World Record Flash: Para Dolphin Star Tim Hodge Lowers His Own World Mark In the SM9 200m Individual Medley

Para swimming’s man-of-the-moment Tim Hodge has today broken his own world record for the 200m individual medley, swimming 2:12.97 during the final preliminary heats session of the Australian Championships on the Gold Coast.

The 22-year-old SM9 athlete from ACU Blacktown (NSW) shaved 0.30secs off his own world mark, of 2:13.27 set earlier in the year at the Para World Series at the Melbourne Sports And Aquatic Centre.

He wasted no time this morning, setting a cracking pace in the Multi Class IM, starting with a slick butterfly split of 28.55, the backstroke in 33.88, followed by a 38.97 breaststroke leg and finishing off with a solid 31.57 freestyle to set the new world standard.

And it remains to be seen what he can do in tonight’s final.

Hodge, the Tokyo Paralympic silver medallist in the 200IM from the 2020 Games, will spearhead the Australian team to be announced tonight for the Para World Championships in Manchester from July 31-August 6.

Meanwhile  in what is tipped as the race of the final night, just one second separated the top 10 qualifiers in this morning’s qualifying heats for the women’s 200m freestyle final – with an-in form Mollie O’Calllaghan (St Peters Western, QLD) leading the way in 1:57.85.

O’Callaghan finished ahead of Olympic champion and club mate Ariarne Titmus (1:58.07) and Madi Wilson (Marion, SA) who along with O’Callaghan and Titmus was part of the world record-breaking 4x200m freestyle relay at last year’s Birmingham Commonwealth Games.

Other qualifiers in an all-star final are Kaylee McKeown (Griffith University, QLD) 1:58.93, Brianna Throssell (St Peters Western, QLD) 1:59.08, Lani Pallister (Griffith University, QLD) 1:59.27, Eve Thomas (New Zealand) 1:59.41, Shayna Jack (St Peters Western, QLD) 1:59.69, Jenna Forrester (St Peters Western, QLD) and Meg Harris (Marion, SA) 1:59.94.

Amongst those who missed the cut was the fourth member of that world record breaking team, Kiah Melverton (St Peters Western, QLD) who was 12^th in 2:00.19 – missing the cut by just 0.25.

And in today’s men’s 100m freestyle heats, teenagers Kai Taylor (St Peters Western, QLD) 48.65 and Flynn Southam (Bond, QLD) 48.72 who went 1-2 in the 200m final on night two, head the qualifiers ahead of Germany’s Josha Salchow (48.88) and Olympic gold and silver medallist over 100m freestyle, Kyle Chalmers (Marion, SA) next in 49.15.