12th in the world in the 100m Breast

After qualifying 14th in the prelims with a 58.90, I advanced to the semi-finals for a showdown with the world’s best to make the championships final. I won my heat in the morning facing stiffer competition from Shuai Wang from China than expected.

For the semi-finals, I was in lane 1 of heat 1 next to Brenton Rickard (who is the world record holder in the long course version of the 100 m breast). They parade you out one at a time in front of the crowd, where the prince of Dubai was in attendance. You go into two separate ready rooms before you parade out. The rooms are full of nerves, confidence, and anticipation. I was actually more nervous for my first swim in prelims and more confident that night.

Out of lane 1, I knew I could potentially win my heat from the outside without the main competitors in lane 4 and 5 seeing me. I went out faster than my morning swim with a great dive and was 27.61 at the 50. I had a great third 25 and last pullout and was said to be in the top two at the 75 from onlookers. The heat was very close down the stretch and there ended up being 6 of us within .27 of each other. Unfortunately I came up on the wrong side of the touch and finished 5th in the heat at 58.58. There was still a chance to make the finals depending on the next semi-final heat, however, that heat ended up being much faster than ours and I ended up 12th overall.

Finishing 12th in the world is my highest finish ever at a major international competition, but I am looking forward to building on that momentum in racing the 200 m breaststroke tomorrow (Friday) and making the finals. I know it is going to be another tough field, but feel very confident. Thanks for all your kind wishes and support.