Australian Short Course, Day 1, Finals: Sam Just Short of His Club Record, Clocking 3:36.12 To Win 400m Freestyle
Australia’s former world champion and Olympic finalist Sam Short has Ian Thorpe and Grant Hackett in his sights after an impressive time of 3:36.12 to win the 400m freestyle on the opening night of the Australian Short Course Championships in Melbourne tonight.
But first of all he has to get past his own club record, held by fellow Olympian Thomas Neill.
Hackett holds the Australian record at 3:34.58 – the world record set in 2002 and which lasted for seven years, before it was broken by German Paul Biedermann in a now banned supersuit in 2009. Thorpe’s best stands at 3:34.63, swum in 2003.
And the world record now belongs to Frenchman Yannick Agnel and has done since 2012 – when he stopped the clock at 3:32.25.
Short said to his coach Damien Jones before the race that the Brisbane-based Rackley club record of 3:35.05 held by Neill would be a good target before suggesting that Hackett’s mark was also in his sights in the up-coming World Cup series, starting in Carmel, Illinois on October 10 and 12.
Short’s time of 3.36.12 (25.09; 51.83;1:46.11/1:50.01) ranks him third on the 2024/25 world rankings and is the 19th fastest time in history – a ranking that would see him move into the all-time top 10 if he can set that new Rackley club record.
More to come…
