Cate Campbell Mines Another National Title With Gold in 50 Freestyle at Aussie Champs
Two months shy of the Australian Olympic Trials, Cate Campbell backed up a strong prelim performance in the 50-meter freestyle with an equivalent outing in the final at the Australian Championships. The veteran sprint star unloaded a time of 24.28 on the Gold Coast Sunday to narrowly edge Emma McKeon for the national title.
Campbell was coming off a runnerup finish to McKeon in the 100 freestyle, but at half the distance was able to fend off her longtime National Team teammate. McKeon, who earlier in the week complemented her 100 free victory with a win in the 100 butterfly, was second to Campbell in the one-lap dash in 24.39. Bronte Campbell (24.75) and Madison Wilson (24.90) also cracked the 25-second barrier.
Campbell is preparing for a run at her fourth Olympic Games. If she successfully navigates the Australian Trials in June, as expected, she will be among the medal favorites in the sprint-freestyle events in Tokyo. Although she was edged by McKeon in the 100 freestyle, Campbell had the fastest time of the meet in that event, thanks to her 52.43 marker in the preliminaries.
On the men’s side, Kyle Chalmers completed his freestyle trifecta when he covered one lap in 22.30. That first-place finish followed wins in the 100 freestyle and 200 freestyle for the reigning Olympic champ in the 100 free. In the men’s 200 breaststroke, Zac Stubblety-Cook ran down Matthew Wilson on the last lap to win in 2:08.28, with Wilson second in 2:09.44.