Tyler Melbourne-Smith Downs David Davies’ 800 Free British S/C Record; Ed Mildred Lowers 200 Fly Mark
Tyler Melbourne-Smith and Ed Mildred each downed British records from the supersuit era on the final day of the Swim England National Winter Championships in Sheffield.
Melbourne-Smith sliced almost three seconds off David Davies’ 800 free record that had stood for 16 years before Mildred stepped up in the 200 fly to become the first British man to break 1:51secs in the final individual men’s event of the four-day short-course meet at Ponds Forge.
Melbourne-Smith has had a superb meet. He went top of the 2025 world rankings in the 400 free when he posted a 3:36.09 PB that elevated him to second all-time in the British rankings behind Duncan Scott. It would have earned him gold at the European s/c Championships in Lublin, Poland.
David Davies
The Loughborough University swimmer returned to the water for the 800. First to turn after 100m in 53.39, the 20-year-old was metronomic thereafter with splits ranging from 28.04 to 28.92.
He came home in 7:33.56 to take almost three seconds off the British record of 7:36.47 that had stood to fellow Welshman Davies since the Duel in the Pool in December 2009.
It was a huge PB for Melbourne-Smith whose previous best was 7:40.53 at the 2023 edition of the championships.
Luke Hornsey was second in 7:46.48 with open water specialist Hector Pardoe making it a Loughborough clean sweep in 7:47.22.
Davies is a luminary of British distance swimming. He holds the 800 (7:44.32) and 1500 (14:45.95) records in the long-course pool from 2009 and 2004 respectively. Coached by Dave Haller at City of Cardiff, he won 1500 bronze at Athens 2004 – a year before Melbourne-Smith was born – and 10k silver four years later in Beijing.
Davies’ fellow Welshman Daniel Jervis also spearheaded the British distance swimmers following his 1500 bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games in 2014 which he followed with silver four years later. Jervis also came fifth in the 1500 at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 before retiring in 2025.
Melbourne-Smith started his career at the Warriors of Warrington before moving on to the City of Liverpool club and now Loughborough. He won gold in the 400 and 1500 free at the 2023 Commonwealth Youth Games in Trinidad & Tobago and silver over the shorter distance at the European U23s in Samorin earlier this year.
He’ll seek to make his Commonwealth Games debut next year in Glasgow as part of Team Wales alongside the likes of two-time Olympic champion Matt Richards.
Mildred Takes Flight
Ed Mildred: Photo Courtesy: Aquatics GB
Mildred opened his competition at Ponds Forge with fourth in the 50 fly (22.79) which he followed up with second over 100m in 50.02).
Come the 200 and he was on Josh Gammon’s shoulder at halfway before powering ahead over the third 50 and coming home in 1:50.64.
With that he took 0.63 off Joe Roebuck’s national record of 1:51.27 which had stood since the 2009 European Short Course Championships in Istanbul as the supersuit era lurched towards its inevitable end.
Gammon also went inside the old mark in 1:51.17 with Luke Greenbank third in 1:55.33.
Mildred has flourished since joining up with Ryan Livingstone at Manchester Performance Centre where he trains alongside the likes of Matt Richards and James Guy, who share six Olympic medals.
The 22-year-old won the 100 fly at the British Championships in April and finished second over four lengths behind Duncan Scott.
That earned him selection to the British team for the Singapore worlds where he finished 15th in both the 100 and 200 and split 51.08 on the fly leg as the men’s medley relay finished sixth.
