Australian rivalry gets best out of our stars
SISTERS Cate and Bronte Cambell face a classy field when they contest the heats and finals of the 100m freestyle at the NSW swimming championships today.
Their rivals include fellow Rio Olympic Games relay gold medallists Emma McKeon and Brittany Elmslie and squadmate Shayna Jack.
“This will be our last hitout before trials, so it’s our last chance to get some good race practice in and practise those skills that we’ve been working on, so there should be some really good, solid racing down here,” said Cate, who will also line up in the 50m and 200m freestyle and 50m butterfly.
“Australia has probably more girls in the top 10 in the world in the 100m freestyle than any other country, so it’s always tough. We’ve been doing it for a long time now and I think that we all get the best out of each other.”
Sydney’s two-time world champion James Magnussen will take on Cameron McEvoy and James Roberts in the men’s 100m freestyle in tonight’s other feature final.
Magnussen took the opening honours of the season, beating a stacked field including McEvoy, Roberts, Olympic champion Kyle Chalmers and rising star Jack Cartwright to win the Queensland title.
But tonight’s race could prove a different prospect, with Bond University sprinter McEvoy, the fastest man in history in a textile suit, out of his heaviest work phase and likely to be well under the 50.10sec he put in last month.
Griffith Uni’s David McKeon will take on Olympic champ Mack Horton in the 400m freestyle, TSS Olympian David Morgan will contest the 200m butterfly and Bond’s Madi Wilson faces a strong field in the 100m backstroke.