Does Australia have a new Madame Butterfly?
Time will tell, but it was still exciting to watch Cloverdale’s Brianna Throssell (20) take to the pool in her debut Olympic event – the Women’s 200m Butterfly heats.
Throssell should have been heartened to see the ‘Iron Lady’ of the pools – Katinka Hosszu from Hungary – had pulled out of the event.
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READ NOWThe Perth girl, swimming in lane three, came off the blocks hard.
The number three proved to be a good omen for Throssell and she maintained that position throughout her swim.
She swam strong in the first lap, settling into her stroke.
Throssell left plenty in the tank for the last 100m and maintained her position until she touched the wall.
She finished easily, but outside of her best time, at 2.07.76.
Throssell came in tenth in the rankings after her heat.
Australia’s Madeline Groves came in fifth, at 2.07.02.
Leading the rankings were Mareia Belmonte (Spain), Hali Flickinher (US) and Cammile Adams (US).
Throssell will take to the pools next for the semi-finals at 9am this morning.
Throssell qualified for the Olympic 200m butterfly at the 2016 Australian Swimming Championships in Perth, behind Madeline Groves.
Sportsbet had her at harsh odds going into the swim – paying out $34 for Throssell to win a medal
Japan’s Natsumi Hoshi and the Spain’s Mireia Belmonte are the favourites to win the event.
Australia’s Madeline Groves comes in third favourite.
Hoshi finished the heats in seventh place.
Throssell had previously won seven bronze medals at the 2014 Nanjing Youth Olympic games.