Emily Seebohm, holder of 11 national swimming titles and daughter of a swimming teacher from Ascot State School, has definitely made her mother and her country proud.
Seebohm and her siblings received their first swimming lessons from their mother Karen, a qualified learn-to-swim teacher currently working at Ascot State School. Considered one of Australia’s most versatile professional swimmers, Seebohm has come a long way from those first lessons, making a name for herself in competitive swimming, especially in the Backstroke events.
Seebohm was just 14 years old when she won her first national 100m Backstroke title. Just recently, Seebohm swam her way to her eleventh title in the Commonwealth Trials. She is getting ready to defend her title in the coming Commonwealth Games, determined to maintain her perfect gold medal record in the 100m Backstroke event for the third time.
Credit: Facebook/Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games – Channel 7
Proving her versatility as a professional swimmer, Seebohm also won the 50m Backstroke and ranked second in the 200m Backstroke, just a whisker ahead, at 0.01 seconds, behind the 16-year-old Kaylee McKeown who took first place. She also made it to the finals of the 100m Freestyle and 50m Butterfly at the trials.
The Pressure From Winning
This three-time Olympian admitted that the pressure of trying to maintain her winning streak is massive. She admitted that her nerves got the best of her at the recently concluded trials and this affected her performance in the events.
As one of the most experienced and most dominant swimmers in Australia, she recognizes the fact that her actual performance during the Commonwealth Games will be the ultimate pressure test. She said that McKeown’s win in the 200m Backstroke trials has also motivated her to do better in the Games.
World Records
Seebohm started her record-breaking streak in 2008. When she competed at the 2008 Brisbane Catholic Schoolgirls Championships, she managed to break the 50m Backstroke Commonwealth and Australian Records with her time of 28.10 seconds.
A few weeks later, she broke the World Record of 28.00 seconds in the 50m backstroke during the semi-finals of the 2008 Australian Championships, with a time of 27.95 seconds.
However, just a day later, Sophie Edington leapfrogged ahead when she clocked 27.67 seconds in the finals of the same event.
Seebohm chose not to swim in the finals to focus on the 100m Olympic backstroke event. She made what she considers to be the right decision, clocking in at 59.78 seconds, the fifth-fastest of all time. This made her the first Australian woman to finish in under a minute.
Seebohm once again set a new world record at the 2009 Australian Short Course Championships, where she clocked 58.54 seconds in the 100m. This performance broke American Natalie Coughlin’s record of 58.80 seconds.
Since then, Seebohm has become one of the most decorated swimmers in Australia, delivering wins in the Commonwealth Games, the Olympics, and other events in between.
Event Schedules
Will Seebohm be able to maintain her perfect gold record in the Games? Cheer her on by watching her on the following dates.
Women’s 50m Backstroke | Monday, 9 April 2018 |
Heat 1 – 10:49 a.m.
Heat 2 – 10:51 a.m. Heat 3 – 10:53 a.m. Heat 4 – 10:55 a.m. Semifinal 1 – 8:57 p.m. Semifinal 2 – 9:02 p.m. Final – Tuesday, 10 April 2018 7:50 p.m. |
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Women’s 100m Backstroke | Friday, 6 April 2018 |
Heat 1 – 11:18 a.m.
Heat 2 – 11:21 a.m. Heat 3 – 11:24 a.m. Heat 4 – 11:27 a.m. Semifinal 1 – 8:55 p.m. Semifinal 2 – 9:00 p.m. Final – Saturday, 7 April 2018 8:03 p.m. |
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Women’s 200m Backstroke | Sunday, 8 April 2018 |
Heat 1 – 10:31 a.m.
Heat 2 – 10:35 a.m. Heat 3 – 10:39 a.m. Final – 7:37 p.m. |
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Women’s 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay | Thursday, 5 April 2018 |
Final – 9:50 p.m. | |
Women’s 4 x 100m Medley Relay | Tuesday, 10 April 2018 |
Final – 9:43 p.m. |
All swimming events will be held at the Optus Aquatic Centre in Gold Coast. Plan your route to the venue with the help of the official Journey Planner from the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games.