AUSTRALIAN OLYMPIC TRIALS 2024
Day four of the 2024 Australian Olympic Swimming Trials will feature world record holder Kaylee McKeown 200 backstroke race and superstar Kyle Chalmers in the men’s 100m freestyle as highlights.
The day includes five Olympic events and four Paralympic events:
- Women’s 200 backstroke (Olympic)
- Men’s 200m IM (Olympic)
- Men’s 100 freestyle (Olympic)
- Women’s 200 butterfly (Olympic)
- Women’s 800m freestyle (Olympic)
- Women’s 100m breaststroke (Paralympics)
- Men’s 100 breaststroke (Paralympics)
- Women’s 100m freestyle (Paralympic)
- Men’s 100m freestyle (Paralympics)
While McKeown is expected to race primarily against the clock in the 200 backstroke, Chalmers hopes to recruit a few younger teammates, including the second seed. Flynn Southam, with him in Paris. They are the only two (Australians) classified under 48 seconds in the race, and they will have to find more (maybe Max Giuliani Or Kai Taylor?) to join them if they want to climb the steps of the Olympic Games.
Cam McEvoy retained the top seed after winning the 50m freestyle and qualifying for her 4th Olympics on Wednesday.
One of the most underrated races of this competition will be the 200 fly. Directed by Elizabeth Dekkerswho set the Australian all-timer record earlier this year, there are three swimmers (Connor Abbey And Brianna Throssell) who are classified under the 2:07 mark, and a whole group of teenagers looking for a small group swim.
Women’s 200m backstroke – preliminaries
- World record – 2:03.14, Kaylee McKeown (Australia), 2023
- Australian record – 2:03.14, Kaylee McKeown (Australia), 2023
- Ocean record – 2:03.14, Kaylee McKeown (Australia), 2023
- Commonwealth Record – 2:03.14, Kaylee McKeown (Australia), 2023
- All-comers record – 2:03.14, Kaylee McKeown (Australia), 2023
- Australia Swimming TQO – 2:09.74
Top 8:
- Kaylee McKeown – 2:08.83
- Hannah Fredericks – 2:10.19
- Iona Anderson – 2:10.54
- Emily Seebohm – 2:11 p.m.
- Jaclyn Barclay – 2:11.05
- Minna Atherton – 2:13.34
- Olivia Lefoe – 2:14.55
- Abbey Webb – 2:14.85
World record holder Kaylee McKeown set the fastest qualifying time in the 200 backstroke preliminaries in 2:08.83, just over a second ahead Hannah Fredericks (2:10.19). McKeown, 22, holds the world record of 2:03.14 from last year, while Fredericks, 21, was as fast as 2:08.92 in April.
Iona Anderson fell nearly a second off her previous best of 2:11.40 en route to the third seed in 2:10.54. The 18-year-old won silver medals in the 50 back (27.45) and 100 back (59.12) at the 2024 World Championships in February.
Eight months after giving birth, 31 years old Emily Seebohm qualified 4th for the 200 backstroke final tonight with a time of 2:11.00. The four-time Olympian owns a lifetime best of 2:05.68 at the 2017 World Championships.
At 17 — the youngest swimmer in tonight’s final — Jaclyn Barclay could also be an Olympic contender after qualifying 5th in the preliminary round with a time of 2:11.05. She ran a personal best 2:07.03 to clinch a silver medal at the 2024 World Championships in February, well below Australia’s Olympic qualifying time of 2:09.74.
Men’s 200 IM – Preliminaries
- World record – 1:54.00, Ryan Lochte (United States), 2011
- Australian record – 1:55.72, Mitch Larkin (AUS), 2019
- Ocean record – 1:55.72, Mitch Larkin (AUS), 2019
- Commonwealth Record – 1:55.28, Duncan Scott (GBR), 2021
- All-comers record — 1:54.98, Michael Phelps (USA), 2007
- Australia Swimming TQO – 1:57.23
Top 8:
- Guillaume Pétric – 1:59.23
- Se-Bom Lee – 2:00.95
- David Schlicht – 2:01.31
- Brendon Smith – 2:01.82
- Joshua Kerr – 2:02.46
- Bailey Lello – 2:02.57
- Joshua Staples – 2:02.61
- Gabriel Gorgas – 2:03.05
Guillaume Petric will aim for her first Olympic berth in the 200 IM after leading the preliminaries by more than a second in 1:59.23. The 19-year-old has a lifetime best of 1:58.05 at the Sydney Open last month, one second off the Australian Olympic record (1:57.23). If he doesn’t reach the mark tonight, Petric will have another chance in Saturday’s 400m IM, where his personal best is slightly below Australia’s Olympic qualifying time.
Se-Bom Lee qualified 2nd in 2:00.95, about a second off the 22-year-old’s best time of 1:59.37 at the 2022 World Championships. Standing out at Arizona State David Schlicht was close behind in 2:01.31, just a few tenths off the 24-year-old’s personal best of 2:00.96 from 2022.
Keep an eye on Brendon Smith in the final this evening. The 23-year-old qualified 4th in 2:01.82, but was as fast as 1:58.57 at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
Men’s 100m Freestyle – Preliminaries
- World record – 46.80, Pan Zhanle (CHN), 2024
- Australian record – 47.04, Cam McEvoy (AUS), 2016
- Ocean record – 47.04, Cam McEvoy (AUS), 2016
- Commonwealth Record – 47.04, Cam McEvoy (AUS), 2016
- All-timer record — 47.04, Cam McEvoy (AUS), 2016
- Australia Swimming TQO – 48.06
Top 8:
- Kyle Chalmers – 48h39
- Guillaume Yang – 48.50
- Flynn Southam – 48.64
- Jamie Jack – 48.69
- Zac Uncerti – 48.78
- Kai Taylor – 48.81
- Jack Cartwright – 48.83
- Max Giuliani – 48.90
Rio 2016 Olympic Champion Kyle Chalmers led the 100 free preliminaries in 48.39, less than a second shy of his season best of 47.63 set in April, which ranks him 5th in the world this season.
William Yang reached the wall just a tenth of a second behind Chalmers in 48.50, not far off his season’s best time of 48.20, which ranks him 28th in the world this season. He is within touching distance of Australia’s Olympic qualifying time in this event (48.06).
Flynn Southam (48.64) past Jamie Jack (48.69) for third qualifying place for tonight’s final. Southam, 19, was under 48 seconds (47.77) at last year’s Australian trials, while Jack, 21, shaved 0.07 seconds off his previous best of 48.76 from April.
Zac doesn’t know (48.78), Kai Taylor (48.81), Jack Cartwright (48.83) and Max Giuliani (48.90) completed the top eight qualifiers in the heats. Cody Simpson did not reach the A final with a time of 49.04 in the preliminaries, as he needed a sub-49 second effort this morning to finish among the eight fastest swimmers.
Australian record holder Cam McEvoy scratched from the 100 free after suggesting he might give the 4×100 free relay a chance this summer.
Women’s 200m Butterfly – Preliminaries
- World record – 2:01.81, Liu Zige (CHN), 2009
- Australian record – 2:03.41, Jessicah Schipper (AUS), 2009
- Ocean record – 2:03.41, Jessicah Schipper (AUS), 2009
- Commonwealth Record – 2:03.41, Jessicah Schipper (AUS), 2009
- Record for all finishers: 2:05.20 – Elizabeth Dekkers (Australia), 2024
- Australia Swimming TQO – 2:07.72
Top 8:
- Abbey Connor – 2:06.43
- Elizabeth Dekkers – 2:07.71
- Bella Exchange – 2:07.98
- Brittany Castelluzzo – 2:10.19
- Elloise Doolan – 2:11.87
- Jessica Cole – 2:12.37
- Poppy Stephen – 2:12.49
- Rafaela Kopellou – 2:12.79
Connor Abbey put together a remarkable performance in the 200 butterfly preliminary qualifiers with a personal best time of 2:06.43 to clinch first place ahead of record holder All Comers Elizabeth Dekkers (2:07.71).
Connor, 19, fell just over a tenth from his previous best of 2:06.59 from March. Dekkers, 20, has held the All Comers record of 2:05.20 since April.
Connor is now ranked 5th in the world this season behind Zhang Yufei (2:05.57), Dekkers (2:05.20), Regan Smith (2:04.80), and Summer McIntosh (2:04.33).
Bella Grant also had a huge preliminary swim with the third-fastest preliminary time of 2:07.98, shaving nearly half a second off her previous best of 2:08.42 from April. The 19-year-old is just a few tenths off Australia’s Olympic qualifying mark of 2:07.72.
There’s plenty of burgeoning Australian talent in this event as Connor and Grant will be joined by four other teenagers in tonight’s final: a 17-year-old Elloise Doolan (2:11.87), 17 years old Jessica Cole (2:12.37), 18 years old Poppy Stephen (2:12.49), and 16 years Rafaela Kopellou (2:12.79). Kopellou, the youngest in the field, fell a few hundredths off her previous best of 2:12.81 from April to qualify 8th in the heats.
Women’s 800m freestyle – preliminaries
- World record – 8:04.79, Katie Ledecky (USA), 2016
- Australian record – 8:13.59, Ariarne Titmus (AUS), 2023
- Ocean record – 8:13.59, Ariarne Titmus (AUS), 2023
- Commonwealth Record – 8:13.59, Ariarne Titmus (AUS), 2023
- All-comers record — 8:11.35, Katie Ledecky (USA), 2014
- Australia Swimming TQO – 8:22.20
Top 8:
Paralympic Games highlights:
In the women’s 100m breaststroke, Keira Stephens led the way with a time of 1:16.94 worth 785 points. The 21-year-old SB9 swimmer won bronze in this event at the Tokyo Paralympics a few years ago.
The 100-man chest saw Jacques Michel qualified first by a wide margin with a time of 1:04.75, about a tenth of his seeded time (1:04.62). The SB14 swimmer won silver in this event at the Tokyo Paralympics a few years ago.
Alexa Leary led the women’s 100 freestyle preliminaries in 1:00.38, about a second slower than her starting time of 59.37. The 22-year-old S9 swimmer won the 2023 world title in this event last year in Manchester.
Rowan Crothers shone in the men’s 100m freestyle, collecting the most points with his time of 52.29. The two-time Paralympic champion won silver in the S10 100m freestyle in Tokyo with a time of 51.37.