The tables below show how each swimmer performed at the Commonwealth Games. In a previous post I explained that this analysis does not include the performance of Paralympic swimmers, but not because their swims are any less deserving. The purpose here is limited to evaluating the performance of the non-para section of the team. The exclusion allows a valid comparison with earlier Games when Paralympic swimming was not included.

For each swimmer I have added a comment on their performances. It is important to stress that these are personal opinions intended to encourage discussion and debate. Clearly there will be other views that could well have more merit than those expressed by me.

INDIVIDUAL EVENTS

Carina Doyle

I was impressed with Doyle. She swam a 200 PB in the first event at the Games. Reducing her PB in the 400 from 4.18 to 4.13 (almost 2%) was a big step forward. Her relay split of 55.36 was the fastest by a New Zealand female swimmer. There is an air of honesty about her swimming that I like.

Number of Swims	Number of PBs	% of PBs	Number of Finals
5	2	40%	1

 

Event	PB	Comm. Time	Place	PB/Not PB
200 Free H	2:00.09	2:00.01	10th	PB
100 Free H	56.04	56.27	13th	No
100 Free SF	56.04	56.18	12th	No
400 Free H	4:18.23	4:13.33	8th	PB
400 Free F	4:13.33	4:15.89	8th	No

Daniel Hunter

I thought Hunter’s performance was mixed; a sort of B+ effort, almost very good, but not quite. He seems to be in the difficult position of being caught between becoming an international winner and one of those swimmers who end up fifth and sixth in international events. He is a huge talent but, I think, needs more power to take the final step up to consistently placing in major competitions. I suspect the swimmers he is struggling to beat have spent more time in the gym lifting heavy weights. Their appearance gives that impression.

Number of Swims	Number of PBs	% of PBs	Number of Finals
8	3	37%	2

 

Event	PB		Comm. Time		Place		PB/Not PB
50 Fly H	24.00		24.01		5th		No
50 Fly SF	24.00		23.93		5th		PB
50 Fly F	23.93		23.87		5th		PB
100 Free H	49.43		49.65		10th		No
100 Free SF	49.43		49.11		8th		PB
100 Free F		49.11		49.30		8th	No
50 Free H		22.31		22.32		8th	No
50 Free SF		22.31		22.34		9th	No

Samuel Perry

Perry had a fantastic start to the Games in the 50 fly and the 100 free relay. His individual freestyle swims were not as successful. It could be that the month of hard American racing caught up with the swimmer. The balance between good pre-Games racing and doing too much can be difficult to get right. Just maybe Perry reached the end of his season a couple of races too soon. It happens. But he should be pleased with his last two months in America and his swims at the Games.

Number of Swims	Number of PBs	% of PBs	Number of Finals
7	3	42%	1

 

Event	PB	Comm. Time	Place	PB/Not PB
50 Fly H	24.42	24.23	8th	PB
50 Fly SF	24.23	23.99	6th	PB
50 Fly F	23.99	23.96	6th	PB
100 Free H	49.48	49.90	16th	No
100 Free SF	49.48	49.83	14th	No
50 Free H	22.47	22.93	16th	No
50 Free SF	22.47	23.13	16th	No

Bronagh Ryan

Ryan swam a PB in the 50 and (ignoring the relay start) in the relay 100. That’s the good news. The bad news is that New Zealand breaststroke is struggling. In the relay the Australian breaststroke swimmer was 3.24 seconds faster than New Zealand. Canada was a similar margin ahead. Someone in New Zealand breaststroke needs to take a big step forward.

Number of Swims	Number of PBs	% of PBs	Number of Finals
3	1	33%	0

 

Event	PB	Comm. Time	Place	PB/Not PB
50 Breast H	32.32	32.18	15th	PB
50 Breast SF	32.18	32.70	16th	No
100 Breast	1:10.44	1:10.78	17th	No

Corey Main

I’m a fan of Corey Main. He had a successful career in Florida and swam really well in the 2017 World Championships. But this was not a good meet. I do not know what his preparation has been like since he completed his University degree but he did not look like the swimmer he once was. The brutal truth is I thought he looked slightly overweight and not quite as fit as he was a year ago. His 49.90 freestyle 100 in the relay was probably his best swim.

Number of Swims	Number of PBs	% of PBs	Number of Finals
4	0	0	1

 

Event	PB	Comm. Time	Place	PB/Not PB
100 Back H	53.99	54.99	4th	No
100 Back SF	53.99	55.02	7th	No
100 Back F	53.99	54.88	7th	No
200 Back H	1.57.51	2:01.73	11th	No

Georgia Marris

Marris had a mixed meet. She did swim a good PB in the semi-final of the 100 freestyle but was the slowest of the four New Zealand swimmers in the 4×100 freestyle relay. Marris has been swimming in a very good Florida university program. I suspect she probably wanted a better meet than this turned out to be.

Number of Swims	Number of PBs	% of PBs	Number of Finals
4	1	25%	0

 

Event	PB	Comm. Time	Place	PB/Not PB
100 Fly H	1:00.26	1:00.43	15th	No
100 Fly SF	1:00.26	1:00.58	16th	No
100 Free H	56.98	56.98	15th	No
100 Free SF	56.98	56.48	15th	PB

Helena Gasson

Gasson is not the swimmer she was a year ago. The dominating, aggressive power she displayed when she was training with Thomas Ansorg was not evident in her Gold Coast swims. That is a shame. Gasson is a real talent. I could well be wrong but it may be that she is suffering from what Arthur Lydiard used to call the “New Zealand disease”. The term refers to the difficulty of becoming truly world class when you have, for some time, been a big fish in a very small pond.

Number of Swims	Number of PBs	% of PBs	Number of Finals
5	0	0%	0

 

Event	PB	Comm. Time	Place	PB/Not PB
100 Fly H	58.51	1:00.00	14th	No
100 Fly SF	58.51	59.70	12th	No
50 Fly H	26.45	27.10	9th	No
50 Fly SF	26.45	27.19	11th	No
200 Fly	2:09.84	2:13.25	13th	No

Matthew Stanley

Stanley is a very good swimmer. His New Zealand 200 and 400 freestyle records were set back in 2014 and 2012. Since then he has not been able to progress. So often his international results appear to be good but not quite good enough. I think he is a better swimmer than he has been able to show. I think he is a good example a brilliant swimmer who was screwed about by the SNZ high performance training program. Stanley lived through the period where SNZ was asking him to train with a different coach every five minutes. We have not seen the best of Matthew Stanley. I hope that one day we do.

Number of Swims	Number of PBs	% of PBs	Number of Finals
3	0	0	0

 

Event	PB	Comm. Time	Place	PB/Not PB
200 Free	1:47.13	1:48.75	12th	No
100 Free H	49.59	49.75	14th	No
100 Free SF	49.59	49.61	11th	No

Laticia-Leigh Transom

Transom is young and approached the Gold Coast meet with youthful enthusiasm and fearlessness. She swam two good relays and recorded two PBs in the individual 50 freestyle. I remember Rhi Jeffrey telling me that when she won a Gold Medal at the Athens Olympic Games at a similar age to Transom she felt no fear. Her junior years protected her from the worries that can concern older athletes. The trick for a successful young swimmer, like Transom, is kicking on from here. I wish her well. She does have the advantage of living in Australia, protected her from the “New Zealand disease”.

Number of Swims	Number of PBs	% of PBs	Number of Finals
4	2	50%	0

 

Event	PB	Comm. Time	Place	PB/Not PB
50 Free H	25.99	25.96	10th	PB
50 Free SF	25.96	25.95	12th	PB
100 Free H	55.84	56.32	14th	No
100 Free SF	55.84	56.26	13th	No

Bobbi Gichard

Gichard did not have a good meet. Five swims and no PBs is not a good result for someone of her age. She is struggling to find the form she showed when she was coached by old-fashioned master coach Noel Hardgrave-Booth. It is amazing how often I have seen that happen. A successful swimmer leaves their home program, seduced by the bright lights and smooth talking city program, and nothing happens. In my view Gichard would be a better swimmer today if she was still coached by Noel in his plastic roofed Greendale pool. I know Noel has retired but it’s the principle I’m talking about.

Number of Swims	Number of PBs	% of PBs	Number of Finals
5	0	0%	0

 

Event	PB	Comm. Time	Place	PB/Not PB
100 Back H	1:00.82	1:01.33	10th	No
100 Back SF	1:00.82	1:01.75	12th	No
200 Back	2:11.91	2:17.88	13th	No
50 Back H	28.40	28.81	10th	No
50 Back SF	28.40	28.56	10th	No

Lewis Clareburt

The enthusiasm and fearlessness of youth that characterised Transom clearly applies even more so to Clareburt. He had a great meet. Five PBs from seven swims and a bronze medal; it doesn’t get much better than that. His meet was an absolute success. And that is his biggest danger. Because, unlike Transom, Clareburt lives in NZ and is a prime candidate to catch the “New Zealand disease”. Already I am told social media sycophants are callously heaping praise and expectations on his young shoulders. They know not the damage they cause. I hope the swimmer, his coach and his family can keep him grounded and away from Facebook experts likely to cause him harm.

Number of Swims	Number of PBs	% of PBs	Number of Finals
7	5	71%	3

 

Event	PB	Comm. Time	Place	PB/Not PB
400 IM H	4:18.78	4:19.16	6th	No
400 IM F	4:18.78	4:14.42	3rd	PB
200 Fly H	2:00.24	1:58.32	6th	PB
200 Fly F	1:58.32	1:58.51	7th	No
200 Back	2:04.85	2:01.54	10th	PB
200 IM H	2:03.06	2:01.33	8th	PB
200 IM F	2:01.33	2:01.13	7th	PB

Bradlee Ashby

Ashby is a very good swimmer but did not have the best of meets. Anyone who can swim under 2.00minutes for a 200IM knows how to swim. The question is, why didn’t he progress after his very good swim at the 2017 World Championships? I suspect there are two reasons. First SNZ subjected him to yet another coaching change. Their program has had 10 coaches in 10 years. Ashby has survived several of those changes. It is not however the best way to progress down from 1.59. And second I was concerned that Ashby was making the mistake I made with Toni Jeffs prior to the Barcelona Olympic Games. He was on TV too often. That publicity insidiously ramps up the pressure to perform. I think his swimming looked tighter and less free than I saw him swim in Budapest or in Auckland. There is a five second gap between Ashby and Lochte’s world record. I suspect a return to basics would best see that gap close.

Number of Swims	Number of PBs	% of PBs	Number of Finals
6	1	16%	2

 

Event	PB	Comm. Time	Place	PB/Not PB
400 IM H	4:18.68	4:18.83	5th	No
400 IM F	4:18.68	4:18.61	5th	PB
200 Fly H	2:00.19	2:00.30	11th	No
200 Back H	2:00.83	2:02.32	14th	No
200 IM H	1:59.54	2:00.57	5th	No
200 IM F	1:59.54	1:59.59	5th	No

RELAYS

Women’s 4×100 Medley Relay

Event	PB	Comm. Time	Place	PB/Not PB
Final	4:06.30	4:07.47	6th	No

Bobbi GICHARD                                                                                               1:01.65

Bronagh RYAN                                                                                                 1:10.09

Helena GASSON                                                                                              1:00.32

Laticia TRANSOM                                                                                              55.41

Men’s 4×100 Free Relay

Event	PB	Comm. Time	Place	PB/Not PB
Heat	3:15.41	3:17.96	3rd	No
Final	3:15.41	3:16.60	4th	No

Daniel HUNTER                                                                                                 49.44

Sam PERRY                                                                                                         48.60

Corey MAIN                                                                                                         49.90

Matthew STANLEY                                                                                             48.66

Women’s 4×100 Free Relay

Event	PB	Comm. Time	Place	PB/Not PB
Final	3.41.10	3:43.77	4th	No

Laticia TRANSOM                                                                                            55.75

Georgia MARRIS                                                                                              56.95

Carina DOYLE                                                                                                   55.36

Helena GASSON                                                                                                55.71