reckon we'd be OK dropping 2 of our main 3. Bird is very much capable of going sub 1.47 and Joe could certainly get close to that. 

[Rafa Maciel 1,709]

I think I'm beginning to come round to the idea that Bird is on the team - I'm currently sitting at 31 and that includes Bird, Anderson, Cox, Hanlon, Guy and Peters. 

 

If Blocksidge gets the time this evening that would definitely complicate matters - but it would be a fantastic complication to have