Lewis Burras powered inside the Men's 50m Freestyle World Championship consideration time on the same night the indomitable Duncan Scott completed a men's medley double at the British Swimming Championships.
Winchester swimmer Burras, who won the 100m Freestyle on day three of the competition at Ponds Forge, set a new personal best of 21.77 as he produced a blistering second half of the race to defeat Olympian Ben Proud - before praising the man he had narrowly pipped to the gold. Adam Barrett (Wycombe District) swam well for third place.
Burras was quick to hail the career of Proud and said the world and European champion's performances had helped drive his own swims forward.
"That time is just under my PB - I'm really happy with that," said Burras.
“For the last eight years or so, Ben has been the guy for British sprinting and he has set the bar really high - not only in the country, but also on the international stage. To have someone so good and setting the bar so high has really helped to push me on."
Later in the finals session, Scott clocked the fastest 200m Individual Medley time in the world this year on his way to the British title. He defeated close friend Tom Dean with an exhilarating display of all strokes at Sheffield’s Ponds Forge to add the 200m title to the 400m crown he won in a British record time on day three of the competition.
University of Stirling’s Scott led narrowly after the first 50m but burst clear of Dean and second-fastest qualifier James McFadzen during the backstroke.
His lead was significant enough to hold off Bath National Centre’s Dean’s last-gasp attempt to claw him back in the freestyle leg – and both were comfortably inside the World Championships consideration time of 1:57.61, with Dean clocking a new personal best. McFadzen (Loughborough University) claimed the bronze medal.
Scott said: “It was really hard, but I didn't really know where I'd be at fully in that. 1:56 flat is pretty solid, it's 0.8 off my PB so I'm pretty happy with that. I did what I wanted to do. I don't know what I was out to the 100m, but I really wanted to challenge that front end because I thought that, last year, was maybe where I could've done a little better.
“It was pretty hard, a good, honest swim. I came here for the 400m IM to be my priority. For the rest of the season, I have a decision about what I'm going to do. But moving forward, the 200s are the big thing for me.”
Abbie Wood landed a third British Swimming Championships title of her own for 2022 with a comprehensive victory in the Women’s 200m Individual Medley to round out day five of the meet.
The Loughborough National Centre swimmer topped the podium by 2.38 seconds from her team-mate Lily Booker, with City of Glasgow’s Katie Shanahan third.
Wood, who also won the 200m Freestyle and 200m Breaststroke, said: “I'm just trying to learn through each swim. At the start of the meet, Dave [coach David Hemmings] and I agreed we wanted 10 solid swims through the week, so for my eighth of the week, I can't be too annoyed. It's still close to my PB.
“It's hard to replicate having seven other world-class people around you. I can't be too annoyed at myself!
“I think it [the body] is hurting a bit. This is just a starter meet for the rest of my season. Dave and I agreed that this is the start of the next racing cycle, just post some good times as a starting mark for the summer.”
Freya Anderson shaved four seconds off her lifetime best as she landed the Women’s 400m Freestyle title with an accomplished performance.
The 21-year-old - who trains under coach David McNulty - maintained a position towards the front of the race throughout, before producing her usual back-end speed in the final 50m to pull clear for the gold.
“This week has been weird to sum it up in one word,” said the Bath National Centre swimmer. “It hasn't gone as I wanted it to go.
“The 200m, I completely blew it, I don't know why. I had to bounce back on the 100m. I was happy with the 100m and I am happy with tonight.
“We have just been dabbling with the 400m Freestyle. I did it a bit when I was younger because I could do everything and not get tired! It's a bit different these days. It's gone well this season, so we'll have to see where it fits in with my programme at big meets. We'll see.”
Nova Centurion’s Freya Colbert continued the fine form she has shown throughout the championships as she took the silver medal, with Derventio’s Mia Slevin third.
Dan Jervis swam the third fastest time in the world in the Men’s 800m Freestyle this year – but was narrowly outside the World Championships consideration time of 7:49.58.
He claimed a third British Swimming Championships gold medal of the week with a composed swim that saw him take control of the race from the beginning and cruise to the top of the podium
Jervis said: “The thing about being a distance swimmer is it's very much a mental game. The way I train, and the people I train with, we train to be world leaders in swimming. Physically, I'm in the best shape of my life. I can honestly say that, people may train as hard as me in the swimming world, but nobody trains harder than me.
“When you have one brilliant swim – my 400m was the best I've ever done – and then one not so great swim in the 1500m, it's very much a mental game then, and it's how you play that.
“I think I pulled it back around. It wasn't as quick as I wanted it to be, but I'm really happy with that. It's the first time I've ever had three British titles in one week, so it's good.”
Loughborough University’s Lauren Cox won her first British title as she triumphed in the Women’s 50m Backstroke by the narrowest of margins.
After winning silver in the 100m race, Cox went one better as she edged out Swansea University’s Medi Harris by 0.01 seconds in a thrilling dash for the wall, with the University of Stirling’s Kathleen Dawson taking the bronze medal.
Catch up with all the results from Ponds Forge here - and make sure not to miss any of the action on the final day of the British Swimming Championships by tuning into Deep End Live on our YouTube channel.