July 27, 2014

Craig Lord

Four years ago, Australia sped to a Games record and gold with Tom Fraser-Holmes up front and inflicting damage from the off by clocking a split that would have won the solo 200m title that year. In Glasgow, he anchored and the effect was as devastating to the two teams who had been in the hunt and snapping at Australian shoulders and ears for the bulk of the battle.

Commonwealth Games relays have often produced some of the closest bouts in the pool.  The clash between Australia, Scotland and South Africa did not disappoint. Indeed, it was thrilling.

The tightness of the tussle ended when 200m champion Fraser-Holmes decided enough was enough, the Dolphin leaping into the lead with a 1:45.18 that was 2sec faster than any of the splits among the closest quartets.

It all ended in Australia on a Games record of 7:07.38, Scotland  [Photo: Scotland - by Ian MacNicol] on 7:09.18, a national record and British best in textile suits, South Africa third in 7:10.36, England the first team locked out in 7:12.66. There was a high degree of passion in the host quartet, the first three in the water for Scotland on average 2.3sec fastest on their splits (including the lead off) than their solo 200m personal best times. That’s about more than a fast dive. There’s depth to consider in the realm of calculation, too.

It doesn’t quite work like this, of course, but take out the best splits of four Brits in Scotland, England and Wales quartets and the Australian combined time would been good enough to win – by 0.2sec. Independence is a matter for the people with a vote but in sport it spells the kind of weakness recognised by those who planned empires on the basis of divide and conquer.

The vulnerability of quartets can be exposed by one swimmer on an off day. Back in Australia controversy reigns over the choice of a swimmer struggling, Alicia Coutts, over and in-form sprinter, Melanie Schlanger when it came to the 4x200m for women. Australia won but clearly Schlanger, on a 1:57 this season, was the more obvious choice for the relay if best-on-clock is what you want. There are issues of “who deserves it” about such decisions given that medals and honours (and sometimes even funding) are at stake. An interesting choice ahead at a home Pan Pacs.

Meanwhile, Australia’s thunder was stolen somewhat by the quality of victories from Siobhan-Marie O’Connor and Fran Halsall at the double. Nonetheless, dominance in Commonwealth waters is undeniable: in three races alone, with one seep and two 1-2 finishes, the Dolphins claimed seven out of nine medals: men’s 100 free (with Magnussen and McEvoy a fair bit shy of where they can be), women’s 200m back, men’s 50 back. And 10 medals out of a possible 18 [discounting the para-sports event for the sake of historical comparison and also because the para events are not comparable for a number of reasons including entry].

The Australia men face the United States on the Gold Coast – a 7:07 masking a possible gain of four seconds or so when you delve into the deep of the splits and choices:

     The podium:

    AUS –  7:07.38: Cameron McEvoy (1:48.10) David McKeon (1:45.82) Ned McKendry (1:48.28) Tom Fraser-Holmes (1:45.18)
    SCO – 7:09.18: Dan Wallace (1:47.37) Stephen Milne (1:47.17) Duncan Scott (1:47.18) Robbie Renwick (1:47.76)
    RSA – 7:10.36: Devon Brown (1:47.49); Chad le Clos (1:47.13) Sebastien Rousseau (1:47.03) Dylan Bosch (1:48.71)

     The result

1. Australia (C Mcevoy, D Mckeon, N Mckendry, T Fraser-Holmes) 7min 7.38sec, 2. Scotland (D Wallace, S Milne, D Scott, R Renwick) 7:09.18, 3. South Africa (D Brown, C Le Clos, S Rousseau, D Bosch) 7:10.36, 4. England (N Grainger, L Coleman, J Walsh, J Guy) 7:12.66, 5. New Zealand (M Stanley, M Donaldson, E Jackson, D Dunlop-Barrett) 7:14.63, 6. Wales (C Jarvis, O Putland, X Mohammed, I Lloyd) 7:15.96, 7. Malaysia (K Soon Choy, V Jeau Zhi, W Wee Sheng, L Ching Hwang) 7:26.74, 8. Singapore (J Schooling, K Yeo, Z Quah, C Lim) 7:28.01

How it all panned out last time round:

Australians Thomas Fraser-Holmes (on a 1:47.04 lead-off that would have won him the solo final in which he finished third), Nick Ffrost (1:48.68), Ryan Napoleon (1:47.05) and Kenrick Monk (1:47.52) crushed the opposition with a 7:10.29 Games record. Silver went to Scotland in 7:14.02, as 200m solo champion Robbie Renwick swept his team from 4th going into the last leg, the battle for bronze won by South Africa in 7:14.18 to 7:14.63, England, defending champions, locked well out in 7:16.57, a result that reflected a weakening of England’s relay force alongside the pattern seen in the women’s race.

Top 3 comparisons

    2010: 7:10.29; 7:14.18; 7:14.63
    2006: 7:14.14; 7:14.40; 7:14.90
    2002: 7:11.69; 7:17.17; 7:22.56

From the Archive:

Australia won the crown 13 times in succession until a home Games in Melbourne in 2006, when both England and Scotland got past a school of male Dolphins racing under the weight of expectation placed on young shoulders in the wake of the passing from the pool of Ian Thorpe and the absence of Grant Hackett. It took until the last day of the 2006 Melbourne Games for Australian men to win a medal, and they did so in the medley relay. The thrilling 2006 race was the tightest win and tightest podium in the history of the event, Alex Scotcher, Dean Millwain, Ross Davenport and Simon Burnett celebrating gold ahead of Andrew Hunter, David Carry, Euan Dale and Robert Renwick silver and Britain able to boast for perhaps the only time in history that, for a moment, it had two teams capable of beating the land of Thorpe and Hackett in a 4x200m free race, in the absence of said giants, of course.

Read the original article at the Swim Vortex website.