Top Five Must Watch Events In Five Days At The Australian Swimming Championships
Here are the five must watch events in five days at this year’s Australian Swimming Championships starting today at the SA Aquatic and Leisure Centre in Adelaide. Ian Hanson has sort some pool deck insights from Miami swimmer Suzie Ryan as they run their eyes over their favourite five as Australia’s best swimmers vie for selection on the Dolphins teams for the World Championships and Commonwealth Games.
You can catch all the action on Amazon Prime Video with Olympic greats Grant Hackett, Giaan Rooney and Nicole Livingstone joined by callers Jon Harker and John Casey.
OFFICIAL TRAILER – AMAZON PRIME
JACK’S BACK: Shayna Jack will make her return to the Australian Championships in the 100m freestyle on the opening night. Photo Courtesy: Wade Brennan Photography
AUSTRALIAN SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS: DAY ONE
EVENT 4 Women’s 100m Freestyle WORLD RECORD: Sarah Sjostrom (SWE) 51.71 (2017) AUSTRALIAN RECORD: Emma McKeon (51.96) 2021 TITLEHOLDER: Emma McKeon (Griffith University, QLD) 52.49; World Championship/Commonwealth Games QT: 54.25
An event largely dominated by seven-time National champion and former world record holder Cate Campbell until last year when Emma McKeon (Griffith University, QLD); Coach Michael Bohl) asserted her dominance and took the top spot, going on to become one of the Tokyo golden girls and the Olympic champion in this event. With Cate and sister Bronte on a break and McKeon earning wild cards into the Commonwealth Games, and not swimming here, it leaves the door wide open for new contenders to win this blue ribband event and secure spots on the World’s and Comm. Games teams. Ones to watch includes fifth fastest of all time and two time Olympian Madison Wilson (Marion, SA; Coach Peter Bishop) who has posted a 53.68 (NSW State Open) this season. St Peters Western, under coach Dean Boxall, will have a strong presence in this 100m freestyle with dual Olympic gold medallist, Ariarne Titmus, skipping the 800m, replacing it with the 100 as well as her Tokyo gold medal events the 200 and 400m freestyle at this meet. Dual Olympic relay golden girl and the stand-out Tokyo discovery, Mollie O’Callaghan emerged from her post Olympic slumber at the 2021 McDonald’s Queensland Championships last December.
Like so many of her team mates – swimming a whopping 12 open and age individual events and three relays – a total of 27 races in seven days –winning a remarkable 14 gold and one bronze medal. Wins in the open 100 and 200m freestyle where she lowered the colours of a returning Shayna Jack and Olympic champion Ariarne Titmus – two timely reminders to her St Peters Western training partners that Mollie O is all Go! And she squeezed in both the Open and Age 100m backstroke after the 200m free win – events she will swim this week along with the 50m freestyle. And After two years out of the water, after fighting a positive test for a banned substance back in 2019 will be Shayna Jack who has already shown she means business, posting a time of 53.13 (NSW State Open) ranking her the fastest in the world this season.
Then there is former St Peters girl, Relay gold medallist (4x100m freestyle) from Tokyo Meg Harris who has made the move to Marion, SA and Coach Peter Bishop). Harris too is looking in form after making the move to South Australia to train with Bishop, recovering from a broken hand earlier in the season. Two-time Olympian Leah Neale (Chandler; Coach Vince Raleigh) and Brianna Throssell (USC Spartans; Coach Mick Palfrey) will also be ones to watch as will youngster Milla Jansen (Bond Swim Club; Coach Chris Mooney) and 33-year-old Holly Barratt (Rockingham, WA).
PRIME VIEWING: Don’t miss Zac Stubblety-Cook in the w00m breaststroke on night two. Photo Courtesy: Delly Carr (Swimming Australia).
AUSTRALIAN SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS: DAY TWO Event 15
Men’s 200m breaststroke WORLD RECORD: Antonn Chupkov (RUS) 2:06.12 (2019) AUSTRALIAN RECORD: Zac Stubblety-Cook (Chandler, QLD) 2:06.28 (2021) AUSTRALIAN ALL-COMERS REC: Zac Stubblety-Cook (Chandler, QLD) 2:06.28 TITLEHOLDER: Zac Stubblety-Cook (Chandler, QLD) 2:08.28 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP/COMMONWEALTH GAMES QT: 2:10.32
Preview: Any time Olympic champion, Zac Stubblety-Cook (Chandler, QLD; Coach Vince Raleigh) takes to the pool then you have to assume that anything is possible and this year’s Australian Championships and Selection Trials for the World’s and Comm. Games will be no different. Stubblety-Cook finished 2021 on a high, producing one of the swims of the meet at the QLD State Championships last December – the swim of the night belonged to Stubblety-Cook with the Tokyo 200m breaststroke gold medallist setting a new Queensland All-Comers record of 2:07.00 in his pet 200m breaststroke event. It was his first swim back after his Tokyo triumph and just 0.88 secs outside the world record he nudged in the Olympic final. Russian Anton Chupkov still holds the world mark at 2:06.12 – and Stubblety-Cook was the only swimmer under 2:07.00 in the Olympic final – clocking a new Olympic record of 2:06.38. And that swim came after he set his own Commonwealth record, a faster time of 2:06.28 at the Australian Olympic Trials in June 2021. Lining up also will be former world record holder from 2019 Matthew Wilson (SOPAC, NSW; Coach Adam Kable) who will have his sights on making Stubblety-Cook earn his stripes as he strives to get back down to his best time, 2:06.67 set in the semi-final in Gwangju. Emerging teen William Petric (Nunawading, Coach Joel Finck) could well be one to watch along with Yannick Swolsman (Southport; Coach: Sean Eels).
HAPPY PLACE: Dual Olympic champion has a nice ring to it for Kaylee McKeown. Photo Courtesy: Delly Carr (Swimming Australia).
AUSTRALIAN SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS: DAY THREE
Event 22 Women’s 100m Backstroke WORLD RECORD: Kaylee McKeown (AUS) 57.45 (2021) AUSTRALIAN RECORD: Kaylee McKeown (57.45) 2021 TITLEHOLDER: Kaylee McKeown (USC Spartans, QLD) 57.45 World Championship/Commonwealth Games QT: 1:00.59
Preview: It’s not very often when you look down the official event records that one name ticks all the boxes – from World Record, Commonwealth Record, Australian Record and Australian All-Comers through to Defending Champion but you can say it in the women’s 100m backstroke for Tokyo golden girl Kaylee McKeown (Griffith University; Coach Michael Bohl).McKeown has certainly stamped her dominance on the international swimming scene bringing home three Olympic gold medals (two individual gold) a world and Olympic record from Tokyo last year – you could say that “Our Kaylee” arrived in style.
Following the Games, McKeown made the move to celebrated Olympic coach Bohl at Griffith University and the Swimming Australia Hub at the Gold Coast Aquatic Centre. Since moving to Bohl, McKeown has continued to assert her dominance in the event posting three sub 59’s (58.31 at Victorian Open, 58.35 at NSW State Open and 58.66 at Australian Swimming High-Performance Invitational at Miami) this season, well below the QT of 1:00.59 ranking her second fastest in the world this season behind previous world record holder Regan Smith (USA). Add 2019 World championship silver medallist Minna Atherton (Bond Swim Club; Coach Chris Mooney), two time Olympic gold medallist Mollie O’Callaghan (St Peters Western; Coach Dean Boxall) and Holly Barratt (Rockingham, WA) who have all swum sub-60 secs and will pushing McKeown for the two World Championship and Commonwealth Games spots. Australian swimmers who have won three or more individual Olympic gold medals at a single Games. 3- Shane Gould (Munich, 1972); 2- Freddie Lane (Paris, 1900), Murray Rose (Melbourne 1956), Mike Wenden (Mexico City, 1968), Ian Thorpe (Athens, 2004), Stephanie Rice (Beijing 2008) Kaylee McKeown, Ariarne Titmus and Emma McKeon (2021).
WORKING CLASS SWIMMER: Matt Temple muscling in on the 100m freestyle. Photo Courtesy: Delly Carr (Swimming Australia).
AUSTRALIAN SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS: DAY FOUR
Event 31 Men’s 100m freestyle WORLD RECORD: Cesar Cielo (BRA) 46.91 (2009) AUSTRALIAN RECORD: Cameron McEvoy 47.04 (2016) TITLEHOLDER: Kyle Chalmers (Marion, SA) 48.04 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP/COMMONWEALTH GAMES QT: 48.77
Preview: The blue ribband event of the pool that this year presents an opportunity for a new winner with three-time winner and defending champion and Olympic gold and silver medallist, Kyle Chalmers not racing his pet event here.
But his two new training partners and fellow Tokyo relay bronze medallists Matt Temple and Zac Incerti (Marion, SA; Coach Peter Bishop) sure to have the backing of their new home town crowd. Temple led the Australians off in the 4x100m free relay final in Tokyo with a personal best of 48.07 (the eighth fastest Australian) to set up bronze medal performance with Incerti chiming in with a 47.55 (flying start) second leg split. Nothing would satisfy Chalmers more than to see one of his best mates carry on the championship mantle for Marion. It will also present a golden opportunity for Bond young gun, 16-year-old Flynn Southam (Coach: Chris Mooney) to make his mark in his first Australian open meet, the National age star setting the SA Aquatic and Leisure Centre alight in April with his Australian Age record time of 48.60 (lowering Chalmers record).
The breakthrough win for Southam would make him the youngster winner since Mike Wenden who was 16 when he won the first of his six Australian titles in 1966, adding Comm. Games gold at the same age in Kingston Jamaica. While 1956 Olympic champion Jon Henricks was 17 when he won the first of his four Australian titles in 1953. Great to see Jack Cartwright (St Peters Western, QLD; Coach Dean Boxall)– a finalist in the 2017 World’s in Budapest with his pb of 47.97 put together some consistency and he’ll be looking to get down to his best again in this campaign – especially in Chalmers absence.
Cartwright’s 2017 team mate Louis Townsend (Rackley Swim Team, Coach: Damien Jones) 48.93; Clyde Lewis (Griffith University, QLD; Coach Michael Bohl) 48.96 – one of the stars of the 2019 team in Gwangju and former WA boy Ashton Brinkworth (USC Spartans, QLD; Coach Mick Palfrey) are sure to be there abouts. Also look out for recently crowned 22-year-old British champion Lewis Burras (with his 47.88 – just 0.01 off Duncan Scott’s British record) swimming as a visitor in the heats as he prepares for Budapest and Birmingham. Burras has moved to Australia, training under Zoe Baker at WA’s Peel Aquatic program in Mandurah.
TOP TWO: Ariarne Titmus and Katie Ledecky on top of the world. Photo Courtesy: Delly Carr (Swimming Australia)
AUSTRALIAN SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS: DAY FIVE
Women’s 400m Freestyle WORLD RECORD: Katie Ledecky (USA) 3:56.46 (2016) AUSTRALIAN RECORD: Ariarne Titmus (3:56.69) 2021 TITLEHOLDER: Ariarne Titmus (St Peters Western) 4:01.34 World Championship/Commonwealth Games QT: 4:10.57
Preview: Tokyo gold medallist and fastest Australian of all time Ariarne Titmus (St Peters Western; Coach Dean Boxall) will join both Linda Mackenzie and Tracey Wickham as the third swimmer to win a fourth straight 400m title in the last 50 years. Titmus currently sits second in world rankings for this season behind arch-rival Katie Ledecky following her stunning performance earlier in the year at NSW State Open Championships where she posted a time of 4:00.03.
Tokyo Olympic finalist Kiah Melverton (St Peters Western; Coach Dean Boxall) who made the move post Tokyo to join Titmus and Boxall, certainly showed she is ready to take a another step up, clocking a personal best of 4:03.43 (fourth fastest all-time Australian) behind Titmus at the NSW Championships. Throw in Tamsin Cook (USC Spartans; Coach Mick Palfrey), Madeleine Gough (Chandler; Coach Vince Raleigh) and Leah Neale (Chandler; Coach Vince Raleigh) and there will be a red-hot field of major contenders for the World and Comm. Games individual spots, and to see who joins Titmus in Birmingham. Others to keep an eye on are previous Fina World Junior champion Lani Pallister (Griffith University; Coach Michael Bohl), late bloomer Moesha Johnston (Griffith University; Coach Michael Bohl) at 24 who is already on the Australian Open Water team for Budapest in the 5 and 10km and Tokyo 10km marathon swim bronze medallist Kareena Lee (Noosa; Coach John Rodgers), Rodgers elevated to the Open Water Coaching Hall of Fame.