Emily Seebohm claimed her second gold of the world swimming championships with victory in the women’s 100m backstroke final on Tuesday.
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In those years in which the world remained split, Emily Seebohm had no problem capturing titles in the 100 backstroke.
Her coach Matt Brown departed only weeks following the selection trials and she dislocated her knee in a freak horse riding accident in May.
“I woke up this morning and it felt like I had to pinch myself”, said Seebohm of the relay win. “I won’t be sleeping tonight”.
It was a special night for Seebohm, 23, who has finally cracked it for gold at her fifth World Championships, having won silver and bronze in two of the last three world championships and an agonising silver at the London Olympics in 2012.
The closest Seebohm had previously gotten to upstaging her great US rival was at London.
A tearful Seebohm later blamed her meltdown on a social media fixation. I am just so happy with the time if I had went faster than last night I would have been happy nearly a PB and I know I haven’t had the best prep and with the better prep I can get there.
“It’s something I have worked on since London”.
In Australia’s finest single night since the 2005 World titles in Montreal, Seebohm and Wilson rocked the stadium winning gold and silver in the women’s 100m backstroke before fellow Brisbane team mate Mitch Larkin charged home to add his own glittering, striking gold in the men’s 100m backstroke.
Top qualifier Larkin clocked 52.40 seconds ahead of France’s Camille Lacourt (52.48) and defending champion Matt Grevers (52.66) of the US.
Two individual gold and one silver is the best night the Dolphins have had since the final night in 2005 when they won four gold. Larkin, 22, has become just the third person in history to hold both the short and long course world 100m backstroke titles.
Larkin admitted the Australian men received a wake-up call after leaving too much in reserve and being blown away in the day one heats.
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“A little bit, I had led from the heats and had been swimming good times”, he said.
