Freestyle sprinter, Brett Hawke broke a personal best at the Victorian Championships in Melbourne when he won the 100 metres Freestyle semi-final in under 50 seconds.
Clocking 49.95 seconds, Mr Hawke performed 0.61 seconds better than his previous time of 50.56 seconds in the same event.
“I’ve been trying to crack the 50 (seconds) for years and years, so to actually do it in this pool is great,” Mr Hawke told The Age.
Swimming icon Michael Klim proved to be tough competition when he surpassed Mr Hawke’s time by 0.28 seconds to finish as the fastest qualifier in 49.67 seconds.
In the height of his career, the one-lap national Freestyle and Butterfly champion looks set to achieve his childhood dream of competing in the Australian 4 x 100 metres Freestyle relay team and the Commonwealth Games, before settling into retirement as a coach in the US.
Mr Hawke’s decision to focus on the 100 metres Freestyle event for the Games couldn’t be better after this latest performance.
“I’ve just been really hurting myself this whole week in preparation for the trials. These times don’t mean much, you’ve got to do them at the trials, so I’m just happy I’m swimming fast at the moment.”
In the women’s 100 metres Breaststroke Australian, Brooke Hanson claimed the state title at the Melbourne Sports and Aquatics Centre (MSAC) with an impressive 1 minute, 87 seconds win.
The win marks Ms Hanson’s second Victorian all-comers’ record at the meet.
“I’m just happy to get in there and have another tough swim and use this as another quality training session over five days, a Victorian all-corners’ record and the fastest I’ve ever swum in Melbourne, so it looks pretty good for the next couple of weeks,” Ms Hanson told The Age.
Ms Hanson later scored her third Victorian all-comers’ record after winning the 200 metres Individual Medley in 2 minutes and 15.09 seconds.
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