Freya Anderson and Max Litchfield in GB World Championships squad in Korea
April 24, 2019
Freya Anderson and Max Litchfield came away with golds and a ticket to South Korea in July but plenty to work on after a lively British Championships.
Glasgow hosted the trials and there were high hopes for the two Sky Sports Scholars as they battled for a spot in the GB team at the World Championships in Gwangju.
Teenager Anderson, who is also contending with revision for her A-Levels this summer, struck gold in the 200m freestyle by one-hundredth of a second and in the 100m Freestyle.
Despite being crowned double British champion, such are the high standards at British Swimming her times were just under the qualification requirements.
On Wednesday, British Swimming confirmed Anderson was off to Korea, alongside Litchfield who achieved the qualifying time in Glasgow, in a 25-strong squad.
“I’m so super excited to be selected for my second World Championships, which sounds crazy to say!” the 18-year-old Ellesmere College swimmer said.
“I had so much fun the first time and learnt so much so I can’t wait to go again and try my best to swim fast! As my coach says – the hard work starts again!”
Anderson capped off an eventful week by surprising herself with a stunning fourth in one of her least strongest events – the 100m fly. Overall, it was a competition that has driven her to build on.
“I would say the week got off to a slow start and I felt I had to get the ball rolling a bit in terms of getting into the racing, Anderson added.
“My coach and I were aiming for the 100m so that’s why I was disappointed in my 200 I think but I can learn from any mistakes I made.
“I loved watching all my races back to see what I can improve on and can’t wait to get back to training for this last cycle before the summer.
“I was also really pleased with my 100m fly which is not my event at all but fourth in Britain isn’t too shabby!”
Litchfield was assured of his place on the plane after cruising to gold in the 400m IM, but a lacklustre show in the 200m was a reminder that there was much work to get stuck into before Korea.
Gold in the 100 tonight?? nearly done for #BSC19 just got 100 fly on Sunday(??) Thankyou for the support?❣️
A post shared by Freya Anderson (@freyaanderson_) on
“It was a great week overall and started just as I would have hoped by dipping under the qualifying time in the 400m and booking my ticket to Korea,” the 24-year-old from Sheffield said.
“A couple of days later and I was hoping for more of the same from the 200IM, but it wasn’t to be. It was a very poor swim given the form I was in, and it was so frustrating looking at the bigger picture and my Worlds schedule.
“On the last day was the 200 Free and I bounced back. It wasn’t a personal best but a solid swim to finish off what was a great week with lots to learn from moving forwards.
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