Tyler Melbourne-Smith Achieves Breakthrough Performance in 400 Free, Becoming Second Fastest British Swimmer at 3:36.09 SCM

By Retta Race on SwimSwam

2025 SWIM ENGLAND NATIONAL WINTER CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Thursday, December 11th – Sunday, December 14th
• Ponds Forge International Sports Centre, Sheffield, England
• SCM (25m)
• Meet Central
• SwimSwam Preview
• Draft Program
• Day 1 Recap
• Start Lists/Live Results

The 2025 Swim England National Winter Championships kicked off from the storied Ponds Forge International Sports Centre in Sheffield. The fields on both the men’s and women’s sides are strong, despite some of the major players currently racing down under at the Australia vs. The World competition.

One of the key performances from the first day of action in Sheffield came at the hands of 20-year-old Tyler Melbourne-Smith.

Representing Loughborough University, Melbourne-Smith ripped a lifetime best of 3:36.09 to take the men’s 400m freestyle gold.

The ace registered the sole time of the pack under the 3:40 threshold en route to topping the podium. Freddie Ashley-Sparks of Wycombe District was next to the wall in 3:43.50, followed by open water swimmer Hector Pardoe who captured. bronze in 3:44.42.

As for Melbourne-Smith, his career-swiftest time entering this meet rested at 3:40.36. That time was notched at the 2024 edition of these championships.

Flash forward a year, and the emerging star knocked over four seconds off that result to produce an effort which would have garnered him the gold at this year’s European Short Course Championships. Fellow Briton Jack McMillan took gold in Lublin, Poland in a time there of 3:36.33.

Melbourne-Smith now checks in as the #2 British performer of all time, surrounded by Olympians on the elite list.

Top 5 British Men’s SCM 400 Freestyle Performers All-Time

1. Duncan Scott – 3:34.46, 2024
2. Tyler Melbourne-Smith – 3:36.09, 2025
3. James Guy – 3:36.35 2014
4. Tom Dean – 3:36.56, 2020
5. Max Litchfield – 3:38.13, 2018

Additionally, Melbourne-Smith now takes over the #1 ranking in the world on the season, dethroning Olympian Sam Short of Australia.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Tyler Melbourne-Smith Breaks Through With 3:36.09 SCM 400 Free, #2 British Swimmer Ever