Meg Harris within sight of 2020 Olympic. She just has to start believing according to coach Boxall

St Peters Western Swim club’s Meg Harris within sight of 2020 Olympic. She just had to start believing according to her coach Dean Boxall.

St Peters Western Swim club’s Meg Harris is within sight of 2020 Olympics. She just had to start believing, according to her coach Dean Boxall.

On Friday at the world swimming championships in Budapest, Harris claimed a bronze medal in the 100m freestyle final.

It was a night which saw Rackley Centenary’s Thomas Neill continue his surge in world swimming by claiming a bronze medal, and a PB, in the 800m. Neill of St Joseph’s Gregory Terrace finished with a 400m silver medal on the opening night of competition.

Boxall said prior to Harris leaving for the world juniors that the tall Mt St Michael’s schoolgirl was a serious Olympic contender.

Meg Harris of Mount St Michael's and St Peters.

“She is .6 of a second away from making an Olympic team for the 100m freestyle, so she has to start to believe,’’ Boxall said.

Praising her temperament and nature, Boxall said Harris was also an “unbelievable racer’’.

“She is becoming a better trainer, but she is an unbelievable racer.’’ he said.

During day three of the championships, Harris’s St Peters teammate Mollie O’Callaghan continued her development with a PB swim to finish fourth behind Harris in the 100m final.

It was the second final for the St Peters Lutheran College Springfield student from Logan and to claim a PB was an enormous tick for her.

There was another PB performance in the final by Brisbane Grammar’s Tahlia Thornton.

Thornton, a student at St Margaret’s Anglican Girls school, clocked a personal best time of 2:12.01 to place fifth in the women’s 200m backstroke.